Posted by: Al J. (ajerome@verizon.net) on Tue Jun 21 09:02:28 2005

> > >>> Jack or anyone: Would you care to comment on Todd's swing on swingmechanics.com? He tends to focus on linear mechanics, but when I look at his swing, it seems to me that the core of it is rotational. He does use an extended wind-up, but he hits with a straight lower arm and rotates his hips and shoulders with impressive power. It looks as if his right arm straightens more than I would expect, probably because he hits the ball so far out in front of the plate. Do you believe he is achieving maximal power with this swing? Scary if he is not, because he is hitting some balls 400 feet. – Al <<<
> >
> > Hi Al
> >
> > The clips he shows are not the best for analysis. They are dark and taken from a rear angle. I am not sure what he teaches but from what I could see, I would agree with you that he exhibits rotational transfer mechanics. He wraps the bat similar to George Brett but even with his exaggerated knee lift, his stride is softer and shorter. From initiation to contact (after the front foot is planted) his mechanics on outside pitches does remind me of Brett. Note how much he accelerates the bat-head from its wrapped position to the lag position (THT).
> >
> > Jack Mankin
>
> Hi Al,
>
> I don't think Todd is focusing on linear mechanics.
>
> He appears to simply optimize the rotational swing to the slow pitch condition. In fact, you could call it "super" rotational with the amount of coil he introduces.
>
> In fast pitch conditions, one cannot take as much time to generate power through "coiling".
>
> Mike.

Thanks for your comments. It seems that you and Jack both agree that his approach is more rotational than linear. Clearly he has a very powerful swing. But his teachings all stress the "linear" aspects of his approach. To some extent this may be simply an attempt to differentiate his videos and teaching methods from what is being taught here. But, I also think that he may not really be aware of the critical aspects of his swing that are generating bat speed and power. I do think his system works well for slow pitch if you are able to incorporate the rotational mechanics that he displays, but does not do a great job of describing. -- Al