Posted by: Bart () on Tue Sep 10 13:23:03 2002

In a recent post someone (Hitman?)described the launch position as the point when the front heel lands.

I don't want to split hairs, but for a number of reasons I think it's important to make a distinction between the launch position and the torque position.

The launch position is when the front toe lands, and at this point the hitter decides swing or not swing. At this point the bat is still cocked, in many cases pointing towards the pitcher.

By the time the front heel lands, about 1 frame or so later, the swing has already started. The bat has uncocked & in a near vertical position (instead of pointing towards the pitcher). In the meantime, the hips have turned anywhere from 15 to 30 degrees for most hitters. This is Epstein's "torque position".