Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Mon Feb 28 00:45:26 2000

>>>I've been hitting well with the bat resting on my shoulder(.400.) It continues to stay there for my entire swing . It comes off right before contact I've also been told it is the incorrect way. Does it really matter?????????? <<<

Hi Landon

Sorry for the delay in my reply. The video is taking up most of my spare time lately. --- It is hard to say what mechanics you are using without seeing your swing. "Weight swift and extension" mechanics would want the hands extending the bat (knob first) as you start your swing. "Rotational" mechanics would have the hands staying back and allow rotation to accelerate them.

Ron Gant and Matt Williams (1990 version) started their swings with a static bat also (but up off the shoulder). This worked fine for pitches from the middle-in where they could keep the their hands in a close tight arc and finish with great lead shoulder pull. But not developing any early bat speed left them just waving at outside pitches. A static bat and a wider hand-path left them in a poor position to apply torque. Their lead shoulder could not pull the bottom hand so they had to just push with the top hand. This action left them weak and late at contact.

But, they got enough pitches to their liking to hit near the 300 mark and around 30 HR. So my guess would be that you're better off with what you're doing than trying to extend those hands.

Jack Mankin