Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Thu Oct 29 16:50:28 2009

>>> I wonder if there's a way a device can be invented that you wear on your lead arm. This device would "lock out" your arm in a fixed angle so you could not extend the lead arm. This would force you to use your shoulder rotation to power the bat and not your arms. Problem is you want your arms to extend naturally after contact and the trouble would be developing this to do just that. What do you think Jack?? <<<

Hi Dave

My first thought for the device you mentioned was an adjustable elbow brace similar to the one Bonds wore. Although his brace was to protect his elbow, I noted his elbow maintained its' bend even during the follow-through. I checked the elbow of other good hitters and found theirs did not extend either. Their bent elbows just lowered to their side to complete the follow-through.

I had thought, as you pointed out, that the elbow would need to extend after contact. However, the video of these hitters does not show this to be necessarily true. Further study shows that batters who release the top-hand after contact straighten the lead-arm while those that keep both hands on the bat do not.

Therefore, an elbow-brace remains an option, especially when used with a heavy bag. The bag would stop the bat at contact before the top-hand is released (for those that release the hand). However, I plan to incorporate a more simple solution to the lead-elbow problem with the Rotational Training Vest we discussed in an earlier post.

Video of the best hitters shows that the distance from the lead-shoulder to the lead-hand remains constant from initiation to contact. This distance increases substantially with batters who straighten the elbow during rotation. We are using this fact in the design of the vest. A few more tests are required before determining the final design.

Note: We have settled on the design for the back-arm.

Jack Mankin