Posted by: cfs (jcsherwood8458@sbcglobal.net) on Wed May 13 18:06:34 2009

> > > > "I think a lot of what is talked about such as the shoulders rotating and a circular hand path is a natural byproduct of a good swing...Both happen naturally and you can't over analyze things and try and work on that in a batting cage."
> > > >
> > > > This is pure nonsense, and smelly to read.
> > > >
> > > > Nothing is a natural byproduct of anything in athletics. Hitting isn't "natural" any more than kicking a football is natural. The use of the word natural is so general as to be meaningless.
> > > >
> > > > Second, you have given us a logical fallacy. If shoulder rotation and circular hand path are good and natural, why would we not want to concentrate on performing those aspects correctly? You yourself said they are part of a good swing.
> > > >
> > > > You say they happen "naturally." What do you mean "naturally?" You must not watch much baseball. At the youth fields in my neighborhood, you can watch games from sunrise until 10 p.m. and not see one kid with a circular hand route and good transfer mechanics. Where are all these natural mechanics?
> > > >
> > > > You sound anti-intellectual. There is a lot of that going around the country right now. You seem to want things simple and bereft of deep analysis. Up to you, but don't expect people who know better to buy your reductionist BS.
> > >
> > > Melvin...You are obviously extremely unintelligent so I will try and keep this as simple as possible in an attempt to make you smarter. But I am pretty sure I will fail.
> > >
> > > I never said hitting is natural. I said things such as shoulder rotation and circular hand path are natural parts of a GOOD MLB SWING. Notice I am not saying an MLB SWING is natural. There is a BIG difference there genius. Your post makes no sense at all. Read the old threads in this message board and you will see a huge debate with Jack Mankin and a person named Graylon. Jack says you should focus on starting with shoulder rotation and Graylon states you should focus on letting your hands go and the shoulders will rotate naturally in order to let your hands take the barrel to the ball.
> > >
> > > You state, "Second, you have given us a logical fallacy. If shoulder rotation and circular hand path are good and natural, why would we not want to concentrate on performing those aspects correctly? You yourself said they are part of a good swing."
> > >
> > > Since I feel this is already getting way too complicated for your mind to comprehend I will leave you with this to try and think about in regards to your last statement above.
> > >
> > > Do you REALLY think major league players who have a game tonight are going into batting practice thinking, "Ok I need to work on my shoulder rotation and make sure I have a good circular hand path"... do you really believe that? Do you really think they worked on those things in the minor leagues?
> > >
> > > I would be willing to bet what's left in your little piggy bank that they don't work on those things.
> > >
> > > Man I feel like this got way too complicated for you, I can only hope you understand this. But the odds are stacked way against me given your intelligence level.
> > >
> > > http://blog.swingtraining.net/page/2.aspx
> > >
> > > Scroll down to, "Arod: Creating a compact swing". Do you hear Arod talking about how he tries to focus on a good shoulder rotation and circular hand path?
> >
> >
> >
> > Do you not agree, though, that "turned on it" is a very common term in major league baseball, especially among power hitters? Can you visualize yourself "turning on" a ball without your shoulders coming around?
> >
> > And didn't Ted Williams preach "turn the hips" his entire lifetime? Can your violently rotate your hips around without your shoulders coming around too?
> >
> > If those verbal cues result in shoulder rotation and circular hand path, does it really make a difference if the athlete says those words in his/her head?
> >
> > Are we trying to imitate the successful swing or the athlete's internal cue?
> >
> > In fact, back to ARod's clip. Do you think his front shoulder rotates as far around when he's "demonstrating" his swing to Couric as it does when he actually pulverizes the "homer"? I don't. I think whatever cue, if any, he was using to jack one off the machine was different that what he was using to "stay compact".
>
> So focusing on shoulder rotation and circular hand path is going to lead to a high level MLB swing? I obviously disagree... And why don't major league hitting coaches teach this?

I would venture a guess that most, if not all, major league hitting coaches do not understand swing mechanics to the depth and detail as discussed on this site. I suggest you go to the website "beabetterhitter.com" and check out some of the video tips and drills. Many of them are very flawed in regards to rotational swing mechanics. Yet these guys are supposed to be "experts". There's an expression "monkey see, monkey do". It doesn't mean the monkey's right. No one would ever suggest to go to the plate thinking rotate the shoulders and have a circular handpath. But it is certainly a "learned" way to swing that becomes second nature as it is burned into muscle memory through thousands of reps.