Posted by: tom.guerry (tom.guerry@kp.org) on Fri Nov 30 10:19:24 2001

Jack or Tom etc.,
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> > > > > > > > > I'm involved in a long running discussion with an instructor who teaches linear mechanics. Could you help me out with a discussion of the two mechanics as relates to dealing with changes of speed?
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> > > > > > > > > Thanks,
> > > > > > > > > Mark H
> > > > > > > > >If there was a critical point between the 2 methods I would say it would come during the stride.When most hitters stride they often drive off the rear foot or bring the upper body with the front foot forward.It feels natural to me but it kills the power in the hips particularly when fooled.The axis just comes to forward to rotate on and a linear movement in the lower body has occured with little room to rotate then.Once the lower body has become linear and the axis is shifted forward the upper body is in a poor position to rotate.So the key area is to stride while keeping the upper body over the inside of the rear thigh.then your front bent leg can push back the front hip while the rear knee drives drives forward pulling the rear hip forward.This is the explosive rotational movement that will then cause the upper body to rotate naturally.So I would say that it is easier for the upper body to create the same movement as the lower body ,therefore the lower body is in a way far more important than what we give it credit for here,because it can make or break shoulder turn and the efficency of that turn.
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> > > > > > > I have run through my arguments, gleaned from here and elsewhere as well as some of my own thoughts, but I would like it in someone else's words as to why rotational is better for dealing with pitchers who are good at changing speeds. Also, my friend is under the impression that Jack concedes the weakness of the rotational method as far as dealing with off speed pitches. I remember discussions to the contrary, but I wonder if you would go over this again.
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> > > > > > > Thanks,
> > > > > > > Mark H.
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> > > > > > Mark-
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> > > > > > There is a discussion at setpro about this.Separation and the kinetic chain allow more potential for timing adjustment than the "one-piece"m (linear) swing which is why
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> > > > > > "one-piece swings are easy fodder for the mediocre change-up."
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> > > > > > http://www.setpro.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000548.html
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> > > > > What's interesting is that in the same thread there is a clip of piazza & Piazza is complimented for staying "inside the ball". And guess what? His front elbow is bent & he's leading with hands!!
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> > > > Do we teach what we see?Do we see what is happening?
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> > > > The hands are NOT leading the hips.The front heel comes down and the hips open quite a ways while the hands stay back giving considerable separation as the hips lead the hands.For this high and very inside pitch ,Piazza adjusts by turning the torso(turning on the ball)keeping the hands in and even bending the lead elbow to shorten the swing radius so the bat head doesn't get released too early(barely keeping ball fair)and the sweetspot gets on the ball.
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> > > So why dos Jack say to keep front arm strait? Seems like the "experts" have conflictimating opinons.
> > >>Tom is this the clip where we talked about the adjustment of pulling the hands in to keep the ball fair down the line.Maybe a ws or playoff homerun.If so my answer to mark H. is that if he kept the lead arm more straight across the chest it would probably create more batspeed but usually hook foul on this inside corner pitch.however the adjustment is made to get the fat part of the bat on the ball and keep it fair.Remember it only needs to go about 330 feet down the line and stay fair.Piazza is a huge powerful man he can give up some optimum mechanics and hit it far enough what is critical is getting the good part of bat on ball at an angle that keeps it fair.He would not have this bent lead arm on a ball that goes to center or the gaps unless he was fooled and trying to make a mid swing adjustment programmed through muscle memory of that pitch and what it would take to compensate to get good ball/bat connection.
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> RQL and all,
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> I believe Jack refers to this as the arcing hand path. The tight hands back connection is maintained through the early part of the swing but then the chp is tightened even further to adjust for the inside location. In reality, this handpath is even more circular, not less as in a hands first linear handpath swing.
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> Mark H.

rql-

This is the ws homer clip,remember with McCarver saying "mighty strong,mighty strong,not many can do that,etc etc."This is the necessary adjustment to keep it fair and get contact near the sweetspot.

Mark-

You are right.This is an adjustment that creates a circular handpath that continues circling way in front of the body before the hands cast away/wrists roll from the body just after contact.As Jack says,the straight lead arm has the "potential" for max batspeed,but this doesn't mean you can always have it straight for every location.Maintaining a circular handpath is a much more fundamantal requirement that needs to be adhered to most of the time.Moreso in this Piazza type location.The circle can start to straighten out near contact for the outside location for some.