Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Fri Jan 5 13:13:26 2007

>>> On different locations of the pitch the shoulders rotate to different degrees as a result of the hand and bat path, not the other way around. Through the point of contact the bottom hand is more a fulcrum for the top hand to apply leverage to the bat. If the front shoulder was intentionaly pulled back towards the catcher to increase bottom hand torque, the top hand would lose force and drive on the bat. In the Sosa (middle-in) clip, if you click back and forth between the frames of contact and just before contact, you will see that the most action is comming from his top hand and the barrel. In both frames both front and back shoulders are in the same area allowing his hands to finish the job.

To say that Sosa intentially pulls his front shoulder back towards the catcher to gain more bottom hand torque is a rediculous statement. I'm sure if you asked him he'd probably say the same thing. <<<

Hi Jimmy

You state; “Through the point of contact the bottom hand is more a fulcrum for the top hand to apply leverage to the bat. If the front shoulder was intentionaly pulled back towards the catcher to increase bottom hand torque, the top hand would lose force and drive on the bat.”

Your statement is a good example of linear mechanics – drive the top-hand past a slower moving bottom-hand. Yes, torque is applied with those mechanics. However, it is a much less efficient method of applying torque than the mechanics used by the best hitters. The better hitter apply torque as I describe at - http://www.batspeed.com/research08.html – I also demonstrate the two methods in this clip - http://www.batspeed.com/media/TorqueHigh.wmv

Jimmy, your reluctance to accept rotational transfer principles is obvious. You might be surprised what you might gain if you approached those principles (like the “hook” in the path of the bottom-hand at contact) with an open mind before casting them aside as “rediculous”.

Jack Mankin