Posted by: Toby (oswegoponysoftball@gmail.com) on Fri Dec 21 14:40:49 2012

Jack,

First of all I have found TV commentators to be wrong many times and
are not really " up with the times". If you take a look at Prince
Fielder in the link below you will see that his swing validates your
conclusion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O7iB5BXLOE



> This is another post from our Linear "Do's & Don't" fastpitch
hitting mechanics series. In this post, we are going to address the
linear cue "Get your arms extended."
> ___________________________________________________________
> Linear "Do's & Don'ts"
>
> * <a
href="http://www.batspeed.com/messageboard/1277014.html">Introduction
– Why This Fastpitch Series?</a>
>
> * "Weight Shift" -- Don't "Spin"
> * "Pop Your Hips" - but - "Keep Your Shoulder In-There"
> * "Don't Release The Bat-Head To Soon"
> * "Don't Cast" -- "Keep Your Hands In-side The Ball"
> * <a href="http://www.batspeed.com/messageboard/1293183.html">�Get
Your Arms Extended�</a>
> * <a href="http://www.batspeed.com/messageboard/1286539.html
">"Swing Down" -- "Keep The Bat-Head Above The Ball"</a>
> * "Rise Ball" "Don't Hit Around The Ball" "Swing Through The Ball"
> ___________________________________________________________
> I will make the links above live as soon as they are available
>
> Hi All
>
> It appears that equating "Getting the arms extended" to the power of
a hitter's swing has been accepted by most players, coaches and TV
commentators. How many times after long home runs, have you heard the
commentator say -- "Wow, she really got her arms extended on that
one."
>
> Well, does extending the arms generate bat speed? Let us take a
frame-by-frame look at a few homerun swings of softball's better
hitters and see 'when' the extension of their arms occurred and if
their power came from that extension.
>
> <a href="www.batspeed.com/media/Softball_extension.wmv">"Get Your
Arms Extended"</a>
>
> I find that the cue, "Get your arms extended," sends the wrong
message to a student. It places the emphasis on the arms to swing the
bat rather than the rotation of the body. In our Instructional Video "
<a href="http://www.batspeed.com/products09.html?
sesshash=a979580d607e49668127184993f8f2d2">THE FINAL ARC ll"</a>, we
stress mechanics that 'rotate' the arms and elbows rather than
'extending' them.
>
> Mike Epstein poses a very important question. - "Do we teach what we
see?" - In other words, would our students be better served by
teaching them the mechanics exhibited by the best hitters - or - the
linear mechanics we were taught?
>
> Jack Mankin