Barry Bonds

[osugrad21]

Originally Posted by tsteele316

i didnt realize we were arguing semantics here. if your position that increased strength wont increase your bat speed, then i dont know what to tell you. i didnt know we were going to have to get into an anatomical debate about muscle response to increased testosterone levels.

I guess we will have to disagree then...I honestly don't think you are reading or comprehending anything I am trying to tell you which is fine. You are correct in half of your claim and wrong in other points. That is what sparked my response and debate but obviously I cannot explain my point well enough. Therefore, I'll just agree to disagree.

I'm going to turn in my resignation to my AD now

<---notice my bat speed and oversized forehead?

[strohs]

Barry Bonds is an arrogant cheater.
He is everything that is wrong with pro sports.
Only out for himself, could care less about the team.
Obsessed with money and furthering himself only.
I despise that man, him being a cheater only makes it worse.

[AKAKBUCK]

Let's get something in here.

Force= Mass X Acceleration (Why do I feel Smithlabs lurking over my shoulder)

The Force in this case is the energy with which the hitter strikes the ball.

The Mass, is the mass of the bat (More or less)

The Acceleration is batspeed.

The only real physics argument you can make is that if you have the same swing, and you use a 30 ounce bat one time, and a 32 ounce bat the next. The ball will leave the bat at a greater velocity with the 32 ounce bat. (And Travel Farther, provided all the other variables, humidity, wind, angle of impact, pitch speed, since this is an elastic collision, remain the same).

If you assume that most power hitters are already pretty strong... Its my opinion that the addition of fast twitch muscle mass (The fast twitch is an important part) assists the consistent power hitter in one specific way.... and that's faster acceleration.... not necessarily higher maximum bat speed, but the ability to reach maximum batspeed faster.

As Dihard pointed out... most of the power in a swing is generated in a hitters lower body... that's where you get weight transfer, and control the pivot (hips) for a swing... but the last part of the swing is firing your hands through the zone.

The advantage of being able to reach maximum batspeed faster is an advantage because it gives you the ability to "shorten your stroke." Thus you can commit to a pitch later (if only a split second) thus giving you the abilty to react to the speed and breaks of the pitch better.... which in turn allows you to control your balance better.... which means fewer things can go wrong in the swing.... It also allows you to be more accurate when striking the ball, thus making more consistent contact. (Think if your trying to hit a mark on a tree with an axe... is it easier to hit the mark with a full swing or half swing if you swing as hard as you can?)

DiHard was absolutely right about Griffey... but if you look at Griffey's swing vs Bond's Swing... the obvious difference is the legnth of his swing arc... Griffey's swinging a Big Bertha, Bonds is swinging a hatchet... Ever seem like McGwire was just flicking his wristst and the ball would leave the park? Well... all the elements of his swing were there... he just did them all very quickly because he could get through the hitting zone so quickly.


Boy, that turned out a lot longer than I had planned.

[BuckeyeNation27]

what if you decrease your bat size by 50% each time?

[AKAKBUCK]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeNation27

what if you decrease your bat size by 50% each time?

Try it with your Johnson and let your girlfriend get back to us.

good stuff aka....bonds power is generated by a short swing that is dominated by hip and shoulder rotation.....vlad and griffey use a longer stoke to generate the bat speed they need...as does sheffield....

bonds, mcguire (st.louis era) and sosa are the only hitters i have ever seen that could be that compact and consistently drive it out.....

there is no coincidence that the balco story broke and homerun production went down??


and if you want to see one great example of hip rotation.....watch the babe....that guy had some serious torque in an era when nobody knew to teach it....the babes swing was a thing of beauty....

[AKAKBUCK]

there is no coincidence that the balco story broke and homerun production went down??

Maybe... the 73 (?- Is that the number? brain lock) HR season that Barry had was also quite a statistical aberration... He rarely has hit 45 in any other year if I remember correctly.

as i have said a zillion times...the leagues conscious decision to make the strike zone the size of a shoe box is the reason for the reediculous offensive numbers you see today....

steroids and watered-down pitching talent are secondary contributors.....