Posted by: tjs (jsorge5126@aol.com) on Wed Jul 4 20:09:43 2001

WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK I SHOULD USE AS MY PRE SWING MOVEMENT, KNEE COCK, SHIFT MY WEIGHT TO MY BACK FOOT, JUST MOVE MY HANDS BACK, ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED, WHAT IS THE MOST POPULAR MOVE AND WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK A YOUNG PLAYER WOULD BE MOST COMFORTABLE WITH, I AM 16 AND WEIGH 140 LBS, I USUAKKY MAKE VERY GOOD CONTACT BUT TODAY I FACED A PITCHER WHO THREW IN THE MID 80'S AND I COULDNT CATCH UP WITH HIS FASTBALL.

joe,

imo, many hitters feel that when they face a pitcher who has above average velocity, they must trigger faster. the trigger should be one of the only elements that change in your swing from pitcher to pitcher. the swing will remain constant. when facing a pitcher who has some velocity, the hitter needs to trigger sooner...when facing a "thumber" or guy who lacks the better fastball, the hitter may trigger later. if the hitter triggers "on time" he will have a better chance of allowing the body and hands to do what it needs to in the swing. however, when the hitter is late, the ball tends to control the hitter, thus controlling his swing. on the other hand, when the hitter is on time with the trigger, he will control the ball. watch a game on tv, particularly on espn now that they have that dead-center angle, and watch the relationship between where the ball is in the pitcher's delivery and the initiation of the hitter's trigger.

in my observations, hitters who are late with their triggers tend to hang on their backside (leaving too much over the back leg) and collapse, thus allowing the barrel to fall too much below the path of the pitch.

just some thoughts,

tjs