Originally Posted by CoachJackE:
Originally Posted by 2020dad:
I follow Nathan closely. And he himself has espoused the cause of backspin. Here is where it gets lost in translation. Just like there is an optimum launch angle there is also optimum backspin. For example if you pop up that has crazy backspin but its not going anywhere. So the chart showing massive backspin probably takes some shallower fly balls into consideration. There is no doubt you want backspin but all that really means is you struck the ball at the correct spot. Hitting 'top half' will result in top spin ground balls. Don't focus on backspin, focus on hitting just below center of ball with a 10 to 20 degree uppercut. And golf I think what he means about getting hands down is to drive them down while barrel is still up and then once in strikezone bat starts to make its swing path. There is no correlation between this movement and the chopping motion.
Barry Bonds, when asked how he hit the old apple replied that he swung down on the ball. The frame by frame slow motion videos showed that he swung 5-10 degrees up. This is the "level" swing Ted always talked about and that is to mirror the path of the pitch.
You need to distinguish his hands from the barrel and account for the physical forces on the barrel of the bat. The reason he (and many others) says he "swung down" was his hands started with that downward path and he is doing everything he can to keep the barrel "up" (while gravity and inertia pull the barrel down) and not swing under the ball. So the "feel" they have is "swinging down" or "staying on top" or any of the other sayings which are purportedly discredited.