Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Wed Nov 1 02:06:59 2000

>>>jack...recently someone inquired at hitting.com as to what the term "hands inside the ball" meant....i responded that generally those who advocate this concept also advocate "knob straight to the ball", "hands straight to the ball", etc....i pointed out that the correct hand path is circular....i also rhetorically asked how one could NOT have their hands inside the ball (unless they were extremely casting)....otherwise they risked collision of the hands with the ball itself!!!!....for several days no one else commented.....then this morning i noticed that my post was deleted and replaced with this comment by dave huggens himself......he said "The term "staying inside the ball" refers to the path the hands take to the ball. The goal is to keep the barrel of the bat on the contact plane as long as possible.".......i would appreciate your comments as to the meaning of "hands inside the ball".....respectfully, grc......<<<

Hi grc

I think your response to the term "hands inside the ball" was right on the money. You only reported what a frame-by-frame analysis of a good swing would show. This is just one example of the great service Paul at Setpro has done for all of us that study batting mechanics. Coaches and players are now finding that they can look at swings in frame-by frame action and decide for themselves what mechanics the better hitters are using.

I don't think it would be right for me to comment on how others manage their site. As for Dave's statement: "The term "staying inside the ball" refers to the path the hands take to the ball. The goal is to keep the barrel of the bat on the contact plane as long as possible." - It should be viewed in a positive light. It could indicate that he has abandoned "swing down at the ball" and now would have the swing plane with a little uppercut to line up with the incoming balls' path. --- So he may be coming around. And who knows, in the future he may come "full circle."

Jack Mankin