Posted by: Patrick (pmgeoeiiee@yahoo.com) on Wed Oct 13 15:03:15 2010

> > But I know one thing for sure; The quickest way to get to two spots
> > is in a striaght line.
>
> I guess I should start driving through the center of town to get to the other side, rather than take the belt line?
>
> It depends on how fast it takes to get from one spot to the other as a function of the path taken. If you can swing faster with a circular hand path than a straight line path, then the faster path can overcome the shorter path, and even if the hands get there at the same time, the circular hand path is going to produce faster bat head speed. Who cares about hand speed? We don't hit the ball with our hands.
>
> http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Distance.html
>
> "The shortest distance between two points is the length of a so-called geodesic between the points. In the case of the sphere, the geodesic is a segment of a great circle containing the two points."
>
> i.e., it depends on the situation.
>
> ------
No, we don't hit the ball with our hands. Not just the hands. The direction of the swing utilizes the arms, wrists and hands, and the power originates from the hips and shoulders. Yeah, you might be able to swing faster with a circular "hand" path but you can swing quicker with a linear "hand" path. And that's the whole point about hitting. It ain't so much about speed as it is about quickness. What's the use of having all that speed and not being able to put on the brakes or slightly change the direction of the swing say from slightly up, to more level, or more push? This is why (Ted) said a hitter should look to hit the ball inside out. And I ain't talking about hitting it the other way either. Listen, there is a reason why the greats say "The hardest thing to do in sports is to take a round bat and a round ball and hit it squarely."-Williams/Stargell To hit in that square, you hit through it not around it.