Posted by: Major Dan (markj89@charter.com) on Tue Oct 24 05:38:54 2000

>>> jack....."If the lead leg is straighter (less flex) at foot plant, it would reduce the ability of the lead leg to drive hip rotation."....i don't understand this concept.....to me it's simple....you rotate around the front leg....i don't see the lead hip driving rotation, i see the hip rotation around a stiff front leg......and guess what ? if your front leg remains bent, then the body will have more of a linear shift FORWARD (linearly) & less rotation.....and according to mike schmidt, that's pretty much the distiction between weight shift & rotation (at least the lower body mechanics)....are schmidt & myself wrong?....respectfully, grc....<<<
> > > >
> > > > Hi grc
> > > >
> > > > The lead leg does not stay bent (or flexed) to contact. At foot plant the lead leg should be well flexed with the knee pointing toward the plate or first base. Hip rotation is started by the lead knee extending (or straightening) as it rotates around toward the pitcher. The rotation and straightening of the lead leg drives the front hip back around toward the catcher as the back leg drives the back hip around toward the pitcher. This results in the body rotating around a stationary axis, which is a much more efficient mechanic than just using one leg ("back to center").
> > > >
> > > > At contact the lead leg will have fully extended and the batter will be hitting off a firm front side (except on some outside pitches).
> > > >
> > > > Jack Mankin
> > > > RQL,What I see is 2 flexed knees at beginning of rotation and as the hips come around the lead leg begins to straighten.By the time the hips are facing the pitcher the lead knee is often locked up straight.
> >
> > RQL & Jack -
> > I see the same thing. My observations tell me that the front heal coming down triggers the swing and starts the hip rotation. This action uses some front leg power. The back leg then turns over, driving the back hip forward. Finally, just before contact, the front leg's quads straighten the front knee, popping the lead hip back toward the catcher. Since the front shoulder is already synched to the hips at that point, this last pop gives power to the bottom hand torque at contact by pulling the lead shoulder back.
> > In many rotational hitters the front leg is straight only momentarily. It straightens into contact then recoils afterward. The linear hitters have the front knee straight sooner and longer and lose rotational power in the process IMO.
Yes they lose power,big ques. that I feel I know less about the more I study is does this allow them to stay on the ball longer w/o pulling off too soon and handling the off speed pitch better by going more straight at the ball instead of turning towards then away from ball in rotation?RQL

That is an excellent question. I don't have an answer and I think there isn't a simple answer because timing mechanisms in swings are more complicated than the basic swing mechanics. For example, there are players with great ballmachine swings who don't translate their swings well to live pitching. The difference: known vs. unknown timing (speed, delivery, etc.) of the pitch.
So maybe the question becomes one of how does a hitter time a pitch. Seems like different mechanics require different timing mechanisms. A strider must start early, then read and either abort or continue. A non-strider can wait and read more, though they also have a set of motions that either abort or continue. (what is pre-launch, where is launch point, can you launch and then check your swing?? oh, no, not that again )
Bat speed must be a factor - the quicker you can get your bat going fast, the longer you can wait to start the swing.
Mike Piazza (that wimp ) stands almost flat footed, gets the bat going quick and late and hammers offspeed pitches. How does he do that.?
RQL, you played at a high level. How did you make room in your swing to adjust to pitch timing? Major Dan