Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Sun Dec 12 12:54:17 2004

Hi All

In a thread below we were discussing the “Thumb to the Shoulder Drill.” I thought how the drill was originated may be of interest as a new topic.

>>> GRC,I did'nt see what Jack said, but I tried it and when I loaded my knob was at the catcher and my top thumb was about 2 inches from shoulder [I could'nt touch it]but I was close. However the knob is 2 hand widths and an extended thumb away, so no the knob was not glued to the shoulder I can't see him meaning that. <<<

Hi Rql

I little background on the “Thumb to the Shoulder Drill” might be helpful. – John Elliot contacted me a few years back to work him to learn rotation mechanics. John had the speed, arm and defensive skills necessary to go all the way but the lack of power in his swing kept him from advancing passed AA ball.

During my first session with John, I noted he was as strong as an ox but years of relying to heavily on the arms in his swing left him far to tense and ridged in the launch position. The lead-shoulder can normally be shrugged inward 70 to 80 degrees but John was lucky to attain 30 degrees. This ridgedness kept him from bringing this hands closer than 4 to 5 inches from the back-shoulder. I could not even pull them much closer.

I explained to John that for him to attain his maximum potential as a hitter, he should be able to bring his hands closer to the back-shoulder. Close enough that if he extended his thumb away form the bat, he could touch the shoulder. This would require much greater flexibility of the lead-shoulder.

John Elliot is one of the most dedicated hard working athletes I have had the pleasure to work with. When I started working with him, his bat speeds was in the mid to upper 60 mph range. But he adapted to rotational principles quickly and with 4 to 5 hundred swings a day at the bag and in the cage had his bat speeds rising into the mid 70’s.

By the time we were shooting clips for the Instructional Video, he was hitting balls in the 400-foot range. But he was not satisfied with that and continued working on stretching and flexibility exercises. John called me a couple weeks ago that he can now touch his thumb to the shoulder and his bat speeds are in the 90’s.

I started using “Thumb to the Shoulder” as a tool for getting students into the correct launch position (bat in the plane of the swing). However, I noted that the hands must remain close to the shoulder during initiation for the bat-head to first be accelerated back toward the catcher. Having the student keep the thumb in contact with the shoulder at the start of the swing seems to accomplish this nicely. – That is the origin of the “Thumb to the Shoulder Drill.”

Note: When doing the drill, the batter is not pushing with the palm (or thumb area) of the top-hand. To apply THT, he is pulling back on the handle with the fingers only and therefore the thumb plays no role during initiation.

Jack Mankin