Posted by: dandydo () on Tue Dec 17 07:52:29 2002

Tom in response to your post:

> Jack,Dan,Mark,et al-
>
> I believe that what Jack describes as THT is happening(ideal model)when the bat is "uncocking" and while the scapula is loading.How about a couple of examples-
>
> See the Bonds clip at the address in the internal rotation thread above.The hip is "cocked" in frame #11-inward turn of front knee,internal rotation of back arm,bat cocked.

TOM, THE BONDS CLIP IS NOT AVAILABLE. GIVE US ANOTHER REFERENCE.


> Now,how about another example in Williams 1986 Revised Science of Hitting.See first p.40:
>
> "Cocking hips,so essential to the golf swing but never articulated in baseball,is at the root of batting power.It ocurs in unison with the beginning of the stride,the lead knee turning in to facilitate rotation of the hips and shoulders."
>
> Or text on page 45:
>
> ".....You don't worry about the hips until you actually begin the performance of the swing.The hips and hands cock as you move your lead foot to stride,the front knee turning in to help the hips rotate back.You are cocking your hips as you stride,and it's so important to get that right."
>
> I would say that internal rotation of the back arm is the "hand cock" associated with the hip cock Williams mentions.I would also say this is associated with the "shrug" of the front shoulder mentioned by Jack.This is all a single moment in the swing where all 4 limbs are moving a certain way.

TOM, WILLIAMS SEEMS TO HAVE INCONSISTENCIES THOUGH. ON PAGE 35 he says:

"I held my bat upright, almost perpendicular to the ground...It is lighter to the holder because as the angle increases, the resistance increases....My feeling was if I stayed more vertical, thereby increasing the loop in the swing, I could get the ball in the air better."

It does not appear Williams ever internally rotated or "cocked" his hands.

On scapula loading, on page 36 he says:

"I kept my left elbow straigh back, the upper arm perpendicular to the body. I felt it gave me that umph, that little extra something to get the bat moving. This also helped create a wider loop to the swing, the opposite of a chop."

Sounds like your example of AROD; he started "loaded", but what about the "Hand cock". The other thing about hand cock or internal rotation/external rotation and your Williams example is what he says on page 58:

"The baseball swing is a hard PUSH-SWING. You are pushing right through the flight of the ball. You get your power not so much from the wrists or the arms and SHOULDERS, but from the rotation of the hips into the ball."

What does that mean? That does not sound like external rotation or top hand torque or connection to the torso. Reference to Williams and his total explanation in context does not support your explanation of scapula loading or the internal/external rotation of the arm/hand, IMO.

And the Bonds clip does not come up, so we are left with no examples/visual cues, just the scientific explanation, which is very hard to get a high school kid to understand, much less do. I'm sure I do not understand the scientific concepts either, but I'm trying.
Could you please give us a couple more examples or clarify the Ted Williams example?