Posted by: Derby Boy () on Mon Aug 26 07:56:13 2002

The back elbow debate seems to have no end. Should the elbow be up or should it be down? To me, there is little question. A-Rod, Manny, Nomar, Griffey all have the back elbow up, as do about 95 percent of pros. And even these guys that start with their back elbows down always bring it back up as they are loading their swing. Jack and anybody out there, is there really any question in this argument?
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> Greg-
> Your observation is pretty accurate, though there are some guys who don't raise the elbow as much and some who raise the elbow well above shoulder level.
> What is more important is why that elbow is up at the start of the swing. Where does it go when the swing starts.
> I've seen instructors suggest getting the elbow up so the top hand can drive forward at the ball.
> I've seen instructors suggest keeping the elbow down to avoid top hand dominance (not driving the top hand forward).
> Jack and Mike Epstein talk about the elbow being up, then moving down to the side of the ribs.
> What do you think the top elbow should be doing?

Macgwire keeps his elbow down. Of course, since he extends bottom arm more than most hitters, by Batspeed.com's definition that makes Macgwire a "linear" and therefore a poor hitter.
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