Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Wed Mar 3 02:43:22 2010

>>> Jack,
I'm interested in your opinion on various training bats and tools such a the 'Insider Bat,'hinge bats' or swinging a rope? Is there any benefits to be found with such devices? <<<

Hi Steve

Batspeed.com also sales training aids. It would be understandable for the readers too question the objectivity of my assessment. However, I will try too render as unbiased opinion as possible.

I have not worked extensively with any of the bats you mentioned. I have taken a few swings at shows with bats that have a hinge, piece of rope or chain between the handle and barrel. They work basically on the same principle as the PathFinder Bat we developed. All these designs require the hands to be taken in a circular path to attain maximum acceleration of the bat-head.

Personally, I like the PathFinder design best. It is designed to apply force at a single point on the bat. This eliminates torque from being a factor in the bat's angular acceleration. With this design, a straighter hand-path produces little or no angular acceleration. The hands must follow the optimum circular path to produce maximum bat speed.

This is not necessarily the case with the other designs mentioned. With these bats, I could take my hands in a straighter path and still swing the barrel around with fair velocity by rotating the handle with my hands. Although I did find greater bat speed with a CHP, the feeling and timing of when the bat-head came through (no bag at contact) was quite different than a solid bat.

Steve, I will give you my thoughts on the "Insider Bat" in a post tomorrow. Some of its design features are puzzling to me.

Jack Mankin