Baseball cliches – Early and often

Clichés have always been a big part of baseball. “We just have to take it one game at a time.” “I just need to throw my game and God willing, everything will work out fine.” “See the ball and hit the ball.” There are a million of these around the game.  All do a good […]

Fingers between the ball and the head

One of the toughest things to teach/fix in the throwing motion is keeping the fingers between the ball and the head when the hands separate in the process of throwing.  Whether the kid is throwing as a pitcher or as a position player, this basic mechanic must be done if the player wants to keep […]

Slump proof a team

You never can totally eliminate slumps as a player or team.  However, if your team is good at the following, you can prevent some of them or at least not allow the slumps to last very long. Throw strikes.  Make sure your pitchers’ #1 priority is throwing strikes.  The three pitch rule is a great […]

You’ve got to be kidding me (Part 2)

So, I’m watching the Phillies game the other night and I have another “You’ve got to be kidding me” moment.  Before I tell you why, take a look at the game’s box score from ESPN.com.   If you just looked at the box score, you’d probably think it was a good game.  A good amount […]

How to warm up without a bullpen

I’ve written a number of posts about the need for all pitchers to warm-up properly before games.  One of the biggest mistakes pitchers make is not warming up correctly.  This is why many pitchers are vulnerable in the first inning of every game they pitch.  Simply put, they are just not 100% from the first […]

Losses go next to the pitcher’s name

If you are a fan of the film Bull Durham, you probably remember the scenes where the catcher, Crash Davis, tells the batter what pitch is coming.  The reason for telling the batter was to get back at the pitcher for shaking off his signs.  Clearly Crash Davis didn’t appreciate the rookie pitcher calling his […]

The power of defeat

The game of baseball is designed to wear you down mentally.  It takes special people to handle all the failure that is inherent in the game.  Special people with grit.  Below is a link to a non-baseball article that is right on the money when it comes to the importance of developing grit in children. […]

Why don’t position players get Tommy John surgery?

It’s an interesting question.  With all the throwing position players do, why don’t they ever need Tommy John surgery?  Of course, I’m making a generalization.  Position players do sometimes get Tommy John surgery but they seem to be very few and far between.  In fact, the only example I know of is LA Dodger shortstop Rafael […]

A catcher’s sign to his coach

One of the many challenges of a coach is handling arguments over balls and strikes.  Any argument can immediately get you ejected so coaches certainly have to tred lightly in that area.  One of the best ways to deal with that is to have your catcher give you a sign when a pitch was absolutely […]

Weekly pitching routine

At the younger levels (up to and including college) the likely pattern a pitcher is going to evolve into is the “once a week” appearance.  Of course, a relief pitcher may throw more than once a week but for starters, once a week is usually pretty standard until they get into pro ball.  The question […]

Check your watch for a better delivery

When young kids start pitching, often you will see them either point their glove or lead elbow at the target before throwing.  This is commonly taught as a way to force the young player to turn sideways before throwing so that he can get more of his body into the throw/pitch when he opens the […]

Seminar – How to throw batting practice

On Friday I posted a short video that gave a tip for throwing better batting practice.  The clip was part of a longer video I did that gives a number of tips for coaches of all ages who would like to become better at one of the most important skills of coaching baseball. I wasn’t […]

Figure eights for batting practice

In my opinion, the toughest two things for most coaches to learn is how to be good at using a fungo bat and throwing batting practice.  Using a fungo bat will have to be another post. Throwing BP is one of the most essential skills for any baseball coach.  Unfortunately, many coaches just don’t have […]

Around the horn

Everyone has seen the “around the horn” throws after an out with nobody on base.  A pet peeve of mine is when teams do not take this basic process seriously.  A good “around the horn” says a lot about the team and how they are coached.  A bad one speaks volumes as well.  The visuals […]

Roy Halladay, slumps, and flailing at the bird

No matter how good you are, slumps up at bat, on the mound, and out on the field are going to occur.  It’s part of the game.  Roy Halladay is currently going through such a time.  Click on the link below to hear his post-game interview.  It’s a gem for anyone who gets into a […]

3 + 1 Rule

I attended my first Phillies game of the year this past Sunday.  It was a 9-8 loss for the Phils.  Here was the scoring line for the game.  One of my daily rituals is to check out all the high school and MLB box scores that appear in my local paper.  If you do this […]

The umpire with the small strike zone

Just like players, every umpire is going to vary with regards to their strike zone.  One umpire may have a huge zone and another has one the size of a postage stamp.    This post is for the guy with the postage stamp zone.  Umpires with a small zone can be very frustrating to pitchers […]

What to say during mound visits

One of my more popular posts ever in terms of readership was one titled Best Mound Conversation Ever.  It’s a true story that still makes me laugh when I think about it.  However, if you are the one who is going to the mound and truly need to get a pitcher on track, reverse psychology […]

Game blocks

The college season is well under way and most high schools have a least a couple games under their belt as well.  For some players, the season has gotten off to a great start.  High averages, a good amount of RBI’s, a couple wins for a pitcher, etc.  Nothing better than starting off the season […]

Seminar – Outfield Drills

The following video is a 45 minute seminar I gave in February in Malvern, PA.  The link to it was sent out to my subscribers a week ago (that’s the benefit of subscribing!).  Now I’m making it available to everyone.  After today it will appear in the VIDEO section as well.  Because of its length, […]