Posted by: Jack Mankin (Mrbatspeed@aol.com) on Tue Jul 3 15:51:26 2001

>>> jack....to you, what does "staying inside the ball" mean?.......except for the extreme casters, can you describe what it means to NOT stay inside the ball?..........do you think that it is a safe assumption that if your "elbow is in the slot" that your hands are "inside the ball"?....respectfully, grc... <<<

Hi grc

I have read your post on "staying inside the ball" and your thoughts in June on "hitting around the ball" and I agree with about everything you had to say. I think those cue's, "staying inside the ball" and "hitting around the ball" are old holdovers from when batters were taught to fire the hips and hands while keeping the shoulders closed. Accelerating the hands while holding the shoulders closed can cause casting problems.

Grc, I like you, can see no difference between "hitting around the ball" and "pulling" the ball. And yes, a batter will "stay inside the ball" automatically if he rotates correctly and the "elbow is in the slot." This would be true if the hit the ball to the opposite field or pulled it (hit around the ball).

Jack Mankin