Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Wed Sep 5 23:53:23 2001

>>> I am 14 years old and weigh about 140 Lbs. I was wondering about how much bat speed you can gain from applying torque to your swing, and also how can you tell if you are using your hips to drive through the ball. any help is appreciated thank you for your time.<<<

Hi Steve.

Every time you swing the bat, one of the forces you are using is torque to bring the bat-head around. The other force that helps you develop bat speed comes from the arc in the path your hands take as you swing. These are the two forces, and the only two, you apply to the bat for developing power and bat speed.

Applying torque to the bat means the top-hand (right hand for a right-handed batter) is pushing (or pulling) the bat around the bottom hand. The average hitter applies most of their torque to the bat late in the swing. When their hands are nearing full extension, the lead hand (left hand) slows down and they can now accelerate the bat-head around by extending the right-hand past the left-hand. That is torque but it was not applied long enough, or over a long enough distance, to develop great bat speed.

What we try to teach on the site is swing mechanics that will deliver torque and rotational energy (circular hand-pat) to the bat over the entire length of the swing. Those mechanics can greatly increase your bat speed. --- Read as much of the material on the site as you can and if you have questions, feel free to ask.

Steve, the main purpose for hip rotation is to cause the shoulders to rotate. Popping the hip at the ball has no value if it does not contribute to the rotation of the shoulders. The arms are connected to the shoulders - not the hips.

PS: I am also going to place your question at the top of the page - You may miss it at the bottom.