Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Tue Jul 17 22:46:28 2007

>>> The load that Pujols and Reyes and others use seems to be good and easy to do. They just turn there front foot in, set it down, and then hit. Is this a good load? They dont really stride or anything, sometimes Pujol's does, but most of the time he will just turn the foot up and then turn it down. What are the key parts to doing this load correct? Is there anything you should really focus on? Thanks alot guys.<<<

Hi Tom

Good observation, how Pujols rotates his lead heel down is basically the way I teach my students to initiate their swing. Below is an exert form a post I wrote on this topic.

Jack Mankin
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(Mike)
>>> I have suggested to a veteran hitting instructor the pitfalls of concentrating too much on back leg hip drive, without considering equal power contribution form the front leg. Needless to say, he was dismissive, indicating one would "spin out" too fast if they attempted this. He argued balance is better maintained if the front leg merely rolls with the front hip in a reverse arc.

The video appears to emphasize the front leg, suggesting more front than back leg power.

Exactly what leg power ratio do you expect in an ideal swing, (50% back / 50% front ?). (I don't see how hips can keep a completely circular arc if leg power is not contributed equally.) <<<

(My reply)
Mike, all I can say for that veteran hitting instructor is, -- Forgive them Lord. For they know not what they do.

To be honest, I have had very few students whose major problem is with their lower body mechanics. I spend a lot of time teaching the batter how to prepare good Launch and Contact positions (all the points shown in your training booklet). I have the batter address the heavy bag with the correct contact position. Then I have them use their legs (mainly the lead-leg) to rotate back to a good launch position (lead-heel up pointing toward third base). Then rotate around a stationary axis back to the contact position. This rotation is activated by the rotation of the lead-heel rotating back toward the catcher as it lowers and the lead-leg begins to extend. Then they rotate back and forth from launch to contact. Once they are fluid with their movements, they can start incorporating their timing step.

I impress upon them that all swing mechanics (lower and upper-body) has one ultimate purpose – to accelerate the bat-head around the swing plane to contact. That is what they should concentrate on – not the legs or hips or accelerating the hands – Think, rotate the heel, rotate the bat-head. -- First in an arc back toward the catcher then around toward the bag. -- No tension, no explosion – loose, smooth, ever accelerating movements.

The student’s bat-head acceleration seem to sync with hip and shoulder rotation better when thinking of accelerating the bat-head rearward than when thinking “hips first” or similar leg type cues. At least this is true for my teaching. --- This is the same method (and thought process) I used to teach John the basics of rotational transfer mechanics he exhibits in the video. John’s main problem was (like many others) his muscles were so tight from years of relying on linear mechanics, it took a long time to loosen him up to swing freely.

Jack Mankin