Posted by: andy () on Thu Sep 21 03:58:08 2006

Nice clip...Gotta love Manny.

I can see how you might think that Manny was using only his upper body on that swing. His back foot does not rotate, whcih is something you almost never see on any swing in the MLB, let alone a HR. However, of course, Manny is absolutely using his lower body in this swing. He does not complete hip rotation, but his hips rotated ahead of the shoulders at the start of the swing, just like most hitters. But you can't seriously expect a hitter to not rotate his back foot on every swing.

If you could measure which muscles are contracting, the upper legs and abdominal muscles would be the most active early in the swing. Regardless of what a hitter feels or thinks, the lower or middle body should be very active early in the swing.

Ask a shot putter if he tries to minimize the lower half, just throw his hands. Try to execute a power clean by just using your upper body. Or a pitcher to not use his legs, just stand straight and use the arm. The stronger the lower half works, the stronger the hands can work, (there needs to be an efficient transferring process, of course) Both halfs need to compliment each other. It is simply not athletic to only use one half of the body. If you want to just use the hands, I recommend Ping Pong.



> > Mike,
> >
> > You have made your point...you hit better when you don't try to use your lower body much. That's great. I hit better when I try to use my lower body correctly. People can be successful hitters with different thoughts and approaches.
> >
> > You are trying to debate what you feel at the plate, which is impossible for anyone but yourself to really know. If you wanted to debate the hand path, or the body's motion, it would be easy to discuss, because we could review video and measure certain angles and track motion. But when you say a hitter shouldn't force the lower body, that could mean different things to different people.
> >
> > We all get your point that you hit better by trying to focus on the upper body. This is not a debatable issue, it is your personal preference. This thought can help a hitter or hurt a hitter. It is a "cue", and cues are not really debatable.
> >
> > BTW, where is this video of Manny? I'd love to look at it...
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > > For those of you who think I have no idea what I am talking about when I say that you do not have to force your lower body into your swing, I want you to take a look at this swing by Manny Ramirez. Wait for the video to play and then watch his swing when they show you the side view. Notice his back foot and how it does nothing and his leg hardly even moves. He just uses his wrists, hands, arms, and shoulders to crush this ball. I am not saying to swing exatcly like this, but I am using this to prove my point that you dont have to force the lower body. Now I cant wait to hear the explanations some of you guys give me for this. I know you will come up with something to try and show me that I am wrong, like you always do. You guys always find something in the swing to prove that your ways are right and nothing else is. So I cant wait to see the comments for this post.
>
> Andy, I posted the Manny Ramirez clip, I am waiting to hear what you have to say.