Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Mon Aug 7 11:03:50 2006

>>> I am confused about pulling the top hand back like pulling back on a bow and arrow. I heard this as scap loading and other things. Can somebody explain to me what exactly pulling of the top hand back before the swing really does??

I also heard that if you pull back in a circle then your hands will naturally go forward in a circle....is there any truth to that?? Thanx in advance... <<<

Hi Dave

The best way to explain why the best hitters are pulling the top hand back like (pulling back on a bow and arrow) would be to discuss the path the bat-head takes from the batter’s pre-launch movements around to contact.

During the swing, the bat-head will be rotated about 180 degrees from the normal launch position (bat behind the batter’s head) around to contact. During the first 90 degrees, the bat-head is accelerated rearward from behind the batter’s head back to the “lag position” (bat pointing at the catcher). Then the bat-head continues to rotate through the lag position around to contact (the final 90 degrees).

The key difference between the bat speed a great hitter generates compared to the average hitter is the rearward acceleration of the bat-head he attains during the first 90 degrees. To accelerate the bat-head rearward from behind his head back to the lag position, the top-hand must be pulling rearward on the handle with his fingers. Driving the top-hand forward (like the average hitter) would certainly not cause the bat-head to accelerate rearward.

The average hitter drives the top-hand forward as he initiates the swing. This accelerates the knob forward but the bat-head just slides over and trails behind the hands. Therefore, the average hitter attains little bat-head acceleration during the first 90 degrees. There is no way a batter can have a fairly static bat at the lag position and still attain great bat speed from only the final 90 degrees.

Dave, this clip of me demonstrating the principles of THT may shed more light on what I just stated.
http://www.batspeed.com/media/THTHigh.wmv – In the clip, I demo THT starting from the normal launch position. However, many of the best hitters have the bat cocked forward toward the pitcher in their stance. Therefore, they must first accelerate the bat-head rearward to the launch position before they initiate shoulder rotation. Since this rearward acceleration of the bat-head occurs before the actual swing is initiated, we refer to the mechanic as “Pre-Launch Torque.”

Note in this rear view clip of Bonds, the great rearward bat-head acceleration he attains from its’ cocked forward position back to the lag position.
http://www.youthbaseballcoaching.com/mpg/Bonds01.mpeg

Jack Mankin