Posted by: Steve () on Tue Jan 14 10:42:53 2003

Steve,
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> Since you have had the benefit of actually being there while Epstein worked with your kid, maybe you can help me out - I have only had the benefit of watching his video and reading some of the Collegiate Baseball articles. A couple of questions:
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> 1) Where does THT (top hand torque) fit in to Epstein's model?
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> 2) In Epstein's torque position to the short 3, it seems like the shoulders are way over rotated and the hands move way to forward as compared to what Mankin is advocating. I'm not saying one is right or wrong, I am just pointing differences I see.
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> 3) What is the significance of sitting? Why is it so important to sit as much as Mike teaches? What does that do for the swing?
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> There is no question that Mike teaches the rotation part. But as I read and watch, you can rotate and still do things differently in the rotational world.

Georger:

For a more thorough and well-informed answer to some of your questions, I would refer you to Tom Guerry’s recent posts. I’m just a dad who watched his son take instruction for a week. That said, let me respond as best I can:

1) Epstein did not specifically address top hand torque during the instruction. For good reason I think. Epstein sees his role – particularly with younger kids – as simplifying the process. Anyone who has ever tried to hit a fastball knows that one of the worst things you can do while hitting is to overthink – to try and hit while your mind is cluttered with a thousand cues. Nothing will disrupt natural ability faster than overthink. Epstein believes that THT plays a role, but he also believes that it occurs naturally in the swing he teaches if everything is done properly from launch. Thus he doesn’t overburden young minds with notions of top hand torque which should occur automatically if all else goes well.

2) I’m not certain I understand your question about the over-rotated shoulders. The torque position is the position a rotational hitter gets to once he has “wound the rubber band” and is about to launch. Obviously at some point after that there will be tremendous hip, and then shoulder rotation. With the shoulder leading, the connected hands will come forward and around the axis. I think what Epstein does with these drills is to get the body acclimated to various phases of the swing – positions the linear hitter is not accustomed to. Sometimes when the swing is broken up for these purposes it looks quite different than what actually happens during a real swing – but video will reveal that these stages do indeed occur along the way.

3) My understanding is that sitting on the back leg is the most efficient method for allowing that leg to work with the front leg in breaking linear movement and maximizing the rotational force of the body. If you don’t sit, as the front leg firms up you will probably drift forward or backward, and neither is good for the rotational hitter. Leaning forward is an obvious no no because it defeats the rotational model, and leaning back too much will create balance problems and will also create linear movement in the opposite direction. Sitting allows the greatest amount of torque to rotate around the stationary axis.

I’m sure you are right about doing things differently within the rotational world. The question is, how much of that is style and how much technique? I’m one of those who believes that, at the end of the day, Mankin and Epstein teach the same thing, but with different emphasis. They both can provide an invaluable service to any ballplayer who is willing to change.