Posted by: t olson () on Fri Dec 7 12:56:13 2001

>
> As to your second paragraph, I would be very interested in your reasoning.
>
> Mark H.

Mark

My belief is that a perfectly rotational swing puts the barrel in and out of the zone in a split-second--no room for error.

I see the better method--that includes extension, as keeping the barrel flying through the zone in an oval pattern. Without decent extension--starting just before contact--the shoulder/arms start to pull the bat away from contact.

When the barrel hits the ball in a glancing manner (or the sweet spot is pulled away from the ball) I believe less than perfect contact results. The more rotational the swing is--the more there is only one perfect spot for optimum contact. The more oval it becomes--the greater the area the barrel can make solid contact.

However, too much linear movement can reduce the power generated by the body. So it's a trade off. There is an optimum for effective use of the body along with staying on the ball longer.

When I find the optimum--I'll let you know ;)