Posted by: jima (andyii@cox.net) on Thu Feb 16 12:18:18 2006

I happend to believe that Hudgens is correct. Rotational hitting may produce the most bat speed but it does not produce the best hitters. Its my feeling that a combination of both techniques is what is necessary to become a great hitter at competive levels. Extension through the ball does matter since it enables the batter to keep the bat in the hitting zone for the longest amount of time. I've seen many so called rotation hitters fail when they get to H.S. when faced with a pitcher with a changeup; curve or the abililty to hit the outside corner consistently. What makes Williams and Bonds so great is that they have the athletic ability to wait for that one inside the half plate pitch; turn on it and drive it; they simply don't miss it. The rest of the baseball population needs to learn how to hit a soft line drive, when fooled, over the second baseman's head in order to be competitive...bat speed is not everything. If you want your little leaguer to hit a lot of home runs continue to teach him pure rotaitional hitting...if you want him to become a complete hitter as he advances in competion, pay attention to what Hudgens has to say.