Posted by: Jimmy () on Tue Feb 13 12:10:29 2007

> > The truth is that the debate between linear and rotational hitting doesn't exist in the
Big Leagues today. This doesn't mean that it is not discussed but the discussion is usually
laughed at.
> >
> > There is no debate because there is not one way to practice or teach hitting. There
are certain fundamentals that are to be mastered, but not one way to master them. The
most important fundamentals in hitting are as follows:
> >
> > 1) SEEING the baseball from the release point all the way in to the hitting zone.
> >
> > 2) BALANCE throuout the stance, load, swing, and finish.
> >
> > 3) Controlable RYTHM in the load
> >
> > 4) The first three fundamentals will help to contribute to the fourth which is
SWINGING AT
> > GOOD PITCHES TO HIT HARD ONLY
> >
> > 5) EFFICIENT swing path to and through the baseball
> >
> > 6) HEAD DOWN and EYES IN the hitting zone during and after contact has been made
> >
> > ......Now all of the details of the lower half, the feet, the hands, the shoulders, the
hips, the knees, the elbows, the bat angle, the forces applied, the timing, the stride, the
firmness and the timing of the firmness of the front leg, etc., etc., etc., are areas that are
important, but these details should not precede the core fundamentals.
> >
> > Hitters practice what they know will help them produce. Some try to do off the wall
drills while some just hit off the tee. It is up to the individual hitter more so than it is up
to the hitting coach to figure out what is the best routine for him. The hitter is the only
individual who can feel what is going on with his body when he swings a bat. He is also
the only individual who sees the delivery and the pitch through his eyes.
> >
> > Teaching hitting should not be a debate, it should be a collective effort to help an
individual hitter hit. And each individual is a seperate case. If one guy like the term "X"
and he produces for the team, than great. If his teammate doesn't like term "X" but likes
> > term "Y" and he also produces for the team, than thats great as well. In the end it is
the hitter who decides and it is the hitter who deserves the credit for the execution of a
good swing, not a hitting style, and certainly not a hitting coach.
> >
> > Jimmy
>
> This is perhaps Your belief to be the truth.
> I dont believe it to be THE TRUTH.

Coach,

What do you believe to be THE TRUTH? Do you expect credit for a players good
performance? If this is so than what about the players that didn't get better as a result of
your expertise, do you take the blame?

Jimmy