Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Thu Feb 16 00:06:03 2006

>>> Man, I couldn't agree more with what you said! I see to many coach emphasizing rotation, rotation, that they miss the concept of extend through the ball, which is only achieved through a control linear movement of the hips. A very prominent big collegiate hitter made up a drill to emphasize this. A soft toss drill to start w/. The hitter is in his stance. When you toss it he thrust his back knee up and forward and hits the ball, finishing on one foot and the back knee is pointing at the pitcher. This teaches hitters first to start the swing with the hips, second to stay tall, third to stay short to the ball and extend through the ball, and fourth (when done correctly) to hit off a firm front side while still being able to extend through it. The fellow who made this drill up is one of top hitters in mlb baseball. It works for him, it worked for me, and I love to see kids faces when they get the feeling of driving through the ball while staying behind it. If you want more info or similar drills, email me. <<<

Hi Nick

Welcome to the site. It appears you are promoting linear transfer concepts. To make sure, it would help if you would expand of some of your statement. – You state, “concept of extend through the ball, which is only achieved through a control linear movement of the hips.”

For clarification, when you say “extend through the ball,” – how far (number of inches) should the batter drive the bat through the ball after contact is made?

You state, “concept of extend through the ball, which is only achieved through a control linear movement of the hips.” – You seem to be saying that the hips must have linear movement as the batter extends through the ball. If I am misrepresenting your statement, please clarify it for us.

Jack Mankin