Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Mon Sep 28 12:37:32 2009

(Michael)
> > Ever heard of this one? Does it work? Seems like it could be a reusable version of Jack's duct tape hitting aide .
> > Anyone ever try this thing?
>
> I played for Gordie at St. Francis in the late 80s, early 90s. This tool seems to make sense. In fact, pitchers used it as a way to keep the front side closed in pitching drills. Inexpensive tool and they last forever for very little cost. A worthwhile investment.

Where can we get these vests? Please email info to jszubert@aol.com
##

Hi Jeff

Here is a pic of the vest you referred to - Gordie Gillespie's Power Hitting Vest. -- Before ordering the vest, I would strongly suggest you read my evaluation of it in the post below. The post points out that pinning the lead-elbow to the batter's side during the swing would produce a number of negative results.

Re: Re: Gordie Gillespie's Power Hitting Vest

Jeff, to produce a high level swing, it is imperative that the lead-elbow is up in the plane of the swing during rotation. I would also point out that pinning the lead-elbow down at the batter's side would not allow his hands to extend back to a good loaded position. I will place below a video clip that discusses the role of the lead-arm in the swing. Note that all their lead-elbows are up across the chest during the loading phase and remains there during the swing.

4 Good Hitters - Lead Arm

To open this thread, Michael made reference to, "Jack's duct tape hitting aid." This refers to a test we showed in the original "Final Arc" Istructional Vdeo. In that test, we duct-taped Brian's back-elbow to his side to illustrate that maximum bat speed was 'not' generated from the extension of the back-arm. Video analysis shows that in high level swings, the back-elbow remains back at the side in an "L" position through contact.

With this in mind, I considered developing a vest that would pin the 'back-arm' to the side. Pinning the back-arm down would keep the elbow back in the slot during rotation. However, in the launch position, the best hitters have their elbow elevated. Therefore, keeping the elbow pinned down would restrict mechanics that uses the lowering of elbow to generate the bat's rearward acceleration.

We are now in the final stages of designing a training aid that will promote the efficient use of both the lead and back arms. This aid will allow the back-elbow to be elevated at launch and promote keeping it back in the slot during rotation. It is also designed to keep the lead-elbow across the chest in the swing plane through contact. The video clip below exhibits the trajectories of both arms the aid helps to produce.

4 Good Hitters - Back Arm

Jack Mankin