Posted by: Kuhnplatoon (Kuhnplatoon@aol.com) on Fri Mar 15 07:53:09 2002

All the hitting information that I've read recommends a 4 to 6 inch soft (i.e. weight back) early stride. Upon initiation of the swing the front heel comes down thus weight is transferred from back to center and the ensuing swing is against a stiff front leg.
From your articles I see that the front leg is extremely important to hip rotation (i.e. driving the front hip toward the catcher) thus acccelerating rotation and torque. I see that you recommend that the front leg is bent after the stride is complete and does not extend fully until the hips are approximately facing the pitcher. After looking at this it would make sense to me that a shorter stride, 0-4 inches, would allow the leg to have a little more bend. This bend would allow the stronger upper leg muscles of the front leg more leverage to push the front hip back thus increasing batspeed. AM I ON TRACK WITH THIS THINKING? If not please enlighten me. THANKS.