Posted by: Jack Mankin (mrbatspeed@aol.com) on Thu Sep 11 19:51:37 2003

>>> Great Discussion Guys,

I believe the points Paul Nyman was making is that the inward turn of the front shoulder is a consequence of loading the scapula of the back shoulder. Regarding the top hand torque: many people advocate “flattening the hands” early in the swing. In very simplistic terms, it appears that that is what these guys are doing. Pujols, Tejada and a few of the younger players appear to me to have a “modified” hands to the ball type of swing that nonetheless produces good power.

Here is a clip of Pujols: http://webpages.charter.net/nickkio/Pujols01.mpg <<<

Hi Nick

You stated, “I believe the points Paul Nyman was making is that the inward turn of the front shoulder is a consequence of loading the scapula of the back shoulder.” You are absolutely right. I gave the impression from what I saw with his animated batter that Paul did not believe the lead-shoulder rotated inward to set up the launch position. After reading some of his post on the subject, I found that he does. Therefore, I stand corrected.

THT is not really a cue on how to accelerate the bat back toward the catcher. It identifies the main force acting on the bat that accelerates it rearward. I have yet to find a good cue on how to apply THT correctly. The absolute absolute, for the correct way to apply THT is that the bat-head must be swept behind the batter’s head into the plane of the swing as rotation is initiated.

Probably the biggest downfall of hitters applying THT is they accelerate the bat-head back in too much of a vertical direction. The bat does not sweep behind the head into the plane. It cuts down through the intended swing plane, which results in serious wrist binds, and a wavy, nonproductive plane. --- Nick. I would be very leery of cues like “un-cock your wrist” or “flatten the hands” that tend to have the batter accelerate the bat-head on too vertical a plane.

Note how long Pujols’s back-forearm stays fairly vertical to keep the bat in the plane. -- http://webpages.charter.net/nickkio/Pujols01.mpg – Telling a batter to “flatten the hands” early in the swing, results in the forearm lowering much too soon.

Jack Mankin