Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Sun Mar 6 13:07:47 2005

>>> with regards to the top hand taking the bat head back behind or inthe direction of your head. how does that fit with the concept of "wrapping" the bat that has been such a no-no for so many years. does this not make the swing longer and slower to the ball? <<<

Hi Pete

There is a vast difference between how far a good hitter has the bat wrapped in his stance (or even during the stride) as compared to where he has the bat-head as the shoulders start to rotate. As an example, during George Brett’s stride, he had the bat wrapped too where the bat was pointing between the shortstop and pitcher. However, before he initiated rotation, he accelerated the bat-head back toward the normal launch position by pulling the top-hand rearward (pre-launch torque). Therefore he was generating bat speed even before he initiated shoulder rotation and the swing.

Regardless of whether a good batter wraps the bat behind his head or holds it vertically, they will all accelerate the bat-head to about the same launch position to initiate the swing.

Jack Mankin