Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Tue Jun 20 06:08:31 2000

>>>What is it? is it when its bottom handdown and top hand down? WHEN is it? please help me out guys. --thanks Troy <<<

Hi Troy

The “launch position” is much more than just the position of the hands. It is the position the entire body acquires in preparation to initiation the swing. --- As the batter steps into the box he takes a well-balanced athletic stance. Plenty of flex in his knees - weight fairly evenly distributed on his legs and mainly on the balls of his feet. His lead shoulder will be pointing in the direction of the pitcher. The bat is held in any position he feels most relaxed with. This is the position the batter takes as the pitcher looks for the sign and prepares to start his wind-up. But this is not the position the batter will initiate his swing from.

As the pitcher prepares to release the ball, the batter may or may-not decide to take a timing step. In either case, the batter begins to lean slightly away from the pitcher. This shifts his weight to about 60 - 40 to the back leg. The hands are brought back and up to the about the armpit and the bat-head is cocked slightly toward the pitcher. The lead knee rotates a few degrees away from the pitcher. This rotates (inwarded turn) the hips and shoulders so that the lead shoulder is now pointing more in the direction of the second baseman. The rotation of the shoulders should also bring the hands to a point where they are now inline with the batter’s center of rotation (the spine) and the pitchers mound.

The batter has now prepared a good “launch position” to initiate his swing from.

Jack Mankin