Posted by: Major Dan (markj89@charter.net) on Fri Jun 15 09:27:18 2001

Of all the great hitters who had the best swing and why? Ruth, Williams, DiMaggio, Aaron, Mantle, McQuire, Griffey, Sosa etc.
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> > > > > The best hitter of all time is your mom.....yep thats right yo mama.
> > > > > and how dare you spell the greatst hitter of all time's last name wrong .hint hint
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> > > > My error but McQwire a lifetime .267 hitter the "greatst"(your spelling)? The question I asked is, "who had the best swing and why?"
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> > > I'll answer this question properly. The best swing I've ever seen was Ken Griffey Jr.'s. Why? It's the smoothest swing. I find it incredible how a not-so-muscular guy can hit so hard and make it look so easy!
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> > Well if it's not so muscular guys hitting so hard you want, then look no further than Henry Aaron. He, in my opinion has the greatest swing, because he was just a skinny guy when he started and yet people marvelled at his power. Hank accredits his power to having strong wrists. Which is probably what Griffey has.
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> > Griffey has a beutiful swing like most major-league lefthanders. And I think what puts him over the top in the graceful-looking swing department is his love of the Homerun Pose.
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> Griffey and Ted Williams were exactly the same size 6'3" 205lbs in their prime. I believe mechanically Griffey and Williams have(had) that long swooping swing (effortless power). Statiscially Williams hit for better average (he missed 5 prime years due to serving in the wars). If you check the year by year stats he probably would have finished with 690 home runs over 20 yrs. Griffey has 8-10 good years left to play and is at 438 home runs. He could easily get 800-850 if he stays healthy.

IMO, there is no one best swing. Each hitter adapts hitting mechanics to their own physiology - height and weight, relative length of limbs to trunk, strength vs. quickness attributes, flexibility, etc.
Jim Thome would look ridiculous and be ineffective copying Griffey Jr.'s swing - they're not built the same at all.
Righties typically have different swings in some ways than lefties due to 75%-80% of pitchers being righty.
Nomar and Manny have different swings, both effective, both incorporating many core mechanics well, but different due to their body types.
What's the right swing for your body type? How do you figure that out?