Posted by: Myth Buster (shyfrank39@yahoo.com) on Wed Feb 7 16:56:28 2007

This is a great question. The answer is no. In fact, I don't know of any instructors who claim to teach linear mechanics. I don't know of any "experts" who advocate a linear swing.

The shocking truth is, the term "linear" is a marketing term created and used by vendors who sell hitting systems. They place the label on rival vendors.

Some will rebut this opinion with video clips of less than stellar swings by hitters fooled by a pitch. The fact is, every major league swing (a perfect swing on a pitch that was expected) is nearly identical and has been for long before we were born. The biggest change to the major league swing has been the "top-hand release" advocated by Charley Lau. The 85% or so of major league hitters who now employ the top-hand release still have essentially the same mechanics as the all time greats.