Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Thu May 12 11:10:17 2005

>>> Hello Jack...not sure what Tom wrote but I read where people talk about rotating/ driving the rear hip through or around the front. I don't see that or any physical way that is possible. I see lead leg extension forcing the lead hip socket away as well potentiating the hip turn. <<<

Hi Donny

Most of the better hitters take a soft stride and land with ample flex in the lead-knee and then extend the leg to drive the front-hip rearward. This is not to say that there are not good hitters who land with a straighter front leg. With their lead-leg already extended, most of their hip rotation is from the back hip rotating forward around a more posted lead-hip.

I see this type of rotation in a good number of the kids whose swings I analyze. In most cases, these young batters that rotate the backside around a posted lead-side are also far to dependent on the back-arm to swing the bat. This means their backside is rotating around a more dormant lead-side.

I advise them in order to reach their maximum potential, they must get the lead-side more involved in the swing. For the lead-arm to be used efficiently, the lead-shoulder must be rotating rearward as the back-shoulder rotates forward. Then we begin working on the lower-body mechanics discussed earlier.

Jack Mankin