Posted by: rql () on Tue May 19 14:39:08 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. <<<
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> Hi Rql
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> 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.
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> Jack Mankin
jack I saw a clip on chrisoleary.com of rocco baldelli homering on a up and in fastball,in this clip you can see the hands drawn in tight during the swing and you can also see the adjustment for posture from lower to higher during the swing right up to contact.It is a good clip to show how adjustments work on different pitches,and why a high fb so often gets a hitter they usually cannot make this upright tilt adjustment on the high pitch.Pitches like this when put next to say an away pitch explain how the hitter has to make adjustments for in and out locations,generally I agree when pitches are more out over the plate the lead arm is set early in the swing and constant all the way through,I kind of think of this adjustment as like the high pitch.You usually set for a pitch further out toward the middle of the plate and usually below the belt,when the pitch comes in high or tight or both the hitter must make an adjustment on the fly that has to be done during the swing while other things are going on to catch up in time.