Posted by: Graylon (g_dunc@hotmail.com) on Sat Sep 6 17:16:52 2008

> Let me answer the first question.
> "If they don't push with the rear leg then what do they do?"
> They slide their hips toward the pitcher. I don't understand you guys. How can someone push with their back leg when their back leg goes from extension to flexion? When I push with my legs I extend I don't flex or bend my legs. So obviously it's a hip slide not a push.
>
> Same thing when you throw, you slide your hips forward then turn. But you certainly don't push off the ground. Any pitching coach worth his salt will tell you that when guys try to push with their back leg their upper body ends up getting ahead of their lower body (before rotation) which kills velocity.
>
> "Throw the barrel. Direct the energy through the ball not around it. The bat is going around the hands not the shoulders. The hands control where the barrel goes not the shoulders."
>
> Dustin Pedroia is a great hitter and may even win the MVP this season, but the baseball swing may be the hardest movement to explain in sports. Some guys have had the movement mastered for so long that they don't realize how difficult it is to learn/explain. They give simplified/dumbed-down descriptions of their swing. Thats the description Pedroia gave, the dumb (actually completely incorrect) description of what he really does.
>
> Pedroia doesn't throw his hands at the ball. Are you crazy? Have you seen that guy swing the bat? Pedroia stays well connected, not forcing his lead arm away from his chest (which is what he would do if he did "throw" the bat at the ball), and transfering the energy generated by his rotating body to the baseball bat. The bat rotates about the powerful and heavy body, not about the weak and small muscles of the hands.
>
> The hands do determine where the barrel goes but they certianly don't power the swing.


Chuck,

Your statement,
How can someone push with their back leg when their back leg goes from extension to flexion? When I push with my legs I extend I don't flex or bend my legs. So obviously it's a hip slide not a push.

If you were laying on a bench press bench and the bar was 6 inches from your chest with a 1000lbs on it and you put your hands on the bar, your arms would be bent. Start pushing the bar will go no where but you're still pushing with bent arms.

your statement,
Same thing when you throw, you slide your hips forward then turn. But you certainly don't push off the ground. Any pitching coach worth his salt will tell you that when guys try to push with their back leg their upper body ends up getting ahead of their lower body (before rotation) which kills velocity.

Where does the power to slide the hips come from? do you merely plant your lead foot then slide the hips , like a hula dancer? or do you get the power from the ground under the rear foot?

your statement,
Dustin Pedroia is a great hitter and may even win the MVP this season, but the baseball swing may be the hardest movement to explain in sports. Some guys have had the movement mastered for so long that they don't realize how difficult it is to learn/explain. They give simplified/dumbed-down descriptions of their swing. Thats the description Pedroia gave, the dumb (actually completely incorrect) description of what he really does.

So, let me see, you no what Pedroia does better then he knows what he does? He knows what he is thinking better then you or me.

your statement,
Pedroia doesn't throw his hands at the ball. Are you crazy? Have you seen that guy swing the bat? Pedroia stays well connected, not forcing his lead arm away from his chest (which is what he would do if he did "throw" the bat at the ball), and transfering the energy generated by his rotating body to the baseball bat. The bat rotates about the powerful and heavy body, not about the weak and small muscles of the hands.

I never said Pedroia throws his hands at the ball. What I said is he throws the barrel at the ball. I've seen him hit more then you, he grew up in my area, where he attended Woodland High School. You are correct, he does stay well connected, but not in the way you think. The bat does travel around his hands. His hands travel around his body, there is a difference then how you explain. Your way the energy is directed around the body his way the energy is directed through the ball. The hands fight the CHP which creates a very tight path, which causes the barrel to race around the hands. The hands are directing the path of the barrel through the ball, not around it. The lead arm will not get away from the body, because the hands are the last thing to come through.

your statement,
The hands do determine where the barrel goes but they certianly don't power the swing.

I agree completely.

Graylon