Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Sat Jan 7 00:33:35 2006

>>> I understand what you are saying, but I don't agree 100%. The quickness that counts is the measurement from the commitment to swing(actual swing initiation ie: point of no return) to contact. This is where MLB hitters excel. All of the pre-swing movements are just loading the body preparing to launch the bat. I guarantee you put top MLB hitters on reaction timers and measure time from initiation to contact and they would register much better times than softball players or little leaguers. I don't think it's a distorted view either. I think being able to measure quickness along with speed at contact is very useful. <<<

Hi Oleballcoach

If I understand your post correctly, you are just reiterating what I stated. - Quickness should be measured from initiation to contact. – Do you know of a swing quickness measurement device that does not start the timer until the swing is initiated? There can be no true measurement of Bonds swing quickness if the timer is running during any portion of his pre-launch movements.

You stated, “. All of the pre-swing movements are just loading the body preparing to launch the bat.” – Most hitters may keep the bat static and use their pre-launch movements mainly for loading. However, when hitters like Bonds, Williams, Brett & etc apply pre-launch torque to accelerate their bat-heads rearward, work is being done on the bat. Should we consider work being done as a ‘loading’ or ‘unloading’ process. In any case, there is more than just loading taking place during their pre-launch movements.

Note the rearward acceleration of Bonds' bat in this clip -- http://www.youthbaseballcoaching.com/mpg/Bonds01.mpeg

Jack Mankin