Posted by: bob (bob@bobburnett.com) on Fri Apr 28 17:56:51 2006

> > Where can I obtain film(s) of Ted Williams' swing. I am particularly interested in his
last at bat and the homer off Jack Fishcer. Thanks.
> >
> > wf


Someone here was kind enough to direct me to this:
http://www.raresportsfilms.com/66ted.html
I find the Ted Williams video a great reference.
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> > >> hitman, you miss the point...you seem to be fully convinced that "rotational"
hitting, not "linear" is the way to go...i know from your posts in the past that you do not
believe in full x-t....but if you were to look at some clips of mantle, ott, and musial, not to
mention macgwire & griffey jr, they all made contact at full x-t...some people might
sarcastically as "who would in their right mind want to swing like mantle, ott, musial,
macgwire and griffey jr"? <<<
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> > > > > > > > > > Hi Bart
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> > > > > > > > > > I have charted the swings “of mantle, ott, and musial, not to
mention macgwire & griffey jr,” many times and their back-arms were not at full extension
at contact on pitches from the middle-in. And, they all exhibited good rotational hitting
principles. On outside pitches I would agree that their back-arms were past the “L”
position but not fully extended. A trace from Ken Griffey Jr.’s contact video frame is what
is featured in the “Get Your Arms Extended” article in the “Truism or Fallacy” section. ---
Bart, I certainly would not have featured Ken Griffey, Jr’s swing if he exhibited linear
mechanics.
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> > > > > > > > > > Jack Mankin
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> > > > > > > > > >>>dougdinger, Get the films of Williams and then make up your
own mind after breaking down his swing. His hitch is a thing of beauty, and Bonds hitch is
very similar. Call it whatever you want,but I called it a hitch 35 years ago, and still do. It
was the way he started his load. Too many dead start hitters today that need to be on the
juice to have any juice.
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> > > > > > > > > Doug
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> > > > > > > > my comments pertained to the last 4 frames before contact, point being
that i was not referring to a "hitch", i was referring to the swing itself....again, put the 5
frames of williams side by side other major leaguers and you will see his swing (not hitch)
was unorthodox....that doesn't mean it was bad, it just means you have to be
consistent...if you tell a kid that type A seing is the ideal swing, don't come along and tell
him to also emulate tpye B and type C...
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> > > > > > > Bart, In what way would you say that Williams swing was unorthodox in the
4-5 frames you are talking about? To be a good hitter at the major league level, you have
to be consistant, no matter what kind of swing you have. If you have all the film of
Williams, you will see that the hitch is an important part of his ability to time the ball, hit
the ball and hit the ball with power. It was with Ruth too and is with Bonds.
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> > > > > > > Doug
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> > > > > > i was not talking about a hitch....preswing hitches are generally irrelevant...i
already specified his unorthodox SWING movements...again, it worked for him and that's
great, and he was great....all i did was to point out that his SWING (not hitch), particularly
in frames 1 and 2) were DIFFERENT from what many of us consider the ideal swing....
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> > > > > Hello
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> > > > > I am starting to see Bart's point. He has been clear after he was asked
questions that he isn't precluding Ted or his swing from what is considered good.
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> > > > > I think he is stating, in his own words, something Jack has said: that for
beginners, forget about pre-bat movement, get the shoulders to move stationary hands.
Then move on to all the swishing, if you can.
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> > > > > Bart, the use of the word "ideal" makes for a lot of confusion and subjectivity. It
means something different to everyone.
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> > > > > For many people here, a lot of swishy bat movement before the swing starts is
considered good, ideal even.
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> > > > > As for the things that happen after Ted starts, with the bat head dropping
dramatically, I know what you mean. The clip I most identify with that movement of Ted's
comes from his 1970s instructional video. I think the pitcher was lobbing it; after all, Ted
was well over 50 at the time. I haven't identified the same tendency in game films of him.
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> > > > > Melvin
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> > > > his swing was consistent...he swung different...that's not bad but it was different
from the conventional type A mlb swing....frankly, i'm running out of patience.....some
people assume that all great hitters swung the same & the reality is that they either don't
have clips or they see what they want to see....i made my point, am out of patience and
hereby terminate this discussion.....
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> > > Bart, It was not your discussion to terminate. dougdinger asked where he could get
film of Ted Williams and I gave him a place to do that. Relax man, you don't have to like
Ted or Barry or anyone else. How you swing or what you like in a swing is your own
business. I have every film of Williams that I know of, and have been collecting them for 24
years. Each AB that he has, something different shows up. Why? different pitches in
different areas of the strike zone. I will hang my hat on his swing.
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> > > Doug