Or should I ask.....how long is your rope?



How far back do those hands have to go before anything gets tight?

How far back do these go....



A hand pivot point REQUIRES a handset that is at/near the shoulder tip or armpit area at go. When the hands get further back than that, energy MUST be applied and delivered 'down the length' of the bat....by way of an arm pull which is usually accompanied with an arm/hand push at/through contact.

Here is the stretch part of your swing....



Do you see this move in the professional hitters above?

My question "how long is your rope" refers to the distance you had to take the hands back before you achieved anything resembling a tight stretch. And you have to take them back that far because you're loading your arms. And, you're loading your lead side armpit area, that is what gets stretched, that is what gets loaded, so your shoulder rotation can pull your bat through.

What must happen instead of that is.....you must get stretch 'around' the rear hip socket so you can stay tight and compact. When you do that your hands will remain at/near the armpit or shoulder tip.....AND.....you'll be stretched. You do that by coiling properly and then continuing to pull rearward with your lower back. The stretch you want is of the fascia, the white stuff that attaches the muscle to the spine in your lower back.

In a high level swing the energy is created and delivered AROUND the forearms....not down the length of the bat by an arm pull. It is a turn....a pivot....of the hands....that apply a force into the handle.....perpendicular to the handle.....which TURNS the barrel. It is NOT a pull down the length. There is no such thing as 'hold the hinge' angle in a high level swing. When done properly, from a quality handset location, that barrel turn is supported by a pivot around the rear hip socket. In one sense you have concentric circles, concentric pivot points....both working on the barrel.....SIMULTANEOUSLY. And simultaneously is important. The swing is ONE MOVE. It can not be high level if it is two moves....such as....pull it with the lead arm to get it moving....whether done by the arm or through the arm with rotation....then push it with the hands arm at/near contact.

Your stretch is similar to a 3' (roughly) long rope that you need considerable movement, back by the hands and forward by the body, before the slack is taken out. And that is all you do....take out slack. You don't really get stretch. You end up in a 'stretched out' position that is slow launching and cumbersome. A high level swing's stretch comes from a 6" (roughly/varies) rubber band that gets stretched tight as you coil rearward, and as your lower rear back pulls rearward, AS the rear leg attempts to internally rotate. A high level stretch is 'around' the rear hip socket. It is NOT a linear stretch of the hands rearward as the body moves forward.

But in another very real sense....the two pivot points work AGAINST each other initially....the barrel getting turned into a rearward arc AS the rear leg turns the hip forward. This creates an outstanding stretch around the rear hip socket and up the back, that reaches from the barrel to the leg. Any movement of the hands/barrel will be felt in the leg. And any movement of the leg will be felt by the hands/barrel.

Here is another telling clip....



Watch the action of the rear elbow and rear hip. They are not working against each other to develop stretch. They are both moving forward at the same time.

Watch what Albert Pujols does....



I realize the camera angles as quite different, but it really shouldn't matter. You should be able to see the difference.

99.99% of all people involved in hitting will SWEAR Albert's hips are rotating....that the muscles that rotate the hips are working to create the action you see. The TRUTH is.....his hips are RESISTING rotation....the muscles that RESIST rotation are working....and working extremely hard....AS he pulls back with his lower back....AGAINST....his leg that is internally rotating. The internally rotationg LEG is turning the RESISTING hip.

And THAT stretches that white stuff....and THAT creates the suddenness of launch that all great hitters have.

Advice is being given to you to rotate the shoulders....and form a box with your arms.....so you can deliver the rotational energy down the length of the arms.

THIS SIMPLY IS THE WORST ADVICE ANYONE COULD EVER GET. AND IT IS GIVEN BY EGO DRIVEN MANIACS WHO HAVE ZERO INTEREST IN YOUR DAUGHTERS SWING, WHO HAVE NEVER SWUNG A BAT TO DUPLICATE THE HIGH LEVEL PATTERN.

I will prove that point right now. If those people giving advice knew what Pujols was doing....they'd be able to duplicate it within minutes. They can not do it. In fact, they WILL NOT do it.

Because if they attempt it they will realize how wrong they are.

And it is much easier to continue to promote their nonsense than it is to admit they are wrong. Can you imagine how many DVD's they'd have to recall?

And so....you see....unless and until they produce evidence that they can duplicate what is being discussed....NO ONE should take advice from them.

No matter how loud they huff.