Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Mon Jun 26 15:54:50 2006

>>> I don't hear much talk here about the importance of momentum in the swing. Batspeed itself is good, but a slower batspeed with greater momentum can hit the ball harder and this is the real reason the swing should be rotational and your arms should not disconnect from your body.

Every swing goes from stop - max speed - stop. In between stop - max speed, the bat is speeding up. In between max speed - stop, the bat is slowing down. Forces acting on the bat between stop - max speed are in the same direction the bat in traveling while forces acting on the bat between max speed - stop are in the opposite direction.

It is very important that contact is made at a point closest to max speed, but between stop - max speed so that the forces are behind the bat and give the most momentum and greater force on the ball. If contact is made just after max-speed and in between max speed - stop, the batspeed may be very close to when contact was made just before max speed, but momentum will be much less and the force acting on the ball will also be much less.

If that concept doesn't make sense to you,, imagine getting hit by a baseball traveling 100 MPH. Now imagine getting hit by a train traveling 50MPH. Which one will make you fly further?

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Just a little further info. Momentum = Mass x Velocity. for solid moving objects, mass does not change. In a baseball swing, if your arms rotate properly with your body, the mass is your entire body. If the arms disconnect and do not rotate with your body, the mass gets reduced to your arms only. So, you can see that two 80 MPH swings are not the same if the largest possible mass is not obtained through proper mechanics. <<<

Hi Tony

For the most part, I agree with your post. However, I must disagree when you say, “Batspeed itself is good, but a slower batspeed with greater momentum can hit the ball harder and this is the real reason the swing should be rotational and your arms should not disconnect from your body.”

The only momentum that determines how hard a ball is hit is the mass of the bat. The mass (or momentum) of the limbs and torso is not a factor. Neither is the grip or torque applied at the handle during the bat/ball collision.

A bat attaining 70 mph swung on a rope will hit the ball just as hard as a 70 mph bat welded to a 200 lb. flywheel. It is the mass, composition of the bat and its velocity at contact that determines how hard the ball is struck.

Jack Mankin