Bat Speed -- Baseball Hitting Forum

Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Sat Sep 15 15:04:14 2001

Mr. Mankin I've learned that it is foolish to make judgements on things I don't clearly and distinctly understand. I have viewed your video the final arc. I have even bought a quasi-punching bag. Yet I am deeply troubled by my inability to produce serious batspeed. My batspeed did improve, but I still believe it is not satisfactory. This leads me two conclusions: 1. I need more repetition to engrave and perfect the mechanic within my mind (something misnamed muscle memory, because muscles are incapable of any physical recollection, all the coordination is memorized by the mind). 2. I need to strengthen the core muscles that produce batspeed. According to your theories these would be the trunk muscles like the abdominals. Obviously if I wanted to strengthen these muscles in any old way i would not bother you, but since you have a good understanding on the kinetics of the body, I would much appreciate if you informed me which exercises would be most beneficial for the development of batspeed. One more thing...How much batspeed could ultimately be generated? Is there a limit? Is there a way of measuring such limit?

Hi FF

Although strength is important and you should continue to develop it, your bat speed will benefit far more from perfecting your swing mechanics. In the "Final Arc," I presented to you the breakdown and theory behind the mechanics used by the very best hitters. I would suggest that you spend a lot of extra time reviewing the tape and understanding the principles and drills it contains.

Then video tape the swings of the hitters you most admire and would like to identify with. Study their mechanics frame-by-frame and with the principles I showed you, you should be able to emulate their swing and greatly increase your bat speed. But FF, as you pointed out, overcoming old muscle memories and burning in new ones will take time and a lot of practice. - You will know when you hit the ball (or the bag) if you have gained great bat speed. --- After a couple of months of practicing the above, if you are still having problems, order a swing review and I will walk you through it.

Jack Mankin

Followups:

Post a followup:

Name:

E-mail:

Subject:

Text:

> Mr. Mankin I've learned that it is foolish to make judgements on things I don't clearly and distinctly understand. I have viewed your video the final arc. I have even bought a quasi-punching bag. Yet I am deeply troubled by my inability to produce serious batspeed. My batspeed did improve, but I still believe it is not satisfactory. This leads me two conclusions: 1. I need more repetition to engrave and perfect the mechanic within my mind (something misnamed muscle memory, because muscles are incapable of any physical recollection, all the coordination is memorized by the mind). 2. I need to strengthen the core muscles that produce batspeed. According to your theories these would be the trunk muscles like the abdominals. Obviously if I wanted to strengthen these muscles in any old way i would not bother you, but since you have a good understanding on the kinetics of the body, I would much appreciate if you informed me which exercises would be most beneficial for the development of batspeed. One more thing...How much batspeed could ultimately be generated? Is there a limit? Is there a way of measuring such limit? 
> 
> Hi FF
> 
> Although strength is important and you should continue to develop it, your bat speed will benefit far more from perfecting your swing mechanics. In the "Final Arc," I presented to you the breakdown and theory behind the mechanics used by the very best hitters. I would suggest that you spend a lot of extra time reviewing the tape and understanding the principles and drills it contains. 
> 
> Then video tape the swings of the hitters you most admire and would like to identify with. Study their mechanics frame-by-frame and with the principles I showed you, you should be able to emulate their swing and greatly increase your bat speed. But FF, as you pointed out, overcoming old muscle memories and burning in new ones will take time and a lot of practice. - You will know when you hit the ball (or the bag) if you have gained great bat speed. --- After a couple of months of practicing the above, if you are still having problems, order a swing review and I will walk you through it. 
> 
> Jack Mankin

Anti-Spambot Question:

Who hit a record 70 home runs in one season?
   Kobe Bryant
   Wayne Gretzky
   Walter Payton
   Barry Bonds