Bat Speed -- Baseball Hitting Forum

Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatSpeed@aol.com) on Sat Sep 4 15:28:32 2004

>>> I have found that a great way to understand proper hitting mechanics is watching the big-leaguers do it. Which hitter do you think, Jack, has the most perfect swing, displaying all the principles you preach?

In my opinion, Barry Bonds has the most perfect swing. Players that do not put up GREAT, superstar-like numbers but have good swings (I think), are Mike Cameron and Jorge Posada. <<<

Hi Earl

Welcome to the site. – A few years ago it was easy for me to name the hitters who exemplified great rotational transfer mechanics. At that time there were only a handful of players who would qualify, and new hitters who could join their ranks rarely occurred. That is now no longer the case. The list of good rotational hitters has swelled to over 50 with new entries ever year (if not monthly). Players we never heard of, or who were just average hitters in past years, suddenly show up exhibiting the mechanics that challenge the established leaders.

However, I still maintain as I stated in the early 1990’s, Barry Bonds has the most efficient transfer mechanics of any hitter I have studied – it was true then and it remains true today

Earl, you stated, “Players that do not put up GREAT, superstar-like numbers but have good swings (I think), are Mike Cameron and Jorge Posada.” – One of the key findings in my research is that a player’s hitting performance corresponds within a fairly narrow range to their swing mechanics (which includes a consistent swing plane). In fact, this finding proved to be so consistent that I spent a great deal of time looking for hitters that exhibited good rotational transfer mechanics, but whose stats were substantially below other hitters with the same swing classification.

Back in the early 1990’s, Sammy Sosa was the only hitter I found who exhibited sound rotational mechanics but performed below their classification. I think this was mainly due to his not being able to lay off bad pitches. Over the years, I never noted any significant change to his core mechanics, therefore his pitch selection must have improved.

Jack Mankin

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> >>> I have found that a great way to understand proper hitting mechanics is watching the big-leaguers do it. Which hitter do you think, Jack, has the most perfect swing, displaying all the principles you preach? 
> 
> In my opinion, Barry Bonds has the most perfect swing. Players that do not put up GREAT, superstar-like numbers but have good swings (I think), are Mike Cameron and Jorge Posada. <<<
> 
> Hi Earl
> 
> Welcome to the site. – A few years ago it was easy for me to name the hitters who exemplified great rotational transfer mechanics. At that time there were only a handful of players who would qualify, and new hitters who could join their ranks rarely occurred. That is now no longer the case. The list of good rotational hitters has swelled to over 50 with new entries ever year (if not monthly). Players we never heard of, or who were just average hitters in past years, suddenly show up exhibiting the mechanics that challenge the established leaders.  
> 
> However, I still maintain as I stated in the early 1990’s, Barry Bonds has the most efficient transfer mechanics of any hitter I have studied – it was true then and it remains true today
> 
> Earl, you stated, “Players that do not put up GREAT, superstar-like numbers but have good swings (I think), are Mike Cameron and Jorge Posada.” – One of the key findings in my research is that a player’s hitting performance corresponds within a fairly narrow range to their swing mechanics (which includes a consistent swing plane). In fact, this finding proved to be so consistent that I spent a great deal of time looking for hitters that exhibited good rotational transfer mechanics, but whose stats were substantially below other hitters with the same swing classification. 
> 
> Back in the early 1990’s, Sammy Sosa was the only hitter I found who exhibited sound rotational mechanics but performed below their classification. I think this was mainly due to his not being able to lay off bad pitches. Over the years, I never noted any significant change to his core mechanics, therefore his pitch selection must have improved.     
> 
> Jack Mankin

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