Posted by: Coop (jcooper@doaneacademy.org) on Fri Jan 7 11:21:36 2011

Chuck,
The law of angular momentum tells us that we naturally can generate more power by letting our back elbow come into our hip as we pull the knob with a lead arm and swing with flat hands than we can by prefabricating ( popping our hips) and letting the bat cast around the ball. In terms of the weight shift think more of driving into a firm front side and not against it. This will help transfer the weight and get off the back side. Hence the back leg lift. Finish that swing! I recommend Lau's laws on hitting. Charley Lau Jr. (noit senior) who has worked with Arod and is endorsed by Cito Gaston and Tony LaRussa.



> Have you read and do you have any commentary on the chapter in Jane Leavy's new book "The Last Boy" that analyzes Mickey Mantle's swing mechanics? Is it fair to say that the analysis has many strong rotational elements but also includes some flawed linear components?
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> On page 410 - "And , in the argot of hitting coaches, he kept his hands inside the ball, which means he kept them to himself. In so doing he was obeying what physicists call the law of conservation of angular momentum..."
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> Page 411 - "Striding forward, Mantle threw all the accumulated force against his locked front leg, which is typical of left-handed power hitters."
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> Page 412 - "As he moved forward, he lifted his back foot as much as 3 to 6 inches off the ground, prima facie evidence of a complete transfer of weight onto his front side."
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> Thanks,
> Chuck