Posted by: The Hitting Guru (hitman3527@aol.com) on Sun May 7 19:41:04 2006

> I still have my 1980 edition. It is a design for bad hitting. Emphasis on weight shifting and hitting on top of the front foot was suppose to produce hard hit balls. Unfortunately the hard hit balls were often ground balls. Hitters had a difficult time hitting inside pitches but had better luck on outside pitches.
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> Lau sold his system as being superior to rotational by describing bad rotational mechanics by out of control big power hitters. When he acknowledged that hitting up toward the front side can result in lunging he dismissed this feature of his style by stating that the lunge is an unbalanced and uncoordinated move. According to Lau all coaches had to do was focus attacking the ball correctly and the problem would take care of itself.
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> Lau thought the worse hitting mechanic, by far, was opening up the hips early. With his style (linear)it may have been. Lau believed that by keeping the front hip in the hitter was able to generate the full power of his hips when he swung. The following quote is from the book you mentioned:
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> "Ideally, a batter should start the swing from a firm front side, with hips closed. Then, at the moment of contact, whip the hips around. This way, the power of the hips is aplied to the ball at the same moment that the power of the arms is at its peak. All the power of the body is concentrated on the same spot at the same time.
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> If you open your hips too soon, you'll have already spent much of their power before you make contact with the ball. What's more, because of the twisting effect of opening your hips, your upper body will not be in the best position to bring the bat ahead to the target."
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> What Lau didn't factor in was the torque that rotational hitters could create before the stride foot landed, giving the hips a head start in generating rotational power, plus additional torque when the heel came down at the decision moment to swing. (Torque is not mentioned in Lau's book. Instead, he tended to equate power with weight shifting.)
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> It is well known that George Brett did not hit the way he demonstrated for Lau in his book. In my copy on page 123 Brett starts a sequenced swing. The pitch is a little above knee level. When his bat is about a foot away from contacting the ball his back foot is at least an inch off the ground and his arms are fully extended. In this position how much power can the hips possibly be supplying?
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> It is little wonder that Lau Sr.'s hitting has been labeled as a singles style that fit in well with aluminum bat arm hitting, and the now defunct M.L. astro turf baseball that put a premium on ground balls that shot through the infield and often times through the outfielders.


A lot the above is true, but Lau's major contribution was to establish certain things (absolutes) that most good hitters have. His efforts with regard to establishing key factors is not all that different than Mankin. The primary problem with either theory is that it does not take into account the quality of the player. Or put in other words, every did not have George Bretts talent. And before Lau's effects, Brett was allowing the pitchers to get him out by exploiting his weaknesses. The George Brett in the book is not the same George Brett his first 2 years in the major leagues.

Recently, Charlie Lau has been given a bad rap with regard to hitting. But the hitters who actually follow all of his absolutes have had at least some success. Of note were Carlton Fisk, Greg Luzinski, Harold Baines, Ron Kittle, Vance Law, George Brett, (The Royals team of the 70's who ran away with their division numerous times.) Lau's methods are geared more toward consistency than power. George Brett already had power, but needed consistency and plate coverage.

Most successful rotational hitters have a good concept of the strikezone and good discipline at the plate. The knowledge of the strikezone is critical if one is to be a good hitter. How many times do you see players of any calliber completely over matched in the playoffs because they cannot adjust to pitches in and out of the strikezone. Yet the same player put up great stats during the regular season or against mediocre pitching.