LEsoftballdad
DFP Vendor
Well, yes, Jay. Fouts drives more out than up. Bahl drives up and out because she's not concerned about dragging her toe, at least from what was originally shown in this thread. Also, Fouts has legs that are probably six inches longer than Bahl's. Just by her leg length alone, she should have an advantage in drive.How do you figure? It’s the left leg reaching the farthest distance and the back leg is at most an inch or two off the ground. That’s leg drive. You think if her back toe grazes the ground she loses more than a few inches of reach with her front leg?
Basically all girls leap to some degree in today’s fastpitch. The only difference is how high and far the front leg travels and the type of drag on the back leg.
Think of this comparison as a point of reference. Put Randy Johnson and Mariano Rivera next to one another. Johnson is much taller than Rivera, so he was much closer to the plate on his delivery. Assuming they had the same power and percentage of extension, there is no way Rivera could match Johnson's stride without leaping.
I would suggest you try it yourself. I have, and it proves my point. Even that small amount of drag creates friction which slows you down. Watch Bahl's delivery, and you'll see what I am referring to.
To your last point, I would say Bahl leaps while Fouts strides. Leaping is defined as leaving the ground. Stride is defined as moving with or as if with long steps.