Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Thu Aug 27 12:42:57 2009

>>> Would it be ok to think that in the swing the bat is rotating from the start. The bat rotates and starts obviously at a slow speed. It gradually builds speed later in the swing. Then right before contact the hook in the hand path completes the swing and adds the ever so important bat speed just before contact.

I would think with knob to the ball the bat head is simply sliding to the ball. It is moving in a linear movement. Sure the bat head is moving but it is not moving in that circular motion that we want it moving in. The only thing left for the hitter to do to get the bat head around is power from the arms and wrists.

I think the problem here is the swing FEELS slow when the bat head is initially rotating from the start and builds speed gradually and then the hook in the hand path enhances it. Everything feels slow so the hitter doesn't want that. When the hitter goes hands to the ball in a linear fashion and then whips the bat head out to the ball with his/her wrists/arms the movement FEELS fast. Yeah the hands are moving faster at this moment but the fact is the BAT HEAD is not.

I honestly think the hands are the "devil" of the swing. The hands are what we feel the most in the swing. We don't feel the bat head. We feel what our hands are doing. If we had our brains wired to the bat head then obviously it would be much easier. Instead we feel what our hands are doing and we simply get fooled by it. >>>

Hi Dave

That is a very insightful statement. But keep in mind that the hands cannot move or apply force (other than grip pressure) on their own. For a batter to "throw his hands" in a linear path means he used the thrust of his forearms to accelerate the hands. For the batter's hands to be propelled into a more productive circular path requires the arms and forearms remain back and allow the rotation of the shoulders to swing the elbows, forearms, hands, knob and bat-head into accelerating trajectories.

The arms do provide very important functions in a high level swing. Their role is: (1) To serve as linkage from the rotating shoulders to the bat. (2) To apply torque at the handle from the push/pull of the forearms that induces the bat to rotate about a point between the hands. -- Their role is not to accelerate the hands (as a unit) forward independent of shoulder rotation.

Jack Mankin