Posted by: Major Dan (markj89@charter.net) on Fri Jan 24 07:04:04 2003

how does a man thats 6' 195 hit the farthest homeruns ever. AND big guys like mguire,bonds sosa,hit bombs, but no where close to what mantle did. what kind of bat speed must this guy have had compared to all the others. I guess it must have been swinging that sledge hammer
> >
> > www.theswearingens.com/mick/swing.htm > from watching the micks swing i see right away he has a long and i mean long stride

Aaron and others from that era had longer strides than is common today, though Sheffield is similar.
I once heard Mantle described as having the perfect body to be a great hitter - extremely strong and athletic, relatively short (a generous 6') to create a smaller strikezone, and very wide in the shoulders creating effectively a wider arc from shoulder turn - a benefit usually of taller players.
He also swung 'from the heels' as they used to say. I don't think you'll ever see any player with a greater intent to hit the ball hard. He took his rips, for sure.