Posted by: Dave A (oxagin@hotmail.com) on Sun Sep 5 21:20:36 2004

After watching players like Marcus Giles (5'8" 180) being capable of hitting 20-30 home runs I was wondering if a these shorter hitters need to add a little something to their swing like Tejada who kind of cocks the bat forward a little more than normal (like Sheffield) to get more batspeed. I was thinking that if a player the size of Giles has the same swing as a guy 6'2" 200 it should be obvious that the bigger guy would hit more bombs. So how is a guy like Giles capable of hitting 30 bombs a year like a bigger guy. Even Joe Morgan (5'7" 165) put together a few 20+ home run seasons. I can't seem to find what keeps these hitters at the same level as the bigger guys. Giles seems to start his hands higher and apply more THT earlier in the swing than most hitters, kinda like Soriano I guess. Would love to hear others opinions on this.

In closing: All I can say is I respect these guys much more than a Mark McGwire who was 6'4" and on supplements that were banned the year after his record breaking year.