Base Revolution

Many times younger pitchers think it’s necessary to throw every pitch known. Ask them what they throw they will tell you, fastball, curveball, slider, change-up, splitter, and of course the knuckle-curve-gyro-spinner ball! Throwing many pitches is not the key to being a successful pitcher. Throwing a few pitches consistently in the location you want should be the main focus. Remember, if you can’t throw any pitch over 55% strike (60% in college), it’s not a pitch.

Take a look at this video from Paul Reddick as he talks about the importance of getting good at a few pitches. Then, incorporate this philosophy into your baseball drills.

I was recently given an article from a local newspaper dated, March 26, 2008. The feature article in the sports section that day was titled, Too much, too soon? The article examined a local high school pitcher, who in 2001 ruined his arm after throwing well over 400 pitches in a five game stretch early in the season. He sued the school district claiming that his coach was “negligent in letting him throw so many pitches in such a short period.” The lawsuit failed as the court ruled in favor of the school district. Since the lawsuit, the pitcher has expressed great interest in having the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association implement maximum pitch counts at the high school level.

While I have sympathy for this former athlete’s arm injury, I do not think for a minute it would be wise to implement a blanket policy that would put a cap on the amount of pitches a given pitcher may throw in a game. The results of such a policy would have drastic impact on how the game of baseball is played. Instead, coaches need to understand how to promote and build their players’ arm strength through proper baseball instruction, and athletes need to advocate for themselves regarding high pitch counts early in the season. Here are a couple things to work on from an athletes stand point.

1. In the NW it is particularly important that pitchers are building arm strength throughout the winter months. There are many ways of doing this from arm strengthening exercises like lifting and tubing work, to playing long toss with a buddy. Unfortunately, many pitchers come into the season with an out of shape pitching arm. Being ill-prepared is just begging for an arm injury.

2. Pitches can become more effective in keeping their pitch counts down by throwing more strikes early in the count. A greater emphasis needs to be placed on developing and using the fastball more frequently. Change grips, change locations, and change speeds. There is more that can be done with a fastball than many pitchers understand. Because of this lack of understanding, too much reliance is placed on throwing curve balls.

3. Proper pitching instruction is necessary to make sure the body is generating the power and velocity rather than the pitching arm doing all of the work. There is much to be said about the connection of bad pitching mechanics and arm injuries.

** If you’d like some more good information on preventing arm injuries, take a look at an ARTICLE my friend, Dan Gazaway, www.pitchingacademy.net has to say. **

In the past ten years especially since science has had some great advances, more and more information is coming out about icing the arm after pitching. I have recently been part of a discussion on the topic that has had some interesting points and theories from those who have great backgrounds. I’ve attempted to summarize the conversation into one video that was offered during the course of the conversation. It contains the advice I followed during my playing career, and therefore is the theory that fits my understanding best. I would suggest doing your own research on the subject and seeing what fits into your own baseball instruction and baseball drills.

If you’d like to view the entire thread (28 posts as of this morning), you may find it HERE.

3.5 reasons why scouts will never watch this guy again…

1. Because he has the mental and emotional capacity of an infant. That doesn’t project well with professional organizations I heard.

2. If he can’t deal with this type of pressure and frustration, what happens when 30,000 fans are in the stadium. How will he manage his emotions then?

3. There are too many other athletes who don’t have mental sewage (pardon the new expression I created) leaking out onto the field. Scouts will pass him by quickly. But first, they will tell their other scouting buddies to not waste their time.

3.5 Because nobody likes a whiner anyway.

Are you managing your emotions correctly? Do you understand how to deal with failure? Are you working on these mental skills within your baseball instruction?

A couple weeks ago I received an email message from someone which had a video clip of two baseball teams walking and slapping hands at the end of the game. For the first five seconds of the clip I was wondering why I had taken the time to open the clip. Nothing seemed unusual, just a friendly exchange between teams after a game had concluded. Then I saw it. The punch was quick and came without any warning. As a player was walking through the line, he pulled back and landed a heavy punch on the lip of an opposing player, requiring some stitches afterwards. The clip ends quickly afterwards. I had to replay the video several times to see if I could find anything that provoked the shot. Nothing. There may have been some issue during the game that led to this outburst, but I was not privileged with that information. Regardless, it was shocking.

I’m sure this sort of thing has occurred countless times throughout the years. What made this incident different? Simple. It was caught on film by someone in the stands. The clip has now since been placed on YouTube by someone. In the 5 days it’s been up (at the time I am writing this), the video has received 11,408 views.

The reason I share this is to illustrate why positive sportsmanship is so much more important in today’s technological society. Especially if an athlete is looking to be successful with his talents. Here’s why.

1. Ease of transmission. Fifteen years ago, the same incident above would not have got the attention it has today. Why? Because the equipment and process involved to capture, upload, attach, and send a video clip didn’t exist. Who is to say that the clip doesn’t end up in the hands of a decision maker that will affect this particular athlete in his future?

2. Baseball mania today. Not necessarily technology caused (though it has played some role), baseball has become exceedingly more popular to play in the past ten years. More athletes are playing competitively around the world than even before in the history of baseball. This has allowed teams and organizations at the college and professional levels to be more selective in who makes the team and who doesn’t. If you are a talented athlete but are bringing a lot of baggage with you, there will be hundreds of others just waiting for you to do something dumb so they can take your place.

3. Lack of mental maturity. It doesn’t matter if unsportsmanlike actions are caught on film or not, poor attitudes and actions demonstrate a lack of mental maturity. Mental maturity will come in handy as athletes progress up through the ranks in baseball. The tougher the game gets and the more pressure an athlete feels, the more mental maturity he will need to achieve and stand out from the rest. Word of players who are behind in the mental maturity department will get out. Text messaging, online forums, cell phone calls, instant messaging, YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, etc. will take care of that.

Remember, you never know who is watching. Use your opportunities on the field in practice and during games to work on shaping yourself into becoming a productive athlete who will leave a positive print on the game of baseball when you are done.

If you’d like to view the video, here it is.