Posted by: THG () on Sun Jun 15 15:09:32 2008

> > > Does the amount of crouch a batter has in his stance directly affect his hitting performance or is it simply a part of a hitter's style that is irrelevant in the final stages of a hitters swing?
> >
> >
> > For the most part it is style. The best way to measure is the experiment for yourself.
>
> hello to THG & teacherman!!!
>
> i see you guys are still spewing the same half-baked theories you were hawking last year about this time...still in complete defiance of logic and physics. some things never change!!!
> a crouch will allow you to push off your back (power) foot & extend your back (power) leg, thus generating forward momentum.. to stand up there straight legged is to both ignore & not utilize the power of your lower body in conjunction with your upper body.. this will guatantee you will diminish your batspeed and thus sabotage yourself..
> if you are going to stand straight legged, you might as well be sitting on a barstool for all the force you generating with your lower body... not smart at all. if you were suspended in air by a belt around your waist, and swung at the ball, you would not be able to genereate anywhere near as much force as you can standing on the ground.. the ground is stationary and should be utilized by the body to push off of so as to overcome the forces of inertia.. the body must be in motion in order to generate the mazimum amount of force to the bat, thus to the ball. to not utilize your legs to push of and generate the greatest energy possible is to deluve yourself..
> style never put any points on anyone's batting average.. only logically sound mechanics which observa and obey the laws of physics will help a hitter..
> i hear people talking about style and comfort at the plate... the primary goal is to centrally locate yourself in the box in a position which will allow you put a good swing and thus good wood on a pitch anywhere within the strike zone.. your stance and swing should utilize mechanics which will allow you to generate the greatest batspeed.. despite all the shortcomings of this site & mr. mankin's inability or refusal to admit that the stance has a very important influence on your success rate, HE DOES GET IT RIGHT WHEN HE NAMES HIS SITE B A T S P E E D..
> DON'T FORGET ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING YOU IMPLEMENT SHOULD FOCUS ON WHETHER OR NOT THE ACTION WILL MAXIMIZE YOUR BATSPEED. IF IT DOES, USE IT! IF IT DOES NOT, LOSE IT.
>
> IF YOU DO NOT LOSE SIGHT OF THIS CRITERION,you will definitely improve... do not give in to style or comfort since they will diminish your batspeed.. they are a NOT NOT NOT part of the formula. only actions which will maximize your batspeed should be implemented. if you want to be as comfortable as possible,go lay down. that would play hell with your batspeed, though. so don't lose sight of what your are trying to do: maximize your batspeed! not get comfortable & show everyone how stylish you can be! that is a very slippery slope.
>
> to not crouch & generate maximum energy with your back foor is to diminish your potential maximum batspeed... pure and simple..


George Stanley. I know what you are trying to say, but the question was crouch in the stance/starting position (initiation). You have gone beyond that in an intent to give credit to yourself, granted you have made a point or two.

The most important thing you have alluded to is the FACT that pushing off the back leg is important. Some players start from a crouch, while others use more of a backward movement in unison with the knee turn to facilitate a push off.

In essence there is no one way to achieve the rotating weightshift. Ted Williams, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Jeff Bagwell, Mike Schmidt, Oscar Gamble could all hit homeruns, but they each used their legs from a different starting point in the stance.