Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Wed Jun 6 00:14:32 2001

>>>Jack -
If a hitter opened their hips, then came to a full stop, then rotates the shoulders using only torso muscles, that batter is going through the correct sequence but in a disconnected, extremely inefficient way. This is fine for teaching/demo purposes, but is not a proper swing. I don't know of anyone who really does this when actually hitting.
I consider transfer mechanics the use of the torso to channel the energy of the lower body (legs/hips) into shoulder rotation. Without proper transfer mechanics, the lower body work is lost - slipped transmission is your excellent analogy.
Don't you think that the large powerful muscles (quads, gluts, etc) would do a better job of creating raw energy/power than the torso muscles?
IMO, the torso's main job is to make sure the transmission doesn't slip, not act as the engine.
I'm not sure where you are going with your post. By the way, who is the author you refer to above?<<<

Hi Major Dan:

I probably should not name the author without being certain, but I think it was a Tom Emanski video I saw advertised on TV that showed the 3-stage drill. Over the past year or so, I have noticed a few college and high school teams practicing the drill as I outlined.

The reason for the post is because I have trouble seeing the benefit of intentional “separation” in developing good shoulder rotation. A few coaches whose opinions I hold in high regard proclaim that the more separation there is between the hips and shoulders the more powerful the results. But I think a good argument could be made that the hips and shoulders rotate for a greater part in unison than in separation. So, I thought I would bounce a few ideas off you coaches before I submit my argument.

First of all Major Dan, I agree with the points you made. Good mechanics should transfer (not slip) the energy from the lower body to develop shoulder rotation. This is why I have trouble allowing the hips to rotate while the transmission is in “neutral.” --- Suppose for a minute, that during the 3-stage drill, the batter did not pause. Suppose the batter started torso contractions once the hips rotated 60 degrees. Would this not constitute “separation?” – What difference do you see in “separation” and the “disconnected” you spoke of?

Jack Mankin