Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Tue Nov 22 09:29:21 2005

>>> Welcome. The main difference between Linear and Rotational is the hand path. A linear hand path goes from A to B, like when you "throw your hands at the ball." A rotational swing is caused by the hands traveling in a circular path. Here, we call it Circular Hand Path (CHP), and is caused by the upper body rotating around a stationary axis. By keeping the hands by your back shoulder and keeping the arms tense free, the rotation of the shoulders causes the hands to automatically fling around and outward to the contact position. Rotation produces better results because it adds more bat speed and power, as compared to a linear swing. I find you can make as good contact with both techniques, but the added power from a rotational swing produces more results. <<<

Hi Dougdinger

That was a good description of linear vs rotational hand-path. An even more fundamental difference between linear vs rotational mechanics is the concept of what causes the bat-head to accelerate to contact. -- Linear mechanics is based on a flawed theory that there is a “Whip” effect of the bat when a batter transfers weight forward and extends the hands A to B. -- Rotational mechanics is based on the fact that there is a “Pendulum” effect that accelerates the bat-head when the hands take a circular path.

This is covered in more detail at - http://www.batspeed.com/research10.html

Jack Mankin