How precise you are as a pitcher determines if you will be a starter or reliever. Pitchers that maintain command and velocity longer in games will be starters. They are able to repeat their deliveries which will make their pitch location and speed consistent. Starting baseball pitchers know the importance of correct baseball pitching mechanics. [...]
The fundamentals of the stride in baseball pitching and hitting are the same. The only difference in pitching and hitting strides is the length. Consequences of understriding and overstriding The pitching delivery and swing are initiated by striding with the front foot. If the stride is too short, baseball pitchers and hitters will rotate their [...]
A key component of having a successful baseball team in cold weather cities is organized and efficient indoor baseball practices. Many coaches use indoor workouts for hitters and pitchers while ignoring individual and positional defense, bunting, and game situation plays. Their responses are usually along the lines as “it’s not worth the time because the [...]
Purposely showing youth baseball players the wrong mechanics first can often help them grasp the correct fundamentals quicker. We instruct pitchers to land their front foot heel first. We know this will result in cutting off their hip rotation and jarring their throwing release point. We then tell them why this technique is wrong. At [...]
What is the difference between cage hitting and field batting practice? I have seen baseball players that were awesome hitters in batting cages. You couldn’t throw the ball by them. They hit every ball hard. To see if batting cage hitters are real hitters, we incorporate field batting practice with live pitching and situations after [...]
Aside from innate baseball talent and pure baseball instincts enhanced by playing a lot, the best attribute a player can have is mental toughness or the ability to cope, adjust, and learn from tough situations and failure on the baseball field. Many professional baseball players have not lived up to their own or others’ expectations [...]
I have seen significant changes to how youth baseball has been “taught” in the U.S. since the 1960s. And the change hasn’t been positive. I didn’t say “coached” because coaching refers to strategy and competition. The concentration of youth baseball today must be on skill development, rules understanding, and team play. We need teaching coaches [...]
The stride—movement of the front leg before contact—might be the most over taught aspect of the baseball swing. Personally, I don’t care how a hitter strides, as long as they stride to balance. Some hitters, like Juan Gonzales, kick up their front leg as if they were pitching. Other hitters, such as Chipper Jones and [...]
Rotational movement is any type of movement in a circular motion. Ultimately, it is this type of motion that generates the speed and power hitters need. Once the hitter strides to his balanced position, he needs to rotate his hips towards the pitcher. Another way of feeling this motion is to turn the belly button [...]