Posted by: Kevin () on Wed May 4 08:27:14 2011

I would like to hear Jack's answer to this also. So much of this process seems to be about knowing what the correct mechanics should FEEL like to the batter. They can be described with words but can't be ingrained until you know what they feel like when you perform them.


> PLT, THT: What Each FEELS like, and WHEN They Occur
>
> Jack, or anyone else,
>
> In my post, "THT & Keeping the back elbow back," I mentioned that I
> had another question that concerned your excellent video clip at the
> following link, but it was best discussed in a new post:
>
> Back-arm mechanics of 4 good hitters (http://www.youtube.com/watch?
> v=98mVxe1lBKU&feature=channel_page)
>
> I missed it the first couple of times I viewed the clip, but you said
> the following:
> [my transcript of your video comments]
>
> "Their back elbow lowers down [0:40 min into the clip], but as it
> does, it lowers down behind him; so that, the forearm is applying a
> rearward force. . .By keeping the back elbow back [1:25 min], its
> almost like you're trying to keep the back elbow separate as long as
> possible. This allows the ROTATION OF THE LEAD SHOULDER to really
> apply a pulling force on the KNOB END of the bat that is causing that
> acceleration we see. And as we see now, EVEN AS HE REACHES THE LAG
> POSITION, even, [1:40 min] notice how far back the back elbow stays. .
> . So its not just the lowering of the back elbow that causes the bat
> head to accelerate rearward [2:14], but it is actually the PULLING
> BACKWARD OF THE FOREARM on that HANDLE as the LEAD SHOULDER pulling on
> the KNOB end that causes the bat to accelerate.
>
> This EXTREMLY HELPFUL clip is a gold mine of information about the
> practical application of THT, and combined with my "Thumb As Bat"
> experiment (posted at
> http://www.batspeed.com/messageboard/871971.html), I'd like to ask the
> following questions:
>
> 1) Since you said above that "even as he reaches the LAG POSITION,
> even, notice how far back the back elbow stays," my question is
> whether or not the back hand/forearm is still resisting the pull of
> the lead shoulder at the lag position, EVEN TO CONTACT, still trying
> to pull back as it was during initiation?
>
> I know that if I use my "thumb as bat," experiment, I can feel my
> hands wanting to come apart; so, there uppers to be torque operating
> at the lag position. I can feel this happening all the way through the
> lag position,, but have to really strain to keep it up more than
> halfway between lag and contact.
>
> 2) Since you state above that "Their back elbow lowers down, but as it
> does, it lowers down behind him; so that, the forearm is applying a
> rearward force," my question is HOW LONG DOES THE TOP HAND AND FOREARM
> RESIST THE LEAD SHOULDER'S ROTATION?
>
> If I read you correctly, its still occurring at the lag position, but
> does it continue all the way to contact OR does it release just as BHT
> begins. It it releases as BHT begins does it add more impetus to the
> speed generated by BHT?
>
> I am really not as concerned about extending the definition of THT to
> lag or contact as I am about the practical cues for using PLT and THT
> to create greater bat speed.
>
> For example, in my "thumb as bat" experiment (involving no lower body
> or torso), I found that as I continued to pull back with my top hand,
> and elbow, my top-hand thumb started to trace an arc that looked
> identical to that of the bat head in PLT. My lead shoulder had not
> started to rotate forward, but as it reached its limit the lead arm
> (biceps and forearm) started an additional turn toward the dugout,
> indicating that it was the lead shoulder's additional rotation,
> combined with the force of the right hand and forearm, that caused
> what looks to me like the PLT movement of the bat from, say, vertical
> to about 45 degrees with the ground, right in the swing plane.
>
> From my understanding, THT begins as the lead shoulder starts to
> rotate forward AS the top-hand continues to pull back. It would now
> appear that THT continues from Launch to the Lag position, which is a
> HUGE revelation for me, with great practical significance!
>
> Practically, the hitter's swing takes place in the blink of an eye
> (particularly MLB payers); so, one can't check at each point to see if
> they're PLT or THT from initiation through launch, lag, BHT or
> contact.
>
> I'D LIKE TO JUST CONTINUE PULLING MY BACK HAND BACK THE WHOLE TIME
> UNTIL SOMETIME BETWEEN LAG AND CONTACT, since that just "feels" right
> to me. However, I would like to hear from you regarding what cue(s)
> work best so as not to overdo pulling back.
>
> Thanks as always for such brilliant work that keeps revealing
> something new each day.