Posted by: Marcus Boyd (marcus@hourofdeliverance.net) on Tue Apr 26 11:49:12 2005

I have been thinking about something BHL mentioned awhile back, that Mark McGwire moved off the plate a few inches to make the pitches become "outside" pitches for him. That is an interesting thought, as I have realized over the years I now do the same thing.

I like to hit to center and right center more often than pulling to right field (I'm a lefty hitter) because I've always seemed to hit the longest home runs toward center. I guess the top-hand torque has always been a natural component of my swing. I have greatly improved my ability to rotate around a stationary axis since I've been visiting this site (and learning a great deal about the swing). This explains, however, why I've preferred to move off the plate a little (in slow pitch softball) and use a wider hand path.

Although very few hitters can get away with this in baseball, it's interesting to consider that a person can crowd the plate (like Bonds) and use the body's rotation to generate more bat speed or stay off the plate (like McGwire) and use the wider hand path and its added THT to generate more bat speed. It can, especially in slow pitch softball, be something a batter can choose, as I seemed to have done. It wasn't something I consciously though about...just something I adjusted to over time.

Marcus