Posted by: Formerly the Hitting Guru () on Wed Apr 4 16:42:50 2007

> > > > > Dennis,
> > > > >
> > > > > I believe batters can achieve greater bat barrel velocities by moving the center of mass of their bats in as straight a line as possible rather than along curved pathways.
> > > > >
> > > > > Thanks.
> > > > >
> > > > > Matt Schirm
> > > >
> > > > Matt. Would would you advocate that the hitter take the knob to the ball when hitting?
> > >
> > > -- I would like a definition of what you mean by 'knob to the ball'.
> > > What it means to me is maintaining a 90 degree angle approach (barrel) until torque is applied in the wrist. I would prefer we call it knob inside (referring to left of the ball (right-handed hitter).
> >
> >
> > Dennis W. In laymans terms my definition is that the hitter leads with the knob of the bat in a straight or slight move (to the right for a lefthanded batter vice versa) accross his body forward toward the pitcher. This is similar to the tomohawk drill but is done as a regular swing.
> >
> > At this time the initial rotation of the bat is replaced to a large degree by a forward movement of the hands. In this way the hitter actually gains swing quickness because part of the swing is eliminated as the rest of the bat lags behind the hands.
> >
> > Now the hitter snaps the bat to the point of contact using the power in his wrists. In this way the hitter still generates a lot of batspeed though it is more concentrated.
> >
> > This swing/style uses more upper body and hips to compensate for the lack of a more full swing. And because the hands/knob lead the swing, the bat stays in the swing plane for almost the entire path of the swing. Thus, the bat head is less likely to dip below the swing plane in an effort to meet the incoming pitch.
>
> Well Guru-
>
> Here's something I think I can improve on. This is mainly my achilles heal in my swing. I have very good success with 'my rotational' swing. Although I di feel I can harness more power, but I cannot seem to pinpoint where. It could be the flaws I have in my swing, but for the purpose of a 37 year old playing competitive league ball it serves me well. (.568 ave/.846 slg). Maybe i can send you a few clips and you can give me an objective opinion. They are all avi files and also need a advise on how to send the via email....
> (this may bury the hatchet you and I have in this forum ;)


Dennis W. Consider the hatchet buried. I respectfully choose to leave this site and come back at a later time under a different name as there are others who have used the name Hitting Guru on this site.

Excuse my former comments and take my humble apology with regard to negative backlashes regarding former posts. Much success to you in your hitting as we are all trying to improve in the big picture.

As I visit more current technology, I will correspond in that light if I can assist. As for now, I seek higher learning (during after work hours) in the financial field, so time on this site will become limited.