Posted by: Major Dan (markj89@charter.net) on Mon Dec 10 06:45:33 2001

>>> Does the front leg stay stiff on the outside pitch? <<<
>
> Hi Jim
>
> Striding to a stiff front leg is associated more with linear weight-shift and extension mechanics. Most rotational hitters have a good deal of flex in the lead-knee at foot-plant. He then rotates and straightens the lead-leg to aid in driving hip rotation. On pitches from the middle-in, the lead-leg will have fully extended (straightened) for maximum hip and shoulder rotation.
>
> On pitches on the outer portion of the plate, hip and shoulder rotation is more limited. In order to allow the lead-arm to cast out in a wider arc, the shoulders can not fully rotate. Therefore, hip rotation is also limited and the lead-leg may still have some flex (not fully extended) at contact.
>
> Jack Mankin
>
Jack-
while I don't have statistics or clips to back this up, your suggestion that the lead leg may have some flex at contact on outside pitches rings true to me. I remember seeing that happen frequently.
I believe in addition to your reasoning, this may also allow the hitter to make adjustments to reach low outside pitches he would otherwise pull off of or 'stand up over' if his lead leg straightened completely.
While that may be suboptimal, there is already less hip rotation (as you suggest) and may not in fact degrade the swing significantly.