Posted by: Major Dan (mjordan1@cerner.com) on Fri Jan 25 10:17:12 2002

>>> I've been wondering what is better a pure, sweet swing or a compact short swing. I've seen hitters like Robby Alomar, Bobby Abreu, Mark McGuire, John Olerud, Manny Ramirez, and Ken Griffey Jr. have. But then there is the short compact swing that hitters like Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Brian Giles, and Bernie Williams have. A pure, sweet swing can also be short, but not compact. But the short, compact swing can be sweet but not likely. So what is better a pure sweet swing or a short compact swing <<<
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> > Hi Mike

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> > I have often wondered what parameters coaches use to determine the length of a swing. Is it the length of bat-head travel – length of the hand-path to contact – or some other length? And, from where to where are the measurements taken? Do we include pre-launch movement - is the followthrough included?
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> > If we use the total length of bat-head travel to contact (including pre-launch torque), I would say Gary Sheffield has the longest swing in baseball. If we mean hand-path length from launch to contact, I would say Tony Gwynn’s swing is longer than Sheffield’s.
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> > Jack Mankin
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> Well phrased question. Like a lot of other common phrases oft repeated about the swing, "short swing" seems to mean whatever the speaker wants it to mean. Personally, I think length is relevant only as relates to time. Time from bathead commitment to contact.
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> Mark H.

The 'long swing' critique is one of the big 'clubs' of traditional insructors. Almost anyone with a 'big' swing, ie, a power swing/rotational/etc. is branded with 'long swing'. This automatically invalidates the swing in all the true believers' eyes.
No questions asked.
Never is it questioned why some of the top $$$ hitters have 'long swings' like Gary Sheffield. Griffey Jr. arms bars. So did Albert Belle. Yet long swings are bad in every other case....
Never do these people consider batspeed at contact, time from initiation to contact, reactive batspeed, etc. that are real measures of effectiveness. They just look and if the hands don't start in and go staight to the ball, its a long swing and its no good, no questions asked.