Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Sun Sep 26 13:28:33 2010

>>> What is the effect of the angle of the lead arm (i.e. amount of elbow bend) at the point of contact ? I imagine it would affect timing since a straight lead arm would mean the lead shoulder needs to be rotated further back to get the same forearm alignment (and hence bat angle) than a bent lead arm at the point of contact. I tend to swing with a fairly straight lead arm and am wondering if I am putting myself at a disadvantage. I unintentionally pull the ball all the time, I don't know if that's got anything to do with it. <<<

Hi Dan

A key difference between lower level mechanics (basically an arm swing) and higher level mechanics is with keeping the swing connected to the larger muscles of the legs and torso. The linkage (arms, wrist and hands) to those large muscles is connected at the shoulders. Therefore, it is the rotation of the shoulders that provides the "potential energy" for the swing.

I use the term "potential energy" because in most cases the batter's transfer mechanics does not make efficient use of that energy. Much (if not most) of the energy is wasted just taking up 'slack' induced from poor upper-body mechanics.

There are a number of mechanical flaws that induce the slack (or disconnection) I referred to. But since your question addresses the "angle of the lead arm," let us cover it in this thread. -- The role of the lead-arm is to provide a 'firm' linkage from the rotation of the lead-shoulder (and thus the large muscles of the lower-body) to the knob end of the bat. However, what I find in far too many cases is the batter initiates the swing with a bent (30 degree to "boxed") lead-elbow and then allows it straighten out approaching contact. Straightening out the elbow induced somewhere around 4 to 9 inches of 'slack' in the linkage. This results in the lead-shoulder just freewheeling open to take up the slack rather than applying a strong pulling force on the bat.

Having the lead-arm straighter or barred (like Holliday or Griffey Jr.) can provide firm linkage but also has its drawbacks. Since most batters are 'top-hand dominate', having the lead-arm straighter makes it easier for the back-elbow to swing under the lead-elbow. This also leads to disconnection and freewheeling of the lead-side.

Dan, whether you have a bend in your elbow or have it straight, to maintain good linkage, the angle of the elbow must remain constant from initiation to contact. If you are initiating your swing with a straighter lead-arm, I would suggest that your problem is mainly associated with your back-side mechanics.

Jack Mankin