Softball Bat Speed: Third Installment

The Illusion of Power

Third in a Series About Bat Speed

The issue of bat speed has long been debated. To help amateur softball athletes better understand the theory behind bat speed, Softball Institute asked Jack Mankin, head of Bat Speed, Inc., who has undertaken considerable research on the topic, to provide, in layman’s terms, a better understanding of the issue. This, his third installment, deals with the issue of "The Illusion of Power" - -Editor

The Illusion of Power
By Jank Mankin - Bat Speed, Inc.

It didn't feel like I swung hard, but the ball seemed to explode off the bat." Most of us has experienced this sensation personally or heard others reflect on their experience. One might wonder, what was mechanically different in that swing and why can't it be repeated.

There is a strange paradox that occurs with the baseball swing. I refer to it as "The illusion of power." --- While warming up in the batter's box or hitting off of the tee, we can feel a sense power in the swing as we load-up and drive the top hand toward the ball. The harder we push on the bat through the contact zone the greater the pressure felt in the palm of the hand, and therefore the greater that sense of power.

The problem is, the "sense of power" we feel in the hands is actually the pressure felt from the resistance (inertia) of the bat to acceleration. The pressure felt is in reality an indicator of the lack of bat head acceleration. If the bat head had truly accelerated the pressure felt in the palm would have been alleviated or at least lessened. With linear mechanics, that sense of power means much of the bat speed is attained after the bat passes the contact zone.

However, if we were practicing our hitting and happened upon the mechanics that would really accelerate the bat (i.e., upper body rotational mechanics), the pressure felt in the palm as the bat passes through the zone would be much less and it wouldn't feel natural or as powerful. --- We would probably make changes to correct it in a hurry.

NOTE: Linear mechanics gives a batter the illusion of power. --- A great hitter experiences the centrifugal pull of a highly accelerated bat head.

Next Installment: Wrist Action or Torque

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