Posted by: JAC (totallyme1@msn.com) on Sat May 14 00:57:10 2005

BHL
Few right thinking coaches who prize their jobs and their players' physical well being are going to test your theory. Few right thinking parents are going to let them. Jack Mankin's rotational principles are not magic. Ted Williams thought hitting was the most difficult thing to do in sports. Like Jack Mankin he stressed hitting the ball hard, but added not going all out with certain muscles. The former 406% hitter also said that you should give in a little with two strikes on you. (These are clues why Williams was the greatest hitter of all time.)
You may also be interested to know that Ruth and Mantle (the "Mick" averaged well over a 100 strikeouts per 154 game season) talked about swinging as hard as they could. I do not equate this with "swinging for the fences all the time." Don't ignore the great long ball hitters when they say their home runs were accidents because it does not promote your theory.
Also don't assume that every ball hit to center field is an automatic long fly out. Center field can be a place where hits fall in front of deep playing outfielders and line drives hit the gaps for doubles and triples.
Where did you ever get the impression that government wanted to promote baseball and any of its players? Major league baseball wanted to promote baseball. Players disgraced themselves. Evidence shows that major league baseball turned a blind eye to performance enhancing drug usage. Juiced up ball players pounding out home runs after the 1994 strike brought fans back to witness this outpouring of power.
Government was literally forced to become involved when revelations of drug usage became public. Government wasn't kidding when it said the integrity of baseball was at stake. It is illegal to possess let alone take certain drugs. Moreover, it is cheating ,hidden from the fans, that determines the outcome of games. It was clear that youngsters were being encouraged to emulate their idols. It was equally clear that their was a snowball effect of forcing other players to endanger their health by trying to keep up with the competition by taking similar drugs.
Don't blame government. Government was just doing what baseball refused to do to rid itself of corruption, corruption that dwarfs the Black Sox scandal and the Pete Rose affair. Lasorda has gone so far as to say that anyone who took prohibited drugs should be banned from the Hall of Fame, obviously referring to the "character" clause.