Importance of team leaders

I’m listening to the Rangers-Yankees game the other night and the announcers are just raving about the Rangers squad.  Over the past two seasons, I admit that I was a little skeptical of the Rangers and their ability to contend in the American League.  Probably not seeing them much on the East Coast didn’t help […]

Is Philly a baseball town?

There certainly is quite a lot of baseball in and around the Philadelphia area.  The Phillies are one of the best teams in the Major Leagues, the suburban public high schools have dominated the state tournament for the past three or four years, and the private schools in the area have done extremely well in […]

Brain Dawkins: Time, place, and manner

Two days ago I posted the following website:  Killer instinct: Time, Place, and Manner.  After one hour after posting the article I heard recently retired NFL player Brian Dawkins explain why he loved football so much.  The timing could not have been better based on what he said. He told the interviewer that football gave […]

In-season lifting FAQ’s

Many players now understand the importance of off-season weight training to prepare their bodies for the rigors of a long season.  However, many struggle when it comes to in-season lifting.  Here are some FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and my answers on the subject: Note:  I’m certainly not an expert in weight training.  My knowledge on […]

Killer instinct: Time, Place, and Manner

One of the benefits of living in America is the high standard of living we enjoy compared to the rest of the world.  Most Americans don’t know what it is truly like to scrape, claw, and fight for what you need to survive.  With this high standard of living comes a civility where aggressiveness towards […]

Up vs Down for effect

In yesterday’s post, I mentioned that one former MLB pitcher’s strategy for throwing to David Wright was to throw a pitch up and in to see how he recovers.  Although there is an obvious danger every time a pitcher does this, a pitchers must develop that pitch in order to continue to be effective at […]

MLB is not for the timid

My wife is a high school guidance counselor so some things we see and hear in sports conflict with her sympathies.  The initiation of a rookie at the major league level is “bullying” in her eyes.  An aggressive (legal) take out slide at second base is “unnecessary and should be banned” as well.  The other […]

Fight or Flight

“Fight or Flight” is the human body’s instinctive process of doing everything it can to prepare itself for a conflict.  It can also be a baseball players worst enemy.  This 20 minute video explains why and what players and coaches can do to harness the power of this process.          

Two out bunts

I attended a local college game the other day and I have to say that the game looks very easy when you are watching from afar.  I’m used to being in the dugout so having some distance from the field is a little weird.   Anyway, during the game there was a situation where a […]

Achievers and Non-achievers

“Achievers” in the game of baseball know that there will be times when they will go backwards in terms of their success in a particular area of the game.  Tweaking a swing, learning new pitches, and moving up a level often bring about setbacks until adjustments are made.  However, “achievers” recognize all this as part […]

Success happens on the margins

Have you ever heard of the phrase “success happens on the margins” ?  If you have, it probably was in the context of making money and/or succeeding in the business world.  It means that success happens a little bit at a time and rarely just appears out of nowhere.  Even people or companies that are said […]

Middle Infielders – Holding your ground

For middle infielders, a problem develops as they get older.  As the game gets faster, it becomes harder to “hold your ground” when a guy steals so you’re not caught out of position when the ball is hit AND get to the bag in time.  This video shows how to accomplish both!

The importance of pre-game

The other day I mentioned in a post that I am coaching my son and daughter’s coach-pitch team with a guy who is an area scout for the Seattle Mariners.  His son plays on the team as well.  While at our practice the other day, I asked what game he was scouting this weekend.  He […]

When you know who is covering

In yesterday’s post, I explained the common method used by middle infielders to communicate to each other who is covering second base on a steal attempt. I mentioned that as you go up in levels, it becomes more important for the   defense to not allow the offense to know who will be covering.  Today’s […]

Infield communication: open and closed mouth

At the higher levels, we’ve probably all seen middle infielders give a signal to each other after the catcher gives the sign to the pitcher with a runner on first base.  The signal they give each other indicates who is going to cover second base on a steal attempt on that pitch.  At the lower […]

They don’t make them like they used to

I heard a great story about George Brett the other day.  Towards the end of his career, he apparently was asked by a reporter something along the lines of “What do you want your last at-bat to be?” His response was …   “In my last at bat, I would like to hit a ground ball […]

Same thing that makes you laugh makes you cry

Ozzie Guillen put his foot in his mouth once again.  It will be interesting to see how/if he gets out of this one.  If you have been vacationing on another planet, Ozzie recently did an interview with Time magazine.  The opening line of the piece starts with Guillen saying “I love Fidel Castro.”  Interesting choice […]

My Jamie Moyer story

The spring of 1986 was my first spring season at the college level.  We started the year like most northern programs by going south to Florida for spring training.  A new head coach, about 30 players, a trainer, and a few parents made the trip along with our brand new pitching coach … Jamie Moyer. […]

Pickoffs at third base

We’ve all seen a left handed pitcher with a great pickoff move to first base.  They can single handedly stop a team’s running game in its tracks.  Here’s my question.  Why don’t right handers do the same at third base?   Lefties can “cheat” quite a bit on their way to first by stepping at […]

Batting out of order

One of my biggest fears right before a game was that I screwed up the batting order somewhere.  When I made out a line-up, I would fill in my line-up on a special card that produced two carbon copies along with it.  I got one, the plate ump got one, and the other team got […]

Perfect or foul

In my opinion, one of the least worked on aspects of offense is base hit bunting.  I suppose with the introduction of aluminum bats and the emphasis on the home run, it was inevitable that small ball stratgies that included base hit bunting would fall by the wayside.  I mean, let’s face it.  Nobody is getting a […]

Everyday is opening day!

Today is the official start to the major league season.  Opening day.  There is nothing like it in baseball. If you listened to my podcast interview with Toronto Blue Jays Performance Coach Steve Springer, you heard him talk about the value of not focusing on stats.  In his words … “the batting average is Satan!”  […]

Keep a journal

Roy Halladay is a pleasure to watch on a regular basis.  Watch his preparations and his game day performance and there will be a lot of positive things to see and learn from.  But there is something that you won’t see that is a big part of his preparation and in-game performance.  His pitching journal.  […]

Intensity v Consistency

Everyone has probably heard of the story of the Tortoise and the Hare.  Even though the turtle is much slower, he beats the rabbit in the race because he keeps a consistent pace over the course of the race.  The rabbit, on the other hand, bursts into the lead but then tires quickly. The baseball […]

My All-Played With/Against Team

I wrote a post the other day about Chipper Jones and how he will be the last guy still playing that I played with or against.  It got me thinking about if I were to come up with a team of guys that I personally played with or against, who would be on that team? […]

Bill O’Reilly: Take me out to the ballgame

The following post was one of political commentator Bill O’Reilly’s latest columns.  The link to this column is here:  http://townhall.com/columnists/billoreilly/2012/03/31/take_me_out_to_the_ballgame/page/full/ It is also reprinted below.  Sad, but this is becoming more of a reality each day.   The urchins were startled. “Hey, let’s go outside and play some baseball,” I said. Outside? Are you kidding […]