Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Sun Jul 15 21:50:38 2001

Hi Ray

In my post to grc (below) I stated: "But to allow the swing plane to be more inline with the ball’s path (10 to 15 degrees downward), most batters will tilt their axis a few degrees away from the pitcher." Note I said "most" batters have a tilt. I used the term "most" because I knew of a few good hitters with a more vertical axis (Hank Aaron for one).

When you gave me the big "Hey Jack, What about A-Rod", I had not studied his swing that close nor did I place any big significance on whether he did or did not tilt. A-Rod not tilting would not make the other (95+%) good hitters who did wrong.

Ray, I would not hound grc (8 times) for a reply. He would probably not appreciate it any more than I did.

Jack Mankin

>>> I think the problem you are having is in defining or visualizing the axis of rotation. For a batter to have equal weight on both feet as he rotates, his axis of rotation would need to be vertical and even between the two feet. But to allow the swing plane to be more inline with the ball’s path (10 to 15 degrees downward), most batters will tilt their axis a few degrees away from the pitcher. This leaning of the body slightly away from the pitcher will shift more weight to the back foot. But the batter will rotate around a stationary axis (the spine). <<<