Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Fri Jul 28 15:37:53 2006

>>> Jack,

I agree that some hitters may straighten the lead arm during pre-launch and I also agree that there is nothing wrong with that. In the clip you provided, the straightening of the lead arm occurred prior to the shoulder rotation in the swing. What I was trying to point out, and maybe didn't describe it clearly enough, is when the angle of the lead arm changes during rotation of the shoulders. So if the lead arm straightens while the shoulders are rotating, basically, the arms and hands don't move with the shoulders until they are forced to and that is when the lead arm becomes extended and that is a problem. If the lead arm is already extended prior to shoulder rotation, the arms will be forced to rotate with the shoulders, so I don't see a problem there.<<<

Hi Tony

I thought that would be your reply, judging from the knowledge of the swing you expressed in your post. I asked for clarification because many coaches believe the lead-arm must remain bent. To them, straightening the arm during initiation would constitute “barring.” They mistakenly feel a straight arm leads to “casting” and other ills in the swing.

I think they refer to keeping the lead-arm bent as “maintaining the box.” I suppose for those batters that straighten the arm, it might better be referred to as “maintaining the triangle.”

Jack Mankin