Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Mon May 18 11:26:07 2009

>>> jack on feb 17 a thread hands you talked about the lead arm staying the same,you referred to 4 hitters and video,otiz holliday giambi and griffey,the point of the discussion was that the arm does not start flexed and then extend out straight into contact.I agree I do not see that in hitters but I feellike in the ortiz and giambi case where they start flexed and by contact there is more flex in the lead elbow,as they draw there hands in to keep the ball fair by contact.Can you refer to those clips and see if you can see some more lead elbow bend at contact than at start of clip.I looked at it again after discussing hitting at a party with a bunch of coaches,who was trying to tell me that the lead arm must be barred all the way through it cant be bent,and they had a golf guru who insisted that the lead elbow [arm ] was always straight.I told him I believe that since he always was the same distance from the tee,he could do that like hitting a baseball off a tee everytime in the same spot,but when you adjust inside and outside pitches their can be great bend in the lead elbow for inner 3rd pitches,he conceded that he is always the same distance exactly from the ball and a hitter is not. <<<

Hi Rql

I reviewed the clips you mentioned and it does appear that both Ortiz and Giambi may flex their lead-elbow more approaching contact on inside pitches. I say "may" because it is hard to make definite observations from an across-the-plate view. This is why I found the collection of over-head views I used in the study so helpful. I also agree with you that there are very different demands on the lead-arm for the baseball swing not found for the ideal golf swing. It is just one example why sound principles for one swing can be at odds with the other.

Jack Mankin