“Get me over” breaking pitches

When pitchers get to the high school and college levels, they often will have more than one breaking pitch.  Usually one stands out as the better pitch.  For example, a pitcher may throw a good slider but also have a fairly ineffective curve ball.  It not surprising that this pitcher uses his slider most of […]

Build in some focus breaks

Ever stare at something long enough that what you are looking at begins to blur?   Ever think/read/study something over a long period of time and just kind of blank out?  You’ve probably had both happen to you.  At some point the brain fades out and performance (comprehension, analysis, critical thinking, etc.)  suffers.  When this happens, […]

Double plays: Throw to the back of the bag

As players get older, runners do more to try and break up double plays.  At the high school level, runners are generally required to slide directly into the bag.  In pro ball, runners can be much more aggressive and come after the middle infielders.  As long as they are within an arms length of the […]

Chair drill for hitters

Here’s another drill you may have done before.  It has a number of variations depending on the size of the chair you use.  It can help with the following: Prevents drifting or lunging at the ball. Gets the head/eyes used to being closer to the ball Prevents too much “straight up and down” hitting. Helps […]

The fad that needs to end

Bryce Harper is an incredibly talented young baseball player who has won me over with his intensity, passion, and energy.  However, I will never forgive him for promoting the fad of “eye black disgrace.”  That’s my term. He’s certainly not the first to wear eye black that way but he certainly made it famous.  Few […]

Playoff baseball: Part 3 – The mental side

“Don’t ever bet on kids.” That quote comes from an Old School baseball friend of mine.  I believe it to be good advice.  On any given day, there is no telling which team is going to show up.  Will it be the team that is focused, energetic, driven to win, and united or will it be […]

Playoff baseball: Part 2 – Preparation

This post is part 2 of three posts dedicated to playoff baseball.  Part 1 dealt with scouting opponents.  This post will deal with a couple points related to preparing for the playoffs. Many high school players have been engaged in baseball workouts since around January.  Some never really stopped their workouts at all.  They just […]

Playoff baseball: Part 1 – To scout or not to scout

Playoffs start today for the district in my part of the Philadelphia area.  Thus begins part 2 of the baseball season.  Many questions come up this time of year when preparing for playoffs.  This is Part 1 of 3 posts dedicated to playoff baseball.  In this part I’ll deal with my thoughts on scouting opponents. […]

Basic footwork on the stride and swing

Often a lack of hitting can come down to something very simple.  I’ve always taken a “ground-up” approach to baseball meaning most of what I teach in terms of the mechanics of the sport begins with the feet.  Mess up some of the basic footwork and a player’s performance is going to spiral downward very […]

Radio show with Coach McCreary

A friend of mine who lives in Dallas has a radio show that mostly deals with politics.  Every once in a while he talks a little baseball and frequently has me on as a guest.  My most recent visit had us talking about topics that included Josh Hamilton’s hot streak, Pujols’ slump, Ranger manager Ron […]

Listening to too many people

There was a very good article on ESPN’s website where David Ortiz was commenting about Albert Pujols’ current slump.  Ortiz was comparing Albert’s slump with those of Ortiz’ over the past couple years and how difficult they can be.  There are a lot of good tips in the article for young players when they hit that […]

Catchers: Knees down together

 

Catchers: Glove down first

Jim Abbott & pitching with confidence

My very first college at-bat was in Florida during our spring trip when we played the University of Michigan.  The starting pitcher for Michigan was Jim Abbott who was also in his first college game.  Aside from watching in amazement how he could use a glove with only one hand, it was clear he had […]

Infield: Eyes and glove connection

Reverse hitting drill

Umpires never owe you one

“You owe us one, Blue!” No they don’t. We’ve all heard this from a dugout at some point.  Hearing that phrase actually is one of my pet peeves.  It usually follows a questionable call on the bases or behind the plate on balls and strikes.  The theory goes that if a bad call is made […]

Catchers: Soft hands, strong hands

Today’s video clip shows catchers the importance of having soft, relaxed hands prior to receiving the ball and strong hands when actually catching the pitch.

The flaw in catcher pop-times

Block the routine ball

One of the many jobs of a catcher is to block pitches in the dirt.  There’s nothing worse than seeing a catcher constantly make that trip back to the backstop to retrieve a ball that should have been blocked.  Especially if it meant that runners moved up or batters got to first base as a […]

What does separation mean?

Don’t punish an honest player

A few years ago I read a very good book called The Carolina Way:  Leadership lessons from a life in coaching by legendary college basketball coach Dean Smith.  There are many great lessons for coaches of all sports in the book but I was reminded of one he talked about when I wrote a post […]

The science of pitching to contact

Below is a link to an article discussing the concept of “pitching to contact.”  I’ve always been a firm believer of the concept but of course, you need a solid defense behind you for it to work. http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/150112305.html

Tell starters why they are not playing

Every now and then, coaches will sit a starting player down for a game.  It could be  just to give them a rest.  It could be just to get another guy a few at-bats.  It could even be to protect a player’s stats against a good pitcher.  Whatever the reason, it happens.  However, sometimes the […]

The pressure of high school baseball

The American League East and the National League East are currently seen by most baseball people to be the best divisions in baseball.  Here are the teams: AL East NL East Baltimore Orioles Atlanta Braves Boston Red Sox Miami Marlins NY Yankees NY Mets Tampa Bay Rays Philadelphia Phillies Toronto Blue Jays Washington Nationals   […]

Ways to motivate a role-player

One of the many challenges that all coaches face is how to keep role players / non-starters motivated when their playing time is not high.  For young players, being a role player can be very tough on the ego.  The lack of regular playing time can lower a player’s overall confidence.  It can make a […]

How to know if a pitcher is hurting

A coach walks to the mound and asks “How do you feel?” The pitcher says “Fine coach.” Sound familiar?  It should because in high school and above, that’s pretty much all you are going to get from any pitcher.   Most pitchers are not forthcoming when it comes to hurt arms.  Reasons for doing so vary.  […]

Different pitchers = different bullpens

Probably the biggest problem I see that wrecks a pitcher’s ability to be effective is not warming up properly before the game.  I’ve written a couple posts on general and specific tips on how to warm up prior to games.  Click HERE and HERE to see them.  However, like everything else in the game, no […]