Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Tue Nov 16 14:41:15 2004

>>> I now pose the question that if the lower body mechanics (ie internal rotation of the back foot early in the preswing phase) causes the shoulders to prematurely rotate and hands to move forward too early in the swing then is perfect transfer mechanics (THT,CHP,BHT) enough to compensate for the poor start?

MY ANSWER

Through perfect transfer mechanics the that particular swing will be maximized but the maximum bathead speed for that individual will never be maximized until the lower body mechanics are fixed. Poor lower body positioning in the prelaunch may also effect post launch results (THT,CHP,BHT) if they must compensate for the positioning in order to make contct with the ball.

Thoughts?? <<<

I would certainly agree with you that lower body mechanics must support and coordinate with transfer mechanics to maximize bat-head acceleration and produce an optimum swing plane. I would also say that given the correct mental image of good transfer mechanics, the mind would attempt to set up a lower body program that supports and coordinates with those transfer mechanics.

By the same token, it is very difficult for a batter to develop effective rotational lower body mechanics if they have a mental image of accelerating the bat-head by thrusting the top-hand forward during initiation. Yes, a coach can make some progress by teaching them lower body mechanics by the numbers (step by step). However, their progress will be much faster and more natural when they correctly envision rotational transfer principles.

Jack Mankin