Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Mon Jul 16 17:33:11 2001

>>> jack....here are your answers.....

Q: How does the batter have more weight-shift on an outside pitch than on an in-side one - does he stride harder - take a longer stride, or what?

A: according to mike schmidt, allowing the front leg to stay bent a little longer causes the upper body to shift forward a little bit before rotation begins

Q: If the batter has a straight hand-path, how does he transfer the body's rotational energy - or does he just expect to develop less bat speed on outside pitches?

A: yes, expect less bat speed on outside pitches because you have less rotation and more reliance on upper body strength......to be exact, studies have shown that on average, well-hit balls hit to the opposite field are hit about 85 % as far as a well-hit balls to the pull field.....with the exception of sosa , piazza and maybe a few others, the opposite field is not considered the power alleys to most hitters.....

Q: Grc, you still did not answer my question regarding what is stored that can be released at the “bat release point”?

A: I’m sorry i ever used the term....i got it from someone at setpro but i don’t remember who or when......it’s simply a term to describe where and when the bat goes from the lag position......the lag position is where the bat is parrallel to the ground, elbow has just entered the slot, the hands are about half way between front and back foot, etc.....the lag position is also the point where extension of the arms begin......my obviously poor choice of terms is not meant in any way as a SIGNIFICANT EVENT other than where the hands are at lag position dictate the arc of the bathead path and distance the bathead travels..........just meant as a term to describe what the bat does in PHASE B of the swing..................but what is significant is where the hands are in lag position.......example: suppose the hands are near the front foot at lag position (do the fence drill and you will achieve this position).......the bathead will travel a smaller distance and the arc of the bat will be smaller, giving the illusion of a “short swing”....contact will be closer to home plate and there will be more arm and wrist action required for the swing.....of course you can hit the ball this way and maybe hit it hard, but nevertheless there will be some sacrifice of power (but in all fairness you will probably gain some bat control)..................

I hope i answered your questions, jack, and if you can come up with a better term than “bathead release” to describe what is happening in PHASE B of the swing, please let me know..........

Respectfully, grc....... <<<

Hi grc

Thank you for the reply. In one sense Mike Schmidt is right, a batter could shift a little more weight by allowing the lead-knee to flex more. But he is misreading the reason why the better rotational hitters make contact with a flexed lead-leg (not fully extended) on outside pitches.

One of the main functions of extending the lead-leg is to fully open the hips and shoulders. But taking the hand-path and bat-head in a wider path places a much greater load (or energy draw) on the rotating shoulders and hips. This extra load slows the hip and shoulder rotation before they fully open. Therefore, the lead-leg will not have fully extended and may remain flexed at contact.

It is important to note that a batter attempting a wide hand-path (for an outside pitch) without adding a good deal of top-hand-torque will produce little bat speed and the bat-head will lag behind the hands. But there are a growing number of great hitters that can hit a ball straight-away, or even to the opposite field, almost as hard as to the pulled side of the field. They have learned how to use both a circular hand-path and a lot of top-hand-torque on outside pitches.

Grc, the reason I am concerned with a term like “bat release point,” is because there are theories that energy can somehow be stored and at some point the batter can release it. Some coaches believe that if the batter would just extends his hands, energy will be released that will cause the bat-head to come flying through. --- Sorry grc, if my concern was misdirected.

Jack Mankin