Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Fri Dec 1 09:37:33 2000

>>>About the inward turn...I know the hands get closer to the armpit, but during the turn do the arms go straight back, or slightly down, like in the Frame Picture. Or is the picture just an art mistake? --- Madmax <<<

>>>Good question. I was wondering the same thing. So how about it, Jack, do the hands drop in an ideal inward turn? I have noticed that Canseco and some others do indeed drop their hands, while most players I have watched seem to raise thier hands almost to directly behind the ear before coming forward. Jack, we need your input here - your long absence is causing the blind to lead the blind (not a good thing)! -- JG<<<

Hi Max & JG

Max, I have often kidded Tom, our webmaster, about having a great eye for art but that his eye for a good swing leaves a lot to be desired.

Hitters may start the inward turn with their hands moving upward or coming down. The important thing is to have the hands about shoulder height as rotation begins. This is especially true for hitters who use top-hand-torque. I have noted that even a few of the great hitters (Canseco, Big Mac, Strawberry, Eric Davis and others) go into some serious slumps while initiating the swing (shoulder rotation) with the hands below the normal plane of the swing.

Starting the swing with the hands below the plane caused the bat-head to be accelerated in too much of a vertical angle - down through the plane instead of into it. Having the hands to low to early in the swing also caused a bind to occur in the wrist of the top hand. The back forearm must remain more vertical during initiation for the wrist to rotate freely in the plane. The binding that occurs when the wrist can't rotate in the plane resulted in what I termed "the reverse wrist roll." The plane of the swing was wobbly and the bat-head stalled at contact.

During this period in time, Canseco, Big Mac and Strawberry also complained of back problems. I really think there may have been a connection. --- Joe A, even these great athletes couldn't make those mechanics work.

Jack Mankin