Posted by: Shawn () on Sun Aug 22 09:39:20 2004

>>> Jack,
>
> Sorry if this doesn't pertain to the discussion, but I think it does in some ways.
>
> If you have a swing high in BHT, isn't there less early arcing? and less extension before contact. And isn't it true that if there is more THT there is more extension and a lesser amount of BHT, as defined of no extension prior to contact.
>
> Don't we have a different amount of arcing back torward the catcher depeding on the swing. Depending on if the ball is away (middle away) from you or inside, depending on the swing taken. <<<
>
> Hi Shawn
>
> From my own experience and studying swings of other hitters who start with the bat in the plane at launch, it is hard to tell the difference between applying BHT and THT. On one swing I will tell myself to concentrate on applying THT. On the next swing concentrate on BHT – then on both. For pitches from the middle-in, they look about the same on video and produced about the same bat speed.
>
> As the pitch location moves out toward the outside part of the plate, I can definitely tell I am relying more on THT (and applying it much longer into the swing). When working on outside pitches, I find using A-Rod’s style (hands high with bat cocked toward the pitcher) actually works best for me. As I pointed out earlier, this is similar to the “seven iron” drill where I just try to throw the top-hand back and around the bottom-hand as I rotate. – Shawn, I think this is basically what your post was saying.
>
> Jack Mankin
>

RQL,

It's hard to say. What hitter are we talking about. Sosa and Bonds both start the hands below the shoulder with the elbow level with the ground. This make a small looping action with the top hand as the elbow starts to lower. It's said that having a curved path is better then just going straight back to stretch the muscles. They both have a curved path compared to the guys who just load straight back. And they are both working in the same direction as rotation.

I'm sure there is some natural pulling back going on as you prepare to swing. Some hitters are cocking the bat more compared to Sosa and Bonds loop action. I don't know how much pulling back these hitters have in their swing. We would have to look at a hitter and decided what they are actually doing.

Shawn