Lefty pickoffs Part 1: Walk out of your steps

This is Part 1 of a three part series on left-hander pickoffs.  Today and tomorrow will show two big tips for lefties to get more pickoffs.  The third part are tips for runners so that they never get picked off by a left handed pitcher.

Shortstop footwork on pickoffs at second base

Like virtually everything else in baseball, if you want to improve yourself as a shortstop, start improving your footwork.  I’ve said it at least a hundred times on my blog that as you get older the game gets faster.  If you cannot keep pace with the game, your career ends.  It’s as simple as that. […]

Release point and the Pitcher’s Arc

When a pitcher throws a ball overhand, a basic arc is created with the ball.  The arc looks something like the yellow one shown in the diagram I created. Labeled on the graphic are five release points and five corresponding trajectories (red arrows) showing where the ball will go if it is let go at […]

Hitters don’t stay on top of the ball

Stand near many hitting coaches and third base coaches at the upper levels and you will hear a common phrase.  The phrase is some variation of “get on top of the ball” or “Come-on Big Papi, get on top of one here.” Some may see a problem with this because batters never really do get […]

A tip for fielding a bunt near the foul line

In most cases, fielding a bunt to the first base side is pretty standard.  The pitcher jumps off the mound, fields the bunt, and steps towards first base to make the throw.  With slow to average runners, the same procedure works fine on bunts fielded near the first base foul line.  The pitcher hustles to […]

Leave him alone

Good coaching is a balance between hands-off and hands-on.  If you are too hands-on, players don’t develop the skills needed to recognize information in real-time and adapt on the fly.  They are so used to being told what to do that when they need to think on their own, they can’t.  If a coach is […]

Fielding the ground ball hit right at you

Ask any infielder and they will tell you that sometimes the hardest ball to field is the ball hit directly at you.  As I explain in this video, this phenomenon has a lot to do with the fielders vision.  I also provide two ways infielders can eleviate this problem if they don’t have enough time […]

Pickoff moves to first base: Part 2 – The proper footwork

In Part 1 of my tips for right handed pitchers when throwing to first base I talked about the negative aspects of the very popular spin-move pickoff to first base.  In Part 2, I show the footwork I teach pitchers and also explain why I feel it is an all-round better option for right handed […]

Pickoff moves to first base: Part 1 – The mistakes

Most right handed pitchers at the levels below pro ball use a pickoff move to first base that involves a variation of the spin-move.  Although some pitchers are quite good at it, there are several problems with doing that type of pickoff move to fist base.  Today’s video tip shows and explains the problems with […]

Other options for arm bands

In yesterday’s post I explained the importance of using an exercise band routine for baseball players, especially pitchers.  The video I added also gave some tips regarding exercises that are terrific for building and maintaining arm strength. Today’s post is meant to show players, coaches, and parents that the (somewhat) expensive option of buying baseball exercise […]

Exercise bands and routines

Exercise bands have become all the rage in baseball with regards to strengthening the shoulder.  Especially in the off-season.  And I couldn’t be happier.  When I played, the Twins organization made it a mandatory part of a pitcher’s daily routine (along with medicine balls – more on that another time). I can honestly say that […]

Product review: The ProX Batting Tee

I have not done many product reviews but here is one I have to share.  My friends at ProX Tee sent me a batting tee to review last season.  After trying it out myself with a few swings, I lent it to a good friend of mine, Coach Kevin Manero who is the head coach […]

The double whammy of incompetence

This school year I am teaching a course I have never taught before.  It is AP Psychology.  It certainly is a lot of work but it has definitely been rewarding already.  I’ve always been fascinated by the field of sports/performance psychology so when another teacher was needed, I volunteered.   To brush up on my […]

Using wood bats in the off-season

I’ve written a couple posts about the use of wood bats.  I few of them appear under this post in the “Related Posts” area.  All of them have been pretty supportive of the idea in order to improve a hitter’s ability to hit the ball more effectively.  However, there are some drawbacks.  For young kids […]

The Drop-Step Drill for pitchers

In my opinion, one of the more important aspects of good pitching is the ability to stay on that imaginary line that leads from the middle of the pivot foot on the pitching rubber to the location they want to throw to at home plate.  If their body weight can successfully travel down and finish […]

Improve your defense near a batting cage

The other night I was wondering around a park where my son’s soccer practice was and noticed a young player taking some swings in a batting cage with what appeared to be his father.  His father was throwing a pretty good BP and his son was hacking.  I noticed immediately that my brain was correctly […]

Coaching the modern player

St. Louis Cardinal manager Mike Matheny once said that when he was growing up, he was told that “the coach is right even when they are wrong.”  Although I was not told that quote, I learned the same principle growing up as well.  You respect authority because, well … just because.  The “modern day player” […]

Train for short bursts of speed

Players at a variety of levels are beginning to wind down their fall seasons and will soon begin to think about their off-season training.  Usually (at least for the older kids) there is a combination of strength training and running to get ready for the following season.  I’ve written a number of posts concerning Off-Season […]

What a pencil can teach a coach

Learning from a pencil has been around for quite a while.  Of course, the same principles would apply to coaches and baseball coaches alike.  Here they are if you have never seen them.   Learning from a pencil 1. Everything you do leaves a mark.  As a coach, never forget that your interaction with your […]

Joe Maddon’s stages of a ball player

I’m a huge fan of Joe Maddon, the current manager of the Tampa Bay Rays.  If you need to know how to manage the modern professional athlete, just study him. During a Rays game I was watching, the announcer listed the stages of a pro ball player as described by Joe Maddon.  Even though he applied […]

Score on a ground ball

When you watch a young team play there are many things that you can point to as examples of good coaching.  The common feature that all seem to share is that well coached behaviors don’t come about naturally.  For example, individuals tend to create a sense of fashion that is unique in some way to themselves.  They may not […]

Training with a football

Ever wonder why you never hear of an NFL quarterback needing Tommy John surgery?  How is it that a veteran quarterback can throw a football every day of their lives and never develop an arm injury?  They throw overhand like baseball pitchers and the ball they throw is heavier than a baseball too.  You’d think they would have […]

Find out if they are bunting – Part 2

In yesterday’s post I gave a quick tip for defensive teams to see if the other team was bunting.  Today’s post is a tip for the offensive team when their batter tips his hand on the bunt. The tip is simply to give another set of signs after the pickoff throw.  If the batter shows bunt […]