Posted by: BHL (Knight1285@aol.com) on Sun Nov 28 15:41:34 2004

None of the girls on my daughter's softball team use top hand torque except mine, and my daughter is the only PFO on the team, as well as her being the only power hitter. Some of the girls hit for high average, and my daughter hits for average as well as having power.Is there a relationship between using top hand torque and being a PFO? In other words, can you be a PFO and not use top hand torque, or vice versa? I checked the research material at this site but I don't see anything on PFO's, just top hand torque. Also at the other sites there is nothing about either top hand torque or PFO's. Your help would be appreciated. Thank you Mary Lou

Hi Mary Lou,

I coined the term PFO (i.e., Pull Field Orientation), a neologism which describes a hitter's inclination to pull every pitch in the strike zone over the shortest fence, the left field fence for a right-handed hitter, and the right-field fence for a left-handed hitter.

Think of it this way: some individuals have the ability to pull the ball to clear the pull field fence by an adequate amount; however, if they hit the ball to any other field, these hits are outs. Hence, if a batter hits 20 balls exceptionally hard to all field, the batter might wind up with 5 home runs, instead of 20, which he / she could have attained by pulling all pitches, whether they are inside, over the plate, or outside.

Basically, THT allows the bat to take a wider path when attack outside pitch, allowing them to be pulled, too. Jack Mankin's "The Final Arc II" DVD explains the concept of THT rather thoroughly.

Also, read Jack's site.

As for information on PFO, look for posts by BHL, but do not pass over the invaluable feedback given by other posters.

Thanks for your interest,
BHL
Knight1285@aol.com

P.S. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving.