Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Thu Nov 3 10:31:02 2005

Hi Tom

I have always found a dialog with a gentleman to be enjoyable and constructive. And, as I found from our past discussions, our differences are more a matter of definition than principle. I will give my conclusions regarding our discussion of “weight shift” for your comments.

It appears the term “weight shift” can be used in two different forms. One form would generate linear momentum (or kinetic energy) and would therefore require linear movement of body mass. This form would occur when a batter shifts weight rearward to “load” or during the stride as the batter shifts the center of mass forward to a new balance point.

The second form that would constitute a “weight shift” would not require a linear movement of the center of mass and therefore would not generate linear momentum. This form would occur during the swing as the body rotates about a fixed axis. At the start of rotation, more weight is supported by the rear leg. As the body rotates to contact, the responsibility for supporting the weight is shifted to the lead-leg

Those are my conclusions

Jack Mankin