Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Wed Oct 29 13:26:17 2008

>>> Actually you can improve batspeed with it by using over /under swing training to enhance body strength and quickness using the exact muscles that are used to take a swing,however the bag in my opinion is not best for just batspeed improvement it is for learning and grooving your mechanics with no other room for balls and cages needed.See you can get a visual of body positioning as a hitter and a coach at the point of contact to help hitters adjust the swing to get body in proper position for a given pitch,and then help them reproduce that swing into muscle memory. <<<

Hi Rql

Good points, having the bag stop the bat at contact gives the coach a look at the batter’s contact position without the need of frame-by-frame video. Also, most average hitters maximum bat speed is generated well after passing the optimum contact zone. This is why they have little power to the opposite field and most of their best-hit balls are pulled foul.

By positioning the batter’s lead-knee even with the bag at foot-plant normally stops the bat in the hitting straightaway position (bat perpendicular to the incoming ball). This forces the batter to develop mechanics that generate bat speed earlier in the swing. I stress the point that the ball is only in contact with the bat for about 1/2000 second and it moves forward less than an inch before the ball is gone.

Therefore, any energy applied to the bat after contact is just wasted energy that should have been used farther back in the swing. By contact, the batter’s mechanics should have expended all bat speed generating energy. A good example would be a lumberjack. He accelerates the blade and allows the blade’s momentum to sink it into the tree. Applying force at the handle after contact is just wasted energy and places needless stress on the hands, wrist and arms.

Jack Mankin