Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Mon Jan 21 02:02:14 2002

Hi All

There are many batting cues that had long been accepted as truisms by most batting authorities. They may be helpful to batters using linear mechanics, but as I pointed in my " Truism or Fallacy" articles, they are not constructive to a batter using rotational transfer mechanics. There are a couple of more cues that I feel may fit into that category. -- "Keep your hands inside the ball" and "Hit the inside of the ball." I thought a good discussion might help sort things out.

For those that teach rotational mechanics, I think all would agree that generating a circular hand-path is key to transferring the body's rotational energy. So, my question is, do those cues promote a chp or a more linear hand-path. --- (1) At initiation, should the first direction of the batter's hands be directed "inside the ball" or "perpendicular to the ball's flight?" (2) Should the batter initiate the swing so as to hit the "inside of the ball" (opposite field), or meet it flush (hit straight-away)?

I would say that those cues are likely to promote a more linear hand-path in the batter's mind.

Jack Mankin