Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Mon Feb 22 14:06:43 2010

>>> You state "The hitter must not only apply rearward force with the top hand, but he must allow enough time for the bat head to sweep backwards and down befor he initiates shoulder rotation".

If you look at 60 fps video of Pujols, Griffey jr., Holiday, etc. you will see that rearward movement of the bat head (I mean the very first frame) and initiation of lead shoulder rotation are simultaneous. You'll also notice that front leg external rotation and hip rotation occur at this time (it's actually within 5 or so frames. But were talking 60 fps). There is virtually no lag between the initiation of rearward bat head movement and the initiation of lead shoulder pull.

Speaking to the "rushing" aspect of your post I would say that our young hitters are lacking in strengh and the development of high level efficient mechanics and therefore exhibit quirky mechanics in various aspects of their swings. Fortunetly for them there are dads like you. With all of the heavy lifting that Jack is doing we have available to us the resources neccessary to train and instruct our young hitters so that they might develop into the best hitters in the game.

I would use Jack's heavy bag for "top hand", "bottom hand", and full swing drills but defer to Jack's authority.
I hope this helps.<<<

Hi Jim

You are correct in saying that a number of hitters start with their bat's at or close to the launch position and therefore show little difference between the bat's rearward acceleration and initiation of shoulder rotation. However, I do have clips of Pujols where he does exhibit rearward acceleration prior to initiating rotation. In the clip below, we were discussing the relationship between the advancement of the hands and shoulder rotation. Therefore, for this clip, I had advanced him forward to the frame just before he initiated rotation and little rearward movement of his bat from PLT would show.

One of the key points I addressed in the clip is how Pujols keep his hands back and waited for shoulder rotation to propel them around. This addresses one of the major problems I find in student trying to apply PLT and THT. As they attempt to accelerate the bat-head rearward, they also use the arms to advance the hands ahead of rotation. Driving forward with the top-hand reduces the effect of THT and disconnects the larger muscles of legs and torso from powering the swing. -- Old muscle memories die hard.

Hands and Lead-shoulder rotation

Jack Mankin