As I was observed my son Sam using a sling to throw stones, it validated the effectiveness of rotational hitting. Each stone he threw disappeared in the sky over the large storage bins on our family farm.
I was amazed how far he could throw the stones with just two pieces of string attached to a small leather pouch. His motion looked effortless. Each stone exploded from the sling like it was shot out of a cannon. Check out this slow motion video.
A great example of rotational force is the Bible story describing the epic battle between little David and the giant Goliath. Goliath never had a chance. David slayed Goliath with his sling and five smooth stones. David used rotational force to throw the stones with overpowering velocity. He only needed one stone to take down his heavily-armored opponent. The battle was over before Goliath drew his sword.
In Little League, I was instructed to “Step into the ball”. As the ball approached home plate, I stepped toward the ball. This linear forward momentum was supposed to provide all the power I needed. I was unaware this hitting instruction actually limited my power and consistency.
Optimal bat speed only comes from the violent rotation of the body in a natural and logical sequence. The only linear movement I recommend is the slight forward momentum of the body before the front foot hits the ground after a slow and powerful leg lift.
I can prove using bat speed measuring devices that rotational hitters enjoy more bat speed than linear hitters.
The Circular Hand Path
Stop throwing the knob of the bat at the ball!
Too many hitters are taught incorrectly to keep their elbows and hands close to their bodies during the swing. Unfortunately, this causes them to “push” the bat to the ball, instead of relying on shoulder and hip rotation.
One of my favorite videos was made by Jack Mankin, who is a well-respected hitting instructor. Like me, Jack teaches rotational hitting mechanics. In this video, he does a great job describing and illustrating the correct hand path that leads directly to higher bat speed.
The video is self-explanatory, but I would like to emphasize a few points Jack made:
Power of the “Pendulum Effect”
Throughout history, warriors knew that throwing or shooting projectiles using “pendulum motion” created lethal velocity. Catapults and slings were early examples of weapons that used pendulum motion to generate the greatest deadly force possible.
Hitters who rotate their shoulders without moving their back elbows and hands create a circular hand path. This is the same pendulum motion used by young David to slay Goliath.
Proper Front Shoulder Rotation:
My hitters often receive negative feedback from their school or travel coaches who are critical of rotational mechanics. They believe rotational hitters prematurely open their hips and shoulders during the swing. Jack Mankin accurately points out in the video that coaches who advocate keeping the front shoulder closed are inhibiting natural power.
Better Plate Coverage
Jack Mankin also illustrates that a circular hand path will allow hitters to cover the plate more completely. The bat will also stay in the hitting zone longer. Hitters who keep their back elbow and hands perfectly still as the upper body rotates will hit the ball solidly to all fields.
He also describes how the lead arm should remain extended throughout the swing instead of bending. The lead arm now acts as a lever to create torque and a repeatable bat path.
Quickest Path To Extension
Hitters who have a circular hand path also reach the point of full extension faster and more powerfully. Those with a linear path to the ball typically collapse their back elbow and hands into their body. This forces them to push the bat to extension. With a circular hand path, the distance to total extension is shorter and more natural.
More Differences Between Linear and Rotational Hitters
—Linear hitters prematurely push off the back foot as they stride into the ball. They do not use a weight shift to initiate the swing sequence. Rotational hitters “load” their weight on the back foot after lifting the front leg. They use this important weight shift (and stack) as a critical source of power.
—Linear hitters rely on forward momentum to generate power. Rotational hitters use kinetic linkage to hit from the ground up. Rotation begins in the lower body and kinetically works upwards until the shoulders rotate and the arms extend powerfully into the ball like a bolt of lightning.
—Linear hitters are more likely to hit ground balls. When the body moves forward, it is difficult to maintain the correct body angle to drive the ball in the air. Line drives and fly balls are weaker because power is generated primarily by using the arms and wrists.
—Rotational hitters are able to keep their weight back in a leveraged (angled) position throughout the swing sequence. Leverage allows hitters to naturally hit more line drives and home runs by generating power with the body. The arms and wrists are merely tools to hit the ball after the body rotates, not the sources of power.
—If the body is striding forward, linear hitters are more susceptible to being fooled by off-speed pitches and breaking balls. It is more difficult for linear hitters to stop the forward momentum to hit a change-up or curve ball with very much authority or consistency. Rotational hitters can hit these pitches more powerfully by keeping their weight back until the ball reaches the hitting zone.
—Linear hitters have less time to hit the incoming pitch. They have slower bat speeds which means less time to hit the ball. Since rotational hitters enjoy greater bat speed, they can wait longer before committing to swing. The extra split-second rotational hitters have before initiating the swing translates into higher averages to go along with increased power.
—Rotational hitters enjoy more power! After the powerful rotation of the lower body, the upper body will naturally be forced to powerfully rotate. The result of this independent rotation will be a bat that is propelled into the ball with the greatest velocity possible.
What Is Hitting With Torque?
I am often asked about the meaning of my hitting logo and the association with the concept of torque.
Here is the explanation:
The bat begins to rotate around a lever (the “t”) on a consistent circular path. The blue lines are separated at the beginning of the swing, but they get closer to each other and thicker prior to impact with the ball. This symbolizes increasing momentum.
As the bat enters the red zone, rotational force will now generate so much power (torque), the bat will naturally explode into the ball. The thick blue line after the red zone is the powerful and uninterrupted continuation of the rotational bat path. Finally, the arrow is a reminder to allow the bat to finish powerfully on a path leading to hitting success.
It’s simple! Hitters who sling the bat like my son Sam and David will see the ball disappear out of any field of dreams.
About Paul Petricca
In addition to writing this hitting blog, Paul is a hitting coach and the author of the book Hitting With Torque: For Baseball And Softball Hitters and his new children’s book Going Going Gone!. He is also a public speaker and provides unique customer engagement training through his company Torque Consulting. Paul teaches a Customer Relationship Management class to undergraduates at Wheaton College (IL) and MBA candidates at Loyola University Chicago, and DePaul University.