Posted by: The Hitting Guru (hitman3527@aol.com) on Mon May 8 22:43:57 2006

> Bond's HR on Sunday night seems to be pretty amazing. Looking at the clip on www.sfgiants.com I see two interesting features. In the first slow-mo swing, it sure looks like there is a huge burst of speed just prior to ball contact. Could this clip have been doctored or is this the 'hook in the handpath' affect? Second, as the bat comes around full circle it seems as if his circular momemtum lifts him off the ground and rotates him a few more inches. Amazing!


Yeah, I noticed the same things. And it is definitely amazing. There is a huge burst, and it is almost like he is hitting a beachball. Because of his quickness, he has more than enough time to judge the location, and just destroy the baseball. And with his upward tilt at impact he uses the optimum strike angle from which to launch the baseball. What is also amazing is that he does all this while choking up on the bat. Most hitters who choke up are not power hitters. I also like the full rotational finish which is an exageration of a complete follow through as if he has exhausted all of his power into the baseball. Ted Williams had a similar finish on some of his old footage. As much as I dislike his use of steroids, there is no taking away from the fact that he has mastered the science of hitting homeruns.