There has been a big debate over the years in baseball about what is the best type of swing. It’s almost like two political parties going head to head when people in baseball decide to jump on either side of the fence. Both have good arguments and both have video evidence to back up their theory. I have always found it amazing at how both arguments stand so firmly in their belief that their style of hitting is better.
So what is my opinion? Which one truly is better? Well, again just like politics the ideal solution is a compromise of both. That’s right I said it, when it comes to good, solid, result producing swing mechanics the swing has got to be both rotational and linear. No great hitter can afford to stand firmly on one side of the fence. The true rotational swing and the true linear swing is reserved for average hitters. Hitters who want to be great, hitters that want to create “playstation” type results have got to have a little of both in their swing.
As we have discussed before, when the stride foot lands the hips must separate from the hands. The hips begin to rotate storing up “rotational” energy in the core of the body. This is where the rotational aspect of the swing comes into play. A true linear swing would have the hitter loading up the back leg in preparation for “weight transfer”. When the swing is linear during this phase it causes head movement and head travel. This hurts the hitter’s ability to pick up the ball and to get the bat head into the strongest position at the point of contact. In order to build up a great amount of energy in the core, keep the head stable, and allow the bat to get to the point of contact as efficiently as possible this phase of the swing must be rotational.
When the hands start to move toward the ball the rotational energy that is stored in the core of the body is then transfered into the linear energy the hands need to take a short, direct path to the ball. This allows the hitter to generate the maximum amount of bat speed possible and to generate backspin which allows for the maximum amount of carry.
If this phase of the swing was truly rotational the bat head would drop and be generated by the front arm and shoulder. If the bat head drops the body then has to produce more energy to maintain the same bat speed (think of a figure skater spinning with their arms extended out as opposed to with their arms tucked in). In addition, if that bat head drops the bat will get to the point of contact slower and leave the hitting area sooner. The hitter will have to be perfect with their timing in order to hit the ball square. The bat will pass through the hitting zone and won’t allow the hitter to drive through the ball. Not to mention the hitter is more likely to generate top spin which doesn’t aid in the carry of the ball.
In order to reach the unlimited potential that you desire to reach you must make sure that your swing contains both components linear and rotational. Standing on either side of the fence limits your ability to create results.
