Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Tue Aug 2 16:53:32 2005

>>> HI Jack,

The first video proved my point. Bagwell is extending at contact, he is in the L with the ball still out front and then extends as he makes contact.

Guerrero is more then likely hitting and inside pitch and just turning into the ball. He is still in the L position because he hitting an inside pitch.

Bernie Williams looks like he is pulling the hands in to hit an inside pitch, so he is still in the L position.

Griffey is extending as he makes contact, the ball is still out front when he is in the L position.

Mcgwire is extending at contact.

The only two player whoe in the L are both hitting inside pitches. You don't extend to hit inside pitches, you turn and stay inside the ball. <<<

Hi Shawn

Ray may be right. Our differences may be a matter of definition and degree. -- I will use the Griffey clip (http://www.youthbaseballcoaching.com/mpg/griffey_ken.mpeg ) to show how I see the back-elbow during the swing. – From initiation to contact, Griffey’s top-hand moves around the swing plane about 24 to 26 inches. However, if we look at his back-elbow, once it lowers to his side it remains at a relatively fixed position at his side during rotation to contact. It is the rotation and lowering of the back-forearm down to horizontal and the rotation of the body that brings the top-hand around to contact.

Even in the frame after contact (the ball is on its way), the back-elbow has extended forward only 4 or 5 inches past the “L” position. By this time the top-hand has moved about 30 inches since initiation and the extension of the elbow accounts for about 5 of these inches. The real extension of the back-arm occurs during the follow-through phase of Griffey’s swing.

Jack Mankin