Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Sat May 12 13:32:45 2001

>>> Jack, there is much debate about whether Lau's theory of driving the hips forward starts your hands and your theory that the hands drive the hips forward are neither wrong just misinterpretations. If you observe A-Rod's swing(http://members.home.net/blackhawks12/A-ROD-View.gif)and your sketch of the perfect swing(http://www.batspeed.com/mechanics.html) you'll notice in A-Rod's swing that his back knee is slightly inward towards the front knee as he starts his load (Mark McGwire is an extreme with this style). On the other hand, you'll notice on your sketched swing that the back leg does NOT have the back knee starting inward towards the front knee like A-Rod's. My reason for bringing this to attention Jack is because, try this yourself with the bat in your hands, if the knees are starting towards each other and shift your weight back as you are starting your load with your upper body as A-Rod does ever so slightly that when the stride is taken the bodystays in place for the most part until the hips slide forward a little bit (weight shift) and this allows the torque of the "launching position" to be of greater insensity than if the knees aren't started towards each other like your sketch of the perfect swing. The hips sliding forward naturally occurs and with the shoulders remaining in place the "weight" of the hips has to stop somehow, therefore they open up away from the body and stop. The Result, is weight shift that Therefore, Lau's theory that the hips drive forward isn't incorrect because I feel people's interpretation of his theory is that the hips start the hands after the launching position is achieved when infact, the forward weight shift of the hips is used to develope more a greater potential for torque once the axis is at center and ready to initiate the swing. I hope this helps and that everyone can understand my hypothesis on this matter. Murph <<<

Hi Murph

I have no problem with a batter striding forward (soft stride). I would also expect that his hips would also slide a few inches before hip rotation begins. But for the reasons I mentioned in the post above on weight-shift, I think striding is good for timing and rhythm, but I do not believe it adds significantly to rotation or bat speed. I have charted the swings of to many hitters with little or no hip slide that can hit the ball just as hard (if not harder) than A-Rod.

If a forward stride does add significantly to bat speed, how would you explain the power of hitters like Jeff Bagwell who start with a wide stance and take a short step away (or have their axis fading away) from the pitcher. If Lau’s theory were correct wouldn’t that subtract from his power and bat speed? Would a scout with Lau’s thinking even sign a Jeff Bagwell or similar young hitters?

Jack Mankin