Posted by: JLB (oz2009@verizon.net) on Wed Jun 4 06:48:36 2008

>Never, once did any of them talk in a fashion, that remotely resembles the dialogue here.
> Why? Because the people that cart this stuff in and out of laboratories,don't play the game at a high level, nor do they teach it at a high level. No knock, just a fact. I mean why doesn't Epstein and disciples of his teachings, talk about hitting the same way as in here? Because he was an actual MLB player, that was taught by IMO, the best MLB hitter of our lifetime! But,that's not good enough for most fokls in here I guess.If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go check the distance that Manny Ramirezs'foot lifts during pre-launch with a micrometer. I'll get back to you with the results.
>

“In the final analysis, rotational hitting is a finely-honed system of pulleys and levers that effectuates the equal and opposite principle of maximizing kinetic energy.”

“The good rotational swing goes through a number of torques as it becomes ballistic.”

“High bat velocity is produced through torque. This energy increases successively until its maximized at the end of the bat, resulting in unparalleled angular velocity.”

“As coaches, we must be smart enough to recognize “flaws”, because if we don’t, the player can wind up contradicting the laws of correct biomechanical movement.”

The above Epstein quotes, from his book "Mike Epstein on Hitting" illustrate another point he makes, “we are smarter today than yesterday, and we’ll be smarter tomorrow than we are today. Good information makes this possible. We’ve got to keep up with the times. When potential is the goal, we must have access to good information.”

Now I didn’t go to Berkely like Epstein, but I do recognize there is some good info on Mankin’s site that has changed very little in the eight years I have lurked here. I think his theory has stood the test of time because IT IS what we see. I shared some of your frustration when I first came to this site because I disbelieved these discussions could be relevant in the instruction of the baseball swing. I have since changed my mind, mainly because my kids challenged me to explain things. Try demonstrating the Magnus effect so a sixth grader can use it in a science fair project of why curveballs curve.
One last quote from Epstein’s book where he quotes Gary Spence, “I would rather have a mind opened by wonder than one closed by belief.” Believe in Ted Williams all you want, but don’t disregard some amazing principles Mankin, et al demonstrates to us.

JLB