Posted by: Steve () on Fri Jan 31 09:36:56 2003

If anyone doubts that linear principles still rule in the world of baseball instruction, please take a gander at the following link, and open up the discussion entitled “8-yr old hitting mechanics.” This thread promises to expand, but already some of the advice is astonishing.
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> > > > http://www.eteamz.com/baseball/boards/baseball/
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> > > Wow. Think of it this way - if that many people think the youngster's swing is better, that makes it so much easier for the kids with good swings to succeed!
> > > Perhaps we should have Darwin awards for hitting tips and hitting posts...
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> > Major Dan:
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> > My thoughts exactly. Whenever I see this kind of “advice” doled out to another kid, I figure my 11 year old is a notch closer to someday making his high school team. I do note that Tom Guerry has now joined the discussion over there and is endeavoring to introduce a bit of rotational good sense into the mix. I do believe it is a noble fight that we Mankin and Epstein “cultists” (as one would have it) must wage.
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I agree. I used the word facetiously (that’s why it’s in quotes) because it was used by one of the linear proponents on the eteamz board to refer to followers of Epstein. If there is a cult, it is comprised of the blind loyalists who refuse to believe that what they learned as youngsters just might be imperfect.