Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Mon Dec 10 19:23:55 2001

>>> Jim, I remember years ago (maybe 12?)Dr. Bragg Stockton, head baseball coach at Texas Christian University promoted what I thought and still think is a useful drill. Take a basketball (or any suitable substitute). Press the hands on each side of the ball, stride and throw the ball to the opposite field. Remember, at release point the hands will now be on top/bottom of the ball rather than on the sides of the ball.

The assumption with this drill, of course is that you want to hit the outside pitch the opposite way. The drill is good for inside pitches (throw to the pull field) because it seems to help getting the hips into the "throw". The drill is equally good for outside pitches because it promotes the necessary in "pushing" the ball the other way as opposed to trying to pull the outside pitch.

One time at a May Company autograph session (free, I might add)I asked Steve Garvey his opinion of the drill. He said he had never heard of Dr.Bragg Stockton but that he (Garvey)himself had thought of this drill and had used it. And in that era, no one could go the other way with power the way Garvey could. <<<

Hi All

The mechanics used in the “throwing the deflated basketball” drill described above uses basically the same mechanics as used in throwing the hands (or knob of the bat) at the ball. It requires the lead-elbow to flex and then extend outward to accelerate the ball (or knob). Those mechanics are fine to accelerate the deflated ball (or knob) but it is not an efficient mechanic for developing good bat-head speed for either inside or outside pitches.

Major Dan’s post “Mon Dec 10 13:08:43 2001 (Mechanics that generate bat speed)” and Tom Guerry’s “Mon Dec 10 18:06:45 2001 (To: Tom Guerry)” post has excellent information for developing good bat speed on outside pitches. Those principles will not only make contact on outside pitches, they will produce some frozen ropes to left and right center. --- Below is a post I made some time ago on this subject.

Note: Although a batter can swing with more force when looking for a pitch in a certain location, some mechanics can deliver good bat speed for both inside or outside pitches.

“I think one of the main reasons the torque and chp hitters are leading the performance stats is because they do not need to change their basic swing mechanics due to pitch placement. They are able to use the same mechanics regardless of where the pitcher throws to them and still hit the ball hard. The only adjustment they need to make is a slight change in how they initiate the swing. Once that change is made - their mechanics for the balance of the swing is on auto -pilot regardless of where the pitch is.

The change in the batter’s initiation that programs the swing is controlled mainly by the direction of pull of the top hand. In other words, the direction of pull of the top hand at initiation sets up trajectories (of the bat, limbs and body) that control the balance of the swing.

As an example - say the pitchers mound is at 6 o’clock and the plate is at 12 o’clock - On an inside pitch the direction of pull of the top hand is in tight, say at 11 o’clock, the back elbow will come almost straight down to the batters side with little rotation of the shoulders. The pulling back of the back-arm keeps the lead-arm across the chest and generates a tight hand-path and thus a low-load resistance to shoulder rotation. The back elbow coming fairly straight down with little body rotation means less top-hand-torque was developed and the batter finishes the swing with a lot of lead shoulder pull and bottom-hand-torque.

On a pitch more in the middle 2/3’s of the plate, the pull of the top hand is more straight-away - or at 12 o’clock. With a more straight-away pull, the shoulders rotate a few degrees as the back elbow lowers to the batter’s side allowing a greater amount of top-hand-torque to be applied. This direction of pull also causes the lead arm to cast slightly away from the chest and generates a somewhat wider hand-path. A wider hand-path generates greater bat speed and a higher load resistance to rotation. Less shoulder rotation means less bottom-hand-torque. So on the pitch in the mid-part of the plate, what we wind up with is greater bat speed from a wider hand-path and more balance between bottom and top-hand-torque being applied.

On recognizing an outside pitch, the batter's pull of the top hand is more away from center - or at 1 o’clock. This direction of pull causes the back elbow to sweep some distance before full body rotation begins and the elbow lowers. This allows top-hand-torque to be applied over a much greater portion of the swing. This direction of pull also causes the lead arm to cast out farther and develops a wide hand-path and thus a heavy resistant load to rotation. The greater load limits shoulder rotation which equates to less bottom-hand-torque being applied. So, on the outside pitch the swing produces a wide hand-path with a lot of top-hand-torque and little bottom-hand-torque. – With less shoulder rotation on outside pitches, the lead leg may not be fully extended while the back-arm becomes more extended.”

Jack Mankin