Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Tue May 12 12:48:40 2009

>>> I recently bought the Swing Analysis DVD, The Final Arc DVD, and the Pathfinder bat.

I have two sons who are 10 and 11 who are now about a quarter of the way through in the current baseball season. They are both pretty good hitters with very good hand/eye coordination.

I have watched and studied all the videos, and I have concerns that when the instructor teaches various elements in Swing Analysis, he frequently seems to state that "If your elbow is not up at the correct angle, you go linear"; "If your knee locks, you go linear"; etc. There seemed to be many different things that if they do not go just right, you go linear.

Are these elements of ideal swing mechanics all necessary to be perfected in order to get anything out of the rotational hitting concept, or are they necessary to get the optimum/maximum out of rotational hitting? What I am wondering is: Do you have to perfect all the elements to get anything out of rotational hitting, or should you practice the concept and with every element that you get right (flaws included) will it help in bat speed and in using major muscle groups? How soon after getting some elements correct can you start attempting this overall method in batting practice?
Sam <<<

Hi Sam

I think we can all agree that the more elements of ideal swing mechanics a batter has, the closer he becomes to maximizing his performance. We have presented numerous posts and video clips explaining why taking the hands in a circular path generate far greater bat speed than a straighter (more linear) path. The closer you get to the optimum CHP the better but any improvement will add to your bat speed.

I find that most of the batters I have worked with are back-side dominant and few use the lead-side effectively to produce the optimum CHP. One of the key reasons great hitters like Burrell and Bonds (see clip below) are so far ahead of the field is because of the BHT (and "hook" effect) they apply from the lead-shoulder pulling back toward the catcher to accelerate the bat-head to contact. These batters land on a well-flexed lead-leg. To generate their strong 105 degree lead-shoulder rotation approaching contact requires the aid from the straightening of their lead leg.

Therefore, I do not think it helpful for batters to stride to a straight or ridged lead-leg. I find that landing on a well flexed lead-led and using its extension produces better results. The post and video below discusses the role of the lead-arm and leg in maximizing performance.

Elements of ideal mechanics

Giambi -- rotation mechanics

Jack Mankin