Posted by: Jess Bechard (bechard7@netzero.com) on Tue Feb 1 16:27:25 2000

Joe,
I believe in the downswing to produce backspin. A slight uppercut is fine is you are big enough to hit the ball 500 feet, but most of us are not that lucky and we need to use the backspin of the ball to allow it to carry further.
As far as the hips go, I believe they should open before your hands come through the zone. If your hands go first you are probably making contact before your hips ever get started. Starting your hips first catapults your hands through the hitting zone giving you greater bat speed.

Jess