Posted by: Jack Mankin (mrbatspeed@aol.com) on Sun May 2 13:01:41 2004

>>> Following is a larger image of the clip:
>
> http://webpages.charter.net/nickkio/Arod/arod07.avi <<<

Hi All

Now that Nick has posted the clip of A-Rod’s swing, I thought it would be helpful to discuss the problems with his present swing mechanics frame-by-frame. As I stated earlier, this clip shows that he initiated the swing by accelerating the bat-head back toward the catcher (Pre-Launch and Top-Hand-Torque) in a too vertical direction. This resulted in loss of power and consistent swing plane.

I would assume that most coaches have not studied the swing plane to the extent that I have. Therefore, it would be easier for them to see and understand the problems with A-Rod’s initiation and swing plane if we first look at a batter who correctly initiated the swing that produced a clean powerful plane.

A frontal view is required to study the swing plane and when I went to, http://www.youthbaseballcoaching.com/swings.html , I found that most of the clips were viewed from across the plate. Most coaches like this view of the batter because their main interest is lower-body mechanics. However, I found a frontal clip of Sosa that shows a good initiation and plane. – Look at the clip of Sammy in the white uniform near the bottom of the page. --- You may want to print the following description to assist in your viewing of the clips.

The program I view these clips with does not give a frame count but I think you will still be able to see what I am referring to in his swing. The important thing to look for during pre-launch are that Sosa sweeps the bat behind his head so that the bat-head is being accelerated into the swing plane. Secondly, note the frame just before the bat disappears behind him. Note the direction of bat-head acceleration is in-line with the lead-arm. Last, but not least, note that the bat stays in the plane of the lead-arm all the way to contact. -- Run this back-and-forth until you can clearly see the swing plane.

It is also very important to note that both hands stay in-line with the swing plane. In other words, the top-hand stays in-line behind the bottom-hand. It does NOT roll over the top of the bottom-hand (the regular “wrist roll” OR roll under the bottom-hand (the “reverse wrist roll’). Both indicate a wave in the swing plane and inconsistent contact. Pay very close attention to Sammy’s wrists and bat alignment in the frame just before the bat is accelerated to contact. We will see something quite different with A-Rod’s alignment (or plane).

In the clip of A-Rod’s swing, you can see that during pre-launch torque, he does not sweep the bat behind his head enough. We noted, in Sosa’s swing that in the frame just before the bat disappeared behind him, the bat had swept into the swing plane. When we look at that same frame (just before the bat disappears behind him) in A-Rod’s swing we see the bat-head still accelerating downward behind him through the true plane. This means the bat-head will bottom-out well below the true swing plane.

Therefore, since the bat-head is not aligned with the swing plane (it is well below it), the top-hand must also roll below the plane. The rolling of the top-hand below the alignment with the bottom-hand is what I termed “the reverse wrist roll.” This is evident in the frame just before the bat reaches the Point of Contact (area in this case since he missed the ball). You can see the bat-head and top-hand are below the plane.

Whenever the bat-head accelerates downward through the swing plane, the natural reaction of the batter is to pull down with the lead-elbow to bring the bat-head back up into the plane. This causes the bottom-hand to dive downward as the bat approaches contact. You can see this occur with A-Rod’s elbow and bottom-hand in the frame just before contact and then at contact.

In concluding, I would add that studying the swing plane with the original recording on a full sized TV screen reveals much more detail than we can see in these smaller clips. I would also add that it would be well worth coaches spending more time studying transfer mechanics and the resulting plane rather than just concentrating on lower-body mechanics.

Jack Mankin