Posted by: Jim C (jhconklinjr@comcast.net) on Sat Aug 7 19:54:21 2004

Hi All,

I don't get what the confusion is all about. My twelve year old son 'got it' almost right away, once he saw it. Yes, it is JUST before the heel drops and the torso rotation begins. The rear elbow 'slotting' near the hip follows out of it. I find that the bat feels almost weightless to the front arm for an instant as the front elbow starts to work 'up' to bring the bat into the plane of the pitch. I think that this is because inertia has already been broken, lessening the 'drag' on the hands.

The bat head has to go 'down' or to flatten into the pitch plane at some point in the swing. The little pulling back with the top hand fingers and the slight backward rotation of the bottom wrist (the knob scribes a small arc) does just that AND puts kinetic energy into the bat earlier than just having the the hands yank the bat down after the hips have started around.

Try this. Set up as if you have already taken your stride. Imitate Sheffield, wagging the bat head ... but a bit more softly. On one of the wags, when the bat head is moving back toward the catcher, launch a swing.

Once you feel it, how people may try to define it or communicate it doesn't much matter.