Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Mon Jul 24 11:40:51 2000

>>>Why do you think strike outs are continuing to rise each year? The strike zone is smaller, one would think the opposite should be true. Does it have anything to do with the circular hand path, Most doing it in the MLB now. If I advocated your mechanics this winter for a massive reengineer of my team kid's mechanics would I be giving up anything regarding average for power?<<<

Hi Larry

I'm not sure what the strikeout percentage is today. But I can assure you that low batting averages and high strike out rates are not inherent with a circular hand-path. Otherwise, how would we explain a Ted Williams, George Brett or many of the hitters who consistently won the crown for high batting averages.

Strikeouts may be up but so are batting, slugging and home run averages. In today's games, 15 to 25 hits are becoming commonplace. Maybe with the circular hand-path, routine fly balls and soft grounders are getting fewer and the pitches must rely more on strike outs -- just a thought.

Jack Mankin