Posted by: The Hitting Guru () on Wed Aug 4 18:34:35 2004

>>> I can't understand how Albert Pujol's swing is so succesful. ( Every coach in the world has told me to keep my elbows down)But somehow, his rout to the ball is so straight and perfect...almost Bondsesque. Can somebody explain this to me? <<<
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> > Hi Danny
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> > You are correct, starting the swing with "The back elbow up" is on almost every coach's "Bad Advice" list. --- Initiating the swing with the rear elbow down may constitute the right mechanics for the weight-shift and extension swing model, however, in that model, as the batter initiates the swing, the direction of force of the top hand is directed toward the pitcher. Having the elbow already down places the arm in a good driving position for these mechanics.
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> > Having the elbow lowered to the batter’s side is not as powerful a position for the rotational hitter. With the rotational transfer mechanics, as the batter initiates the swing, he does not push the top hand toward the pitcher. He instead pulls with the fingers of the top hand back toward the catcher (THT) to first accelerate the bat-head in an arc back toward the catcher (ala Pujols or Bonds or Sosa, or etc). Therefore, this style of mechanics would want the elbow in a more elevated position -- in-line with the intended direction of pull -- like an archer’s elbow as he pulls back the bowstring. With the elbow flat down at the side, he would not be in as powerful a position to pull the top-hand back at initiation.
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> > Jack Mankin
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> He also keeps his swing very simple....he has no stride at all....just a simple inward turn of the front knee...in which he is on the tip of his front toe and smashes the heal down right before ....driving toward the ball


It is not how you start, it is how you finish. Even a guy who uses a linear approach can be effective if he keeps his swing in the hitting area for a long period of time. In the 20's and 30's it was not uncommon for a guy to hit above .375. Many such hitters used unorthodox approaches, but they stayed in the hitting area longer by using sweeping Ichiro type approaches. In addition, the longer you stay in the hitting area, the less you will strike out.
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