Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatSpeed@aol.com) on Tue Aug 3 04:44:40 2004

>>> Is this hitter applying THT?

http://members.aol.com/bellshw2/alex.mov

My answer is No, I believe it's rotation and where the bat head is when rotation begins. I'll let Jack school us on if this is THT. <<<

Hi Shawn

As I recall from our earlier discussions, you made it clear that you do not believe torque (hands applying force from opposing directions) is even a factor in generating bat speed. Therefore, what point is there in us discussing THT?

But I can tell you this with certainty – No batter, regardless of who it is, can attain great bat speed by driving the top-hand in the same direction as the bottom-hand. Call it whatever you wish, but in order to generate maximum acceleration at initiation, the top-hand must pull in the opposite direction the bottom-hand is being pulled.

>>> Is this hitter applying THT? <<<

On this swing, the batter appears to acquire a good launch position but exhibits limited efficiently in applying THT. His bat speed is generated late in this long swing (hands travel 40+ inches to contact). The bat-head would never lag behind the hands that far into the swing if the batter initiated the swing with good THT and applied BHT. He appears to me to have been fooled on the pitch and had to pull it.

Jack Mankin