Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Sun Apr 22 10:47:00 2001

>>> jack....tim olson made an interesting comment..."squasing the bug is merely a rotational action while driving the rear kneee forward initiates rotation and weight shift"....i think he's right...extreme squashing of the bug is merely a rotational action OF THE BACK FOOT ONLY, and not contributing much if any to rotation of the hips........and tim made another statement: "driving forward off the rear foot and leg tends to launch the entire body into the swing"......again, i think tim has it right.....EVIDENCE: many of the video clips i see reveal the pros sort of first transferring the weight that was on their back foot to the inside part of their foot (bug squashers will try to keep thae weight on the ball of the back foot)...and as the hips rotate the back foot seems to sort of graze the dirtand perhaps the back foot eventually slides forward somewhat.....what do you thin, jack, tom, rql???? respectfully, grc.....<<<

Hi grc

I know from reading a number of posts by you and Tim that you are of the opinion that linear mechanics contributes significantly to bat speed generation. The statement; “driving forward off the rear foot and leg tends to launch the entire body into the swing” personifies a longer stride, forward axis drift and greater weight shift. – I am more than happy to discuss this with you. But it would help me to have a better understanding of your position if you would answer a couple of questions first.

(1) Do you think a batter with very limited or no linear movements can generate great bat speed? Can a batter who just picks up the front foot and places it back down in the same spot (no stride or forward weight shift), rotates around a stationary axis and has a light amount of weight on the back toe (no toe drag), hit a ball 450+ feet?
(2) How much farther do you think Tiger Woods could hit a golf-ball if he were to add those linear components to his swing? Forgetting accuracy for a minute, how much more club-head speed could he develop by striding forward a foot or so (adjusting the tee position), shifting his axis forward 5 or 6 inches, and dragging the back-toe a good distance?

Jack Mankin