Posted by: Jack Mankin (mrbatspeed@aol.com) on Wed Apr 21 01:32:27 2004

>>> However, you should note that dead pull hitting requires the bat-head to rotate 45 degrees past a normal centerfield position. This is how I came up with the 225 degree arc. <<<

Hi BHL

I sincerely do not mean this to be cruel, but you should stick to English Literature because you obviously do not have a good grasp of geometry. Rotating the bat 45 degrees past perpendicular (from hitting the ball straight away) would NOT pull the ball down the third base line (“dead pull”, as you referred to it). Having the bat at 45 degrees would cause the ball to exit the bat parallel with the back of the plate or the back-stop. This means it would be hit 45 degrees to the left of the third base foul line.

BHL, the correct use of geometry would have told you that the maximum amount the bat could be rotated past perpendicular and still hit the ball fair would be 22.5 degrees. But, due to the “hooking effect” generated from impacting the outside part of the ball, about 17 to 19 degrees past perpendicular is closer to the actual maximum.

Jack Mankin