Add new comment

with his ring and pinky fingers down below the knob. I haven't seen any video except of Cruz' highlights from this year but I remember being surprised that he and only he (from what I could see) did this. Even Bonds choked up like a leadoff hitter when he was BARRY BONDSing his way into and out of the history books.
Here's a few pictures of 'Gar which while not as exaggerated as I remember show what I'm talking about:
http://sports.cbsimg.net/images/mlb/photogallery/121912-edgar-martinez.jpg
http://ww1.hdnux.com/photos/02/32/11/631408/3/628x471.jpg
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/e4EYG_Eqd-s/maxresdefault.jpg
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/e4EYG_Eqd-s/maxresdefault.jpg
And this one shows his follow-through where it's clear that his pinky was never in contact with the knob at any point:
http://cdn-jpg.si.com/sites/default/files/2013/12/edgar-martinez-ap2.jpg
This one's a little less conclusive but a good shot nonetheless:
http://sports.cbsimg.net/u/photos/baseball/mlb/img24936580.jpg
Huh after researching it I'm finding my memory to be less reliable than I'd expected (go figure!). Seems he wasn't as exaggerated as I recall.
As for the cannon shots on the front lawn you have to understand that I was bench-pressing 310lbs (using legit technique with a No-Cal semi-pro weight lifter spotting me) as a sixteen year old weighing all of 160lbs *out* of wrestling season (said weight lifter encouraged me to compete but I was too focused on the family business). I once box squatted 550lbs with the same guy spotting me and a 45 degree leg press of 600lbs was while not *easy* nothing I couldn't rep a half dozen times in quick succession. My uncle was a minor star full-contact Tae Kwon Doe heavyweight back in the 80's (took third in Nationals but would have won if not for the incumbent's likely corrupt connection to the judges) and by our (meaning my uncle and I) relative fifteenth years we could both buck 50lb haybales one-handed--onto the top of a fully-stacked truckload of hay. Of course in the interests of full disclosure he could do 65lb hay bales one-handed while I maxed out at 50lb'ers. I never really got over that growing up and blamed my longer-than-usual arms for the shortcoming.
Combine that with a brain that never shuts off and I was able to analyze batting stances follow-throughs grip techniques etc.. for about six years during the peak of my M's fandom. It was a fun thing to think about and kept me from going nuts :-) The end results was that I could grip-it-and-rip-it with the best of them though I doubt I could ever hit a curveball--I had enough trouble hitting a simulated 90mph straight pitch at the cages.
"Fungo" eh? I never actually knew that's what they were talking about when they used that term but indeed you are correct. I always thought it was just the term for a different kind of bat but now I see that it's got broader definition. You learn something every day (that you visit SSI/D-O-V)!