Posted by: Scott W. (stwinton@netzero.net) on Wed Nov 9 12:28:13 2005

Rotational mechanics have been around since cavemen tossed rocks up in the air and hit them with a stick, this is not new.

I have not been a huge advocate for a purely linier swing… its impossible. What I did say was that this site does not address good hitting but rather a fools gold link to increased power…only if you dig into your wallet!

I will say that while going strait to the baseball (hand path) is physically impossible, the linier mental picture will get better results for far more hitters then a rotational mental picture to the baseball.

You ask about my research…my research is playing for 15 years and coaching for the last 15. I work just about everyday in the batting tunnel watching and talking about hitting with all levels of hitters. I have coached at every level both in America and Europe and listened to literally hundreds of different people talk about hitting…I have talked at length with big league hitting instructors, big league hitters, managers, big time college coaches…and the theme of : “the hand path being rotational” is about as far from what they think about in terms of getting to the baseball as attempting to stand on their heads and hit.

ASK THEM! Get someone with credibility that works in the trenches to convert…And save the, they do it and don’t know it argument. Listen to Barry talk about catching the pitched ball with his top hand…see video of him doing it with a glove.








> Scott, I guess if you want to be a troll and sit here and intercept every honest question and lambast rotational hitting, it's your right and Jack is to be commended for giving you an airing. But at least do your research.
>
> Jack is not some wildman making up new theories -- a number of experts and sites endorse rotational hitting. Another leading proponent of rotational hitting is Mike Epstein, whose system of teaching was endorsed by ... uh, your buddy Ted Williams.
>
> And, of course, if you look at top hitters' swings you'll see that those mechanics are exactly what they're using. You can see one of my favorite examples -- a top down video clip of Pete Rose -- right here:
>
> http://www.youthbaseballcoaching.com/images/Baseball_Clips_2-t0014.jpg
>
> You can also look at the remainder of the clips on that page and you'll find such mechanics being used by the dozens of great hitters depicted there.
>
> http://www.youthbaseballcoaching.com/swings.html
>
> In my eyes, as close as Jack's site comes to being revolutionary is that he has (1) broken the rotational mechanics down to their components so that hitters and coaches can understand it, and (2) has developed drills to promote those mechanics.
>
> And Charlie Lau? Yeah, someone with Brett's skills could do well with it, but few adults and no kids have the arm and wrist strength to emulate it, and the lengthy swing it promotes is an invitation to getting fooled with breaking balls and changeups. And certainly not as much power can be generated; maybe the book should have been entitled, "The Art of Hitting .300 if you're a Natural .375 Hitter, and Slugging .300 Too!".
>
> * * * * * *
> > > > > How do you know whether you have a rotational or linear swing? I am not really positive what I have. I know that rotational is better. What can I do or where can I go to find out how to develop a correct rotational swing?
> > > >
> > > > Go here if you would like to swing hard...go somewhere else if you would like to learn how to hit.
> > > >
> > > > ps- pick up "The Art of Hitting .300"..."The Mental Game of Baseball"...both good reads.
> > >
> > > "The Art of Hitting .300"? Unless you take a time warp back to 1984, do not read Charlie Lau. His approach is hopelessly outdated...
> >
> > Ya, Brett did nothing with it. What’s next, Ted Williams was a crack pot because he played in the 1940's? You may swear by rotational mechanic...more power to you, lets see, Lau has the likes of H. Baines and G. Brett endorsing his technique, Mankin has whom? I don't buy that this is a relatively new site and that this is new information has yet to disseminate...if there was some mind altering real science here regarding improved hitting you can bet your arce that the very people who make thier living off hitting would be flocking to the site. The fact is, the rotational "$eller$" are making their living off those of you who think they've found the holy grail of hitting...doctor it up with made up terms regarding a psudo science and see how many video's we can sell.
> >
> > Let me ask you, who is endorsing it?! And I’m not talking about the Dad’s testimonial who saw Jr. hit his jack in Little league…
> >
> > I'll be at the ABCA convention in Chicago this January learning about baseball (and hitting)...Jack why don't you set up your booth there, even better why don't you come and give 40 minutes to some of the best baseball coaches in America...get some feedback on what they think.