Posted by: BHL (Knight1285@aol.com) on Sat Mar 24 03:02:53 2007

> I've heard stories of amazing bat speeds out of the best slow pitch power hitters.
>
> Put them in the mlb batters box and you'll get your answer.

Hi Teacherman,

While you quite correctly identify the fact that longs swings come at the expense of bat quickness, I believe that slow pitch power hitters do have an advantage over regular baseball players in that they need only to sacrifice part of the length of their swing--and part of the ensuing power that it provides--to become a major league power hitter. On the other hand, it is quite tough to teach a person with too short a swing to make it longer--these individuals will tend to exagerate their swings to the point where they end up in the same position of the slow pitch softball player. In short, it is better to cut down than to build upon. This concept is as applicable to literary studies as it is to baseball.

One more thing--I believe that all players should become home run hitters.

Best,
BHL