Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Sat Feb 3 10:51:20 2001

>>>Releasing the top hand is also more of a necessity if the head is kept down facing the contact point as I believe Lau recommends. Epstein feels this head position may hamper rotation and recommends the head be facing out to the pitcher. <<<

Hi

I would be inclined to agree with Mr. Epstein. The swing plane and timing has been fully established when a fastball is about 12 to 15 feet away from the batter. Once the swing is fully initiated very little changes can be made to the bat�s trajectory. So, trying to track the ball�s flight past that point would be of little value.

Jack Mankin