Posted by: Jim C (jhconklinjr@comcast.net) on Thu Sep 30 05:14:29 2004

Hi Andy,

Maybe you guys can clear something up for me. My son's Babe Ruth coach emphasizes BOTH line drives and backspin generated by hitting the bottom half of the ball (the mechanics are linear). The backspin is to produce 'carry'.

When we speak of the bottom half of the ball are we talking about the hemisphere bisecting the ball parallel with the ground or parallel (coplanar) with the plane of the pitch?

If we aren't going to hit the ball out, why is backspin desired if we took a line drive swing? Wouldn't that hold the ball up longer and increase the chance of an outfielder making a play on it?

If we try to generate bat speed to transfer kinetic energy in the bat head, why would we intentionally let some of that transfer 'leak' away when we hit the ball by hitting anything but the center of the ball in its plane? Wouldn't a tangential contact of any sort (spanking) waste the transfer from bat to ball? I mean, the goal of any swing mechanics is to apply force TO THE BALL, right, not just to swing a bat fast?

Thanks,

Jim