Posted by: The Hitting Guru () on Sat Jan 6 12:38:42 2007

> Since the barrel is turned in the hands, how do you propose the arc gets wider?

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In general the linear hitter or rotational/linear hitter (George Brett) sweeps the bat through the hitting zone. As such, the linear hitter can gain power by standing away frow the plate and stepping toward the plate. In this way he is able to make slight adjustments to cover the entire plate and or pitches out of the strike zone. The sweep approach was the motivation for Charlie Lau working with George Brett during the 1974 allstar break. This approach was used to help Brett cover holes in his swing that pitchers were exploiting.

*Note* The arc gets wider (slightly) for hitters who release their top hand immediately after contact. Also note that for the most part the dynamics that go into the top hand release are already predetermined by the hitters prelaunch mechanics. As such it is more difficult for the hitter who is away from the plate to execute a two hands on the bat technique (especially when the hitter is fooled by pitches). Thus the (more) linear hitter is less likely to hit by bringing his hands in. Ken Griffey is a good example of a rotational hitter who has a linear sweep to his swing. He was also an example of a hitter who learned to pull the ball after starting initially as more of an opposite field centerfield hitter. John Kruk is yet another example.