Posted by: Doug () on Thu Jul 31 08:04:58 2003

I saw where Epstein said barring lead arm is bad but Jack I thought you said it is good. What do you say?
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> Hi Sid
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> I have no problem with the lead-arm being straight in the launch position or during the swing. I prefer not to use the term “barred” because it infers a rigid and tense arm and on inside pitches it may be necessary for the lead-elbow to flex in order to generate a tighter hand-path. Therefore, I have no problem with the principle of “barring the arm” only with the connotations surrounding the term.
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> I will give everyone the benefits I find with having a straighter (“barred” - if you prefer the term) lead-arm. But first, I think it would lead to a good discussion if we heard from those that feel having the lead-arm barred is wrong. So those that think a straight or barred arm is bad, please give the reasons you feel barring the lead-arm has a negative effect on the swing. Or, if you can quote Epstein’s objections to it, I would like to hear them also.
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> Jack Mankin

Hi Jack, Interesting subject. Since we all watch tapes of major leaguers, we know that some of them bar the lead arm out, but most do not. I prefer to not bar out the lead arm until approaching contact, and even then, not always.
When teaching, we are usually dealing with youngsters (HS age and below) and not major leaguers. The pre pitch approach of R. Allen, Franco and Sheffield have shown us that a very strong and talented hitter can do unconventional things and still be very successful. However, as you mentioned, the pitch on the inner half that we would like to pull is enough reason to make barring the arm something that I would not teach.
To stay inside the ball well, the rear elbow needs to get into the slot with ease and with the bat back so far due to the barring out it hinders this somewhat. If the rear elbow can't get into the slot in good fashion, there is a greater chance of the hitter rolling over and hitting a ground ball. A big, strong, talented player will have a better chance of getting into position than a young weaker high school hitter, who will have a tendency to swing out and around, slowing his bat and giving him trouble with the pitch on the inner half of the plate. With the young players, I try to keep their hands a little closer to their body, as I feel that it helps with quickness and direction of the bat.
From a pitchers point of view, if I noticed a hitter that was barring out all the time, I would pound him inside with fastballs.

Doug
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