Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Mon Dec 26 15:54:01 2005

Hi All

Merry Christmas and best wishes for the coming year. – I noted while looking at some other discussion boards, that during the holidays, discussing batting principles is not high on most peoples activity list. However, I did find a topic that I have always found interesting. This board was debating whether or not there is a difference between “bat quickness” and “bat speed.”

Below is part of the thread I was reading. I have read similar references in posts to this site and would be interested in your thoughts.

Jack Mankin

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(Poster A)
“Doesn't quickness to the ball translate to higher batspeed? The longer I wait to hit, the faster I have to move the bat, correct, or not? Maybe I have the concepts confused.”

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(Poster B)
“No they are two totally separate things.

One is "how long it takes you to get from A to B".

The other is "how fast are you going when you get to B".

How long does it take you to get up to speed?

One gets his bat moving 85mph in .6 seconds.

Another gets his bat moving 85mph in .4 seconds.

Yet another may get his bat moving 80mph in .3 seconds.

In watching video you can see players that have an extra frame or two of video from launch to contact. Well, at 30 frames per second, a player that has 2 extra frames (2/30)is 1/15 of a second slower than the other guy. Yet both may reach the same batspeed.

When a hitter has .4 seconds to not only swing but to decide whether to swing or not, 1/15 of a second is huge.”
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