Posted by: Grand Slam Man () on Fri Jun 9 14:40:04 2006

> >>> Hi Jack Manken,
>
> No problem. You can answer question two and three whnever you caN. i am 6'4," 234 lbs, and hit a cuople 330 feet (est.) at practice. Two things i was surpised at--one mnior, one majr. Minor, this double L thing at contact??? Never herd of it. i have heard of shift yur wt agressively from bakc to gfront, wich is from charley lau's book. i feel that following that book, though, i dont get enough hip rotation, or shoulder rotation (thanxs jack, nevr herd of it either, i'll read it when i get the chance.
>
> i really want to know how far the ball will drive once i rederess my swing, and incoportate yur mechanics into my swing. i did look at ny man'S SITE TOO...i think i would be in a body cast jarringg my body the way he say he dus.
>
> Mree important, if i buy a bag, is the bag suppose to create a SonAC boom each time i hit it? At my size, i think i should be hiting a lot futher thn a i can.
>
> jAck, i want to thank you for providing a free Site with greatt infromation oN it. Lots of sites i know charge mony, or evne argue ober who is wright, and how is wrong. i think i'll give this site a shot, as it is 100 precent scientific, and is based ansd facts, not ficshion.
>
> (My book That i used was chrlie lau's art of .300, but i think i can hit evn better by learning NEW material).
>
> BTW, great clipps!
>
> Thanxs for responsing,
> Grand Slam Man <<<
>
> Hi Grand Slam Man
>
> I am addressing questions 2 and 3 from your first post and this post should cover most of your concerns.
>
> Question #2 “What is the classic L in both the front and bacck leg at contact? Arn't you supodsded to PuSH with that back arm, and drive hard with the back nee?”
>
> Video analysis of most high quality swings show the back-leg and back-arm are in an “L” shape at contact. Obviously, the back-leg would need to be in an inverted “L”. I am not nearly as concerned with the angle of the back-leg as I am of the back-arm at contact. The angle of the back-leg is governed mainly by the distance between the feet and angle of tilt in the axis of rotation.
>
> Hitters who have their axis tilted more rearward and keep their feet wider apart (like Mantle) will have a more defined “L” shape than a batter who has a more vertical axis and drags the back-foot forward at contact (like Clemente or Aaron). I find equally great hitters with varying degrees of axis and back-leg angles, therefore have not made an Absolute rule on which is most productive. Note: I teach a rearward axis tilt of about 15 degrees.
>
> Grand Slam Man, let us concentrate on getting you to understand why practicing making contact with your back-arm in an “L” configuration is key to your maximizing your potential as a hitter. You stated in your question, “Arn't you supodsded to PuSH with that back arm,”. This is a common misconception of most batters. They feel that for the top-hand to drive forward requires the extension of the back-arm. That is simply not the case.
>
> In high quality swings, body rotation supplies most of energy that powers the top-hand to contact. Professor Adair has calculated that it requires about 3 torque HP to hit a ball 400 feet. He states that the arms can contribute about 1/3 HP. This means that with efficient transfer mechanics, the larger muscle groups of the legs and torso must be allowed to supply most of the energy.
>
> With that in mind, consider the sport of boxing. Would you rather be hit by an opponent’s “jab” (extension of his arm) or his “hook” (arm remains in the “L” shape and power by shoulder rotation)? – Now let's see how this relates to the baseball swing with this clip of Griffey Jr. -- http://www.youthbaseballcoaching.com/mpg/Griffey01.mpeg
>
> Advance the swing forward frame-by-frame and note that although the top-hand moved in an arc about 24 inches, his back-elbow remains back at his side during rotation and is still in the “L” position (like the boxer’s hook) at contact. The arm did not extend until well after the ball was gone.
>
> It should be obvious that if the batter is swinging at an outside pitch or his bat has rotated more to pull the ball, his arm must extend more to accommodate this position. This is why in my study, I placed great importance on a batter's position when his bat had rotated to perpendicular (ball would be hit straightaway). -- Note: They make the centerfield fence the deepest for a reason.
>
> This post is getting long again. I will cover the heavy bag next.
>
> Jack Mankin

Thanxs jack,

iMadE my comits in wht i saw on the ny MAN site concerning hip rotation...here is pArt of HIs blogg:

Cues vs Reality: The Stiff front Leg, Squashing The Bug, and "The L" ..."
More about cues versus reality specifically with regard to issue such as the problems associated with using cues such as a stiff front leg, squashing the bug and other such coaching and instructional "perceptions".

One "cue" that I hear quite often is the need for a hitter to brace up or stiffen up the front leg to create/help rotation of the hips. The reasoning behind this cue being rotation of the hips it is a function of stiffening up a racing up of the front side (front leg). And or that converting the stride into rotation requires bracing up/stiffening of the front leg. That the bracing up of the leg is what causes hip rotation.

The same thing can be said for squishing the bug and or “The L”. For those who are not familiar with the concept of: “The L”, it is a description of the shape of the back leg as the hips hour rotating and/or have been rotated (goes hand-in-hand with squishing the bug i.e. rotation of the back foot such that it appears that the ball the foot is squishing a bug and the heel is coming up). The “alleged” final result of the action of squishing the bug with the back foot is hip rotation which also creates the shape of “the L” in the back leg.

Again we are back to symptoms versus cues, form versus function.

The symptom here being squishing the bug and "L" is what causes hip rotation when in reality (the cause) hip rotation is primarily produced by muscular actions in the pelvic-buttocks area. That the muscles that are responsible for abducting and adducting around the hip joints creates forces around the hip joints. The effect of these forces is what you see as squishing the bug and creating “the L”. In other words these movements of the foot and leg are in support of the actions of the muscles in the pelvic area give the appearance/impression of bracing up on the front side and squishing the bug and creating "the L" on the backside.

One has to question the value of these “cues”. They are cues that are based on visual “perception”. The question is how effectively do these cues contribute the actual muscular movements and muscle activation's that are observed in high-level players.

And like most cues, their existence is because I better than nothing as opposed to their teaching instructional effectiveness. Their main reason for existence is because they satisfy the coaches need for visual representation of that portion of the swing process.

jack, not personal, but i tried nyt MAN's way, and it didn't see too natural, i mean my feet didn't even move...there may be something to yur statonery axes model, which uses the HOLE body, not just HIPS - the whole bodies..i hope i understand yu crrectly,when I say tht the hole body must work together, or else nothing works AT all!!!!! This is the problem i have with ny MAN's hip-jerk...it don't seem very smooth, and must hurt...OUCH!

Now to the bag part,if i ever swung that way jacc, I'd end up in a CAST om a bag. ny MAN says that a bag exercise will cause injury...bes in the hans i think, and possible other problems. cAn you please set me stragt on how to jar or not jarr into the bagg without injuRy?

thanxs for the responses, and enjoy your weekend!!!

bESt,
Grand Slam Man