Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Sun Oct 29 15:08:16 2000

Re: Re: answer for grc
Posted by: RQL (mailto: on Sat Oct 28 21:25:46 2000) -- for rest of post

>>>I differ from J ack I think on bottom hand torque is in stead of an oarlock on the top hand mine is going forward as the bottom hand is pulling back from tight shoulder turn and strong wrist action.this seems to me to be what I see happening when I see this tight 90L in back elbow then right before impact you see that 90 headed more like the power V and I think its driving forward making the difference not oarlocking ,But dont unload it to early or the torque is gone<<<

Hi All

RQL made some interesting points in his post. I think a further discussion on the topic would benefit all.

For pitches from the middle-in, I recommend mechanics that bring the bat to contact before the back elbow extends and thus the back arm still forms an "L" position. This conclusion is not drawn from my opinion on batting or impressions based on my swing. It is based on data from my research of how energy is transferred in the baseball swing.

When I set up the parameters for the research, I determined that for the findings to be valid it would require the collection of a large amount of unbiased data. So I made a sign and hung it over my desk. It read "Have no preconceived theory, report only what you observe." The data gained from charting over 3000 swings was then correlated with players' "slugging percentage" statistics. The results clearly showed that for pitches from the middle-in, the more the back arm was extended past the "L" position, the lower the performance.

The reason I refer to "bottom-hand torque" as the most efficient mechanic for middle-in pitches is because as the bat approaches contact the hands will have slowed down to about 5 mph. So it is not hand quickness that will determine bat speed. It is the amount of torque forces delivered to the hands that will cause the bat-head to accelerate. The lead hand is now in a stronger position to deliver torque force to the bat than the top hand. The lead arm is straight so the pull on the lead hand does not rely on the muscles of the arm but instead from the pulling back of the lead shoulder. The pulling back of the lead shoulder is powered by the large muscle groups of the legs and torso. --- The progression of the back arm and hand ("L" position) as a unit is powered by shoulder rotation. But the extension of the back arm (or elbow) relies on the smaller muscle groups of the arm and thus less powerful. Therefore the back hand serves more as a pivot point for the lead hand to pull the bat around.

Note: When a boxer delivers a power punch, the arm maintains an "L" position while the thrust is delivered mainly by the rotation of the shoulders. When the punch is delivered from the extension of the arm - it becomes more of a jab.

Jack Mankin