Posted by: () on Fri Sep 14 00:15:06 2001

Shawn et al-
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> I hope all is as well as possible with you and your loved ones in this difficult time.Baseball promises to be as good a diversion as possible when the time comes.
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> I still can't load the angelfire clips.
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> Reactive torque is often seen,but requires an understanding of how it is affected by the players way of adjusting to the pitch.Inside location and an upright axis of rotation accentuate toe drag.
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> Toe drag(reactive torque going down back leg as hips decelerate,continuing until hands cast away from axis of rotation)is more apparent the less weight the back foot bears and the more the hitter "turns on" the pitch(without letting the hands get away from the body).Maximum drag is seen for high inside balls where the player has to really turn to get the sweetspot on the inside location and where the axis has to stay more upright to match the plane of the pitch,for example the setpro clip of Piazza in the series in the "mccarver" thread-Forum1.000507.Even Sosa-who really leans the head back and down to create a rearward leaning axis thereby keeping weight on the back foot and preventing drag-will show some drag on the high inside cheese.
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> In general,the outside location has delayed(torso hooks up/hips decelerate later) and less "turn" and therefore less reactive drag.This can be seen on the Nomar(comparing inside-more drag/outside-less drag locations) clip at setpro Forum1,000394.
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> I am more and more interested in how players go about setting up their axis at launch/maintain axis until contact.Bonds talks about the importance of getting the body in the right position for a given pitch.When he misses one,he says he can mentally see where his body needed to be and the next time he sees that pitch he nails it.Often he gets it right the first time.He never forgets a pitch.Even started hitting the submariner in Colorado.
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> Jack is really on to something with top hand torque and the circular handpath as a simpler way of adjusting/covering the plate.In this case,the swing radius is set at launch(shorter and earlier for the inside stuff) and then stays circular until the bathead is fired as opposed to launching with a short swing radius and then letting the hands get away from the axis of rotation to get the sweetspot on the away pitch(linear mechanics/inside outing).With this more consistent/simpler adjustment and sequencing method,body positioning(posture) then becomes key to matching the location/timing of the pitch and can be focussed on better since overall motor programs are less variable.
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> Another variation of this mechanical approach(which limits variation of motor programs) is to stay off the plate and make everything a middle away pitch as in the case of Big Mac.This might limit vulnerability to the inside high cheese since you don't have to turn on it quite as much.

Tom,

It's as good as can be while watching the events unfold.

I haven't fixed the clips from the last week, this should work fine.

http://www.angelfire.com/games3/s_bell/seperation.html

or try , http://www.angelfire.com/games3/s_bell/griffov.gif

It's impossible to make all your timing adjustments with separation and many only adjust the hands or swing. Making bigger adjustments, hitting off the front leg (foot), or hitting of the back foot more is all part of hitting. As long as your hands do not betray you, your in good shape.

For the most part I think the hitter should strive for leverage when the torso kicks in, less drag and more back foot pop. Everyone is different, although you can only lift the back heel so much before all your weight goes forward.

Sosa goes from low to high, gets way up for the high stuff. More drag, less weight on the back leg. Anyone who starts out sitting, has to get up and drag some on the high stuff. That guy can really swing from his 'butt'!

I understand what your saying. If a hitter is looking outside and uses more top hand torque their back foot can also drag and kick sideways.

I saw Bonds hitting the slinger. He does the same thing Edgar does on a sidearm slinger, change their posture and swings even more level (matching the plane of a flatter pitch). Most hitters try to take the same approach. In fastpitch the curve is similar to a slinger and gets the same results when hitters try to swing down through the plane of the pitch.

Bonds handles almost everything with posture (IMO). Almost lining up his top hand with the ball. What's his cue?, trying to punch the ball, well he's usually in a good position. The one thing I do not like is Bonds almost drops straight down.

What's with the toe tap? On his 63rd he barely moved before swinging (slower pitcher with only 1 strike). When does he change, counts, two strikes, slower pitchers. I've seen plenty change their stride according to what their anticipating.

We'll have to discuss this reactve torque in greater detail. I have more to say on this. I'm currently working on 3D animations (learning curve), someday in the future Jack is going to replace those hand drawings of Sosa, Griffey.

Shawn