Posted by: Coach Steven () on Sat Mar 24 20:30:07 2007

Andy,

I agree...you are confused.

I hope you are not assuming literal geometric lines here. THT or hands towards the catcher is meant to mean opposite the pitcher, it could be in some hitters directly towards the catcher and in others more towards the back ear or anywhere in between. The hands CAN move toward the shoulder while pulling back with the top hand (see Soriano, Bonds, Ortiz, Sheffield, et. al.). They all load in similar ways...bat being brought from a forward vertical position, in a direction opposite from the pitcher.

Once the load is completed the back arm slots, hips turn and YES the swing should be on auto pilot at that point.

I hope this helps.



> Dear, Batspeed Discussion Board
>
> I am extremely confused by your frame-by-frame analysis of the swing.
> I broke it down frame-by-frame, and listed my concerns.
>
> Frame #A-Understood
>
> Frame #B-"The hands are being pulled toward the back-shoulder" ok... "
> (mainly by the top-hand pulling backward toward the catcher - "Pre-launch torque")" Wait? I thought you said the hands were going towards the back shoulder! I don't understand which direction you want me to move my hands.
> "which causes the bat-head to starts its acceleration (sweep) from a more vertical position back toward its normal launch position behind the head." You say the top-hand is going towards the catcher. But then, how can the bat go towards the back of my head? Are you suggesting I move my hand in 50 different directions at once?
>
> Frame C- "The hands are moving toward the back-shoulder causing the bat-head to continue accelerating back toward the launch position." Whatever happened to moving the top hand toward the catcher?
>
> Frame D- "The back-elbow rises as the batter continues to accelerate the bat-head back toward the launch position by pulling the hands (mainly with the top-hand) toward the back-shoulder" Again, I can't understand what your saying my hands/arms/elbows should be doing. I was able to understand the rotation of the hips, lead-knee, and lead-shoulder, but everything else is a complete mystery to me.
>
> Frame #E- The hands/arms/elbows are confusing me again.
>
> Frame #1- "The back-elbow lowers toward the batter's side (slot) as the batter pulls back with the top-hand (THT)" Um, ok?


> In the next part, you say that the swing is on auto-pilot. Seeing as i'm confused in Frame B, I can't possibly get into this position, or beyond.
>
> I get the rotation aspect of the mechanics you preach, but I have no idea what to do with my hands/arms/elbows, at any point in the swing.
>
> Sincerely,
> Andy