Posted by: SteveT () on Tue Jun 6 14:19:53 2000

Well I'm sure I'll get some flak for this, but here goes. I would say "back to center" weight shift, rather than back to front. As in golf, some aspects of commonly taught mechanics are popular not because of power but accuracy.

Hitters like Junior, for instance, do exhibit weight shift, but it is during the swing rather than prior to it. A look at Griffey frame-by frame shows him on his back toe well before contact- I think Jack would say that it is the momentum of the bat that pulls the weight forward. On the follow-through I would agree to a point but I have clips showing Junior with almost no weight on the back foot as the bathead is passing the catcher (as early as frame two of the five frames from launch to contact.)

Whether this "weight shift" has anything to do with power is a moot point in this case; but it is important (in my opinion) with regard to keeping the backside from collapsing.