Questions

Q: I am currently playing amateur baseball with the MABL for this season.I have tried out for many teams and they didn't like my pitching speed because they said it was slower than they would want. Is there a method of exercise or ANYTHING to bring my mph up? I would love to pitch faster.

Answers

A: Every coach since the dawn of baseball has fallen in love with velocity. Speed is the end all, be all to way to many coaches. My best response to the speed questions is a question in return.  Who has more Cy Young Awards, Nolan Ryan (high speed) or Greg Maddox (low speed). The most important aspect of pitching is location. The second most important is location and the third most important it deception of the location. If you do want to improve velocity the main reason for breakdowns is posture and balance. The second reason is poor dietary habits and incorrect workouts. For dietary improvement contact a local dietician who can set you up on a high performance workout diet -- 40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% lean fats.  Also you should eat three smaller meals a day with two small snacks (fruits or vegetables) instead of one or two larger meals.  Improved diet, improves muscle content, which improves recovery time, which improves neuromuscular nerve endings, which leads to more velocity. For work outs, search the web for Dr. Jobe's workouts.  This is the doctor who invented Tommy John surgery and it involves low weights (2 - 5 pounds) and improves the strength of all the muscles in the shoulders.  These workouts can also be done using rubber band resistance.  You need to build up all the stabilizing muscles in the shoulder and the decelerating muscles in order to throw with maximum velocity.  Curls for the girls, Jobes to throw powerful strikes. Balance and posture then become the next step in improving our speed.  What you, as a pitcher, want to do, is not increase your velocity, but increase your speed.  Let me explain.  90MPH is a constant number, but what if I told you that you had to hit a pitcher who threw 90 but had to throw from second base.  You would have time to see the ball and react, so you would have a lot of success hitting.  The ball is still traveling 90MPH but the distance is greater.  You want to decrease distance but improving your release point thereby making your pitch harder even though it is traveling at the same technical speed. You should seek some guidance from a personal instructor in your area to help you out with this.  Contact your local Community College baseball coach, who will gladly provide you with some private lessons. Best of luck in your upcoming season.

Q: I've read that the first motion a catcher should make when blocking is drop the knees, while others say your glove.  I realize that these two happen nearly at the same, but in your opinion which motion should be taught as occurring first?

A: Getting to your knees is the most important part of blocking the ball.  The glove is just used to protect the "five hole", where as the body is the main backstop. You are correct in that both motions happen near simultaneously, but you must reinforce that the catcher get down quickly, with the head tracking the ball, the shoulders rounded forward to create a concave cushion in order to control the rebound of the ball off the body. We NEVER, EVER try to catch the ball in the dirt.  Don't lift the glove trying to catch the ball.  Instead play it off the body. Best of luck this upcoming season.

Q: I've got a catcher on my team that does not have good footwork and has a sidearm delivery to 2nd. I've  tried several times and several different mechanic drills that I've learned. With the sidearm delivery he's throwing into right-centerfield. Any tips, drills you could possibly pass along to me would be greatly considered.

A: Side arm throwing is usually developed from a combination of poor footwork and a fear of hitting the batter with the throw. The best way to correct footwork problems is with shadow work or mirror drills.  I place my catchers in front of me and have them simulate throws to 2nd.  I yell out a variety of positions I want them to be in and they have to get into the correct body and foot position.  Many practices we will do this for an hour straight.  It gets a little boring, but accomplishes our goal. To be honest, I take most of the sidearm throwing catchers who come to my clinic and give them a first baseman's glove and tell them that unless they can correct this deficiency, they better get use to the big glove because that is all they will ever play. I highly recommend that you also get some private instruction for this player.  Contact your local community college and ask for a private lesson.  I think you will find that most are very affordable and can correct a great number of deficiencies within two lessons. Best of luck and hope the ball bounces in front of the plate always.

Q: My 8 year can't hit anything. This past year was the first year with his peers pitching and he struggled. the previous 2 yrs where the coaches pitched he hit real well. He appears to be swinging late and chopping down. His practice swing looks fine but even in the cages at slow he's missing late. I've tried to let it work on its own but I feel he now needs instruction. I'm looking for some basic drills to help him out.

A: I'd first like to say that you have time on your side.  At 8, getting to know the game and the rules are more important than on field performance.  I would not worry too much.  You might find that one day--all of a sudden something clicks and your son is making consistent contact. I will offer this advice, however, regarding the late swing.  Try and get your son to think of his hitting zone being several inches in front of the plate.  Explain to him that the plate is there for the pitcher and umpire to use for judging strikes and that he should be focused on hitting the ball before it even gets to the plate.  Have him try to see the ball come out of the pitchers hand so he can determine whether or not he wants to hit it sooner. Regarding the chop in the swing--I'd recommend the Ken Griffey swing trainer--it will help solve that tendency while still allowing your son to develop a proper "down to contact" approach to the ball.

Q: What is the infield fly rule?

A: The infield fly rule is invoked whenever the following game conditions are met:
1)  There are less then two outs in an inning,
2)  There are runners on 1st and 2nd, or the bases or loaded
When these conditions are met, if the batter hits a pop fly on the infield the umpire calls 'infield fly' and the batter is automatically out whether the fielder catches the ball or not.  If the fielder drops the ball, the runners can advance at their own risk. The reason this rule was created is that smart infielders would drop the ball on purpose, then turn a double play on the runners.  On pop ups, the runners would have to stay close to their bases and good fielders could easily put two runners out by force plays. Hope this helps

Q: My daughter is 10yrs old.  She plays on a travel fast pitch baseball with the boys.  She is a very talented baseball player and is a natural athlete.  She is the one of the top pitchers on the team and when she isn't pitching she is first string short stop.  Her only downfall is that she is a side arm pitcher.  She throws fast and accurate causing many strikeouts.  she never complains about her arm being sore, but her coach insists on changing her side arm because she might cause injury to her rotator cuff.  I have also had people tell me not to change what comes natural to her.  She will eventually have to convert to softball is it that important for her to change her pitching style.  she doesn't throw side arm while playing short stop.  she is having a real hard time changing her pitching style.  is it possible she is a natural side armer?

A: I don't think it is important for her to change her pitching style.  If she is going to convert to softball and wants to pitch I would suggest that she start to practice the windmill pitching.  I can't tell you if she is hurting herself by pitching sidearm because I have not seen her pitch.  I would suggest you see a pitching instructor.  Some pitching instructors will immediately say she is going to hurt herself because of the side arm motion so choose your instructor wisely.  If she is throwing improper than she should change her style.  If she injures her arm now it may always hurt in the future. If she is putting any unnecessary stress on her shoulder due to the sidearm pitching than she may hurt her rotator cuff.  Overhand throwing is not a natural motion so any style can result in rotator cuff injury.  That's why MLB pitchers throw every 5th day and softball pitchers can pitch everyday.  Young players are very flexible, so what seems to be a natural motion now may not be a natural motion when they get older and their bones and muscles grow.  If you could go see a pitching instructor than they would be able to tell you if she should change or continue with the sidearm pitching.

Q: Hey my name is Wilson and my age is 13 and I just started my 2008 little league season . I am a cleanup hitter for my team and I am a righty. I wanted to know what are the techniques for becoming a good fastball hitter. Thanks.

A: The best technique for hitting fastballs starts during batting practice.  If you're a cleanup hitter, keeping going to batting practice as often as you can.  Get comfortable with your swing and work on improving your grip, stance, weight shift and swing.  During batting practice, a real pitcher vs a pitching machine will help you more with the fastballs. During the game, have someone keep a pitch count.  As fastball pitchers go, the start out a easy, peak after 4 innings and then start using changeup combos.  If you know this, you'll be prepared for those innings where the fastball will come out more often. For younger pitchers, it often seems they always want to throw FBs.  Eventually, the arm will become tired and that's when they are changed ... otherwise, guys like you will start hitting homers. So knowing approximately when the FB will be more affective is a good start.  Actually reading the FB is something that will challenge you for many more years.  If you continue to practice your explosive swing and timing, you'll have a better chance. Hitting a FB has more to do with your judgment and reaction time.  The faster you can swing, the more likely you'll hit the FB.  A 90mph fastball takes only a fraction of a second to reach the plate.  For younger players, most FBs will take about a half second or so to reach the plate. You will have to improve your reaction time for FBs. Its like a muscle, the more you use it the better it becomes. The combination of eye to brain to body coordination is improved only with practice, practice and more practice.  Even after all that you have less than a 25% chance of hitting one. Another way to improve your chances against the FB is to study your pitcher.  Instead of horsing around in the dugout, study the pitcher and watch how the FB is delivered.  Most pitchers have a routine they use for different pitches.  They will usually do the same technique for a FB every time.  If you can spot that routine, you'll have a good head start on the FB. There are YouTube tips on the mechanics of hitting a FB, shifting your weight, batting speed, judgement factors.  Video is worth at least a thousand words... Best of luck,

Q: I am a 15 year old junior playing left field and I want to know the best way possible to play long toss from distance, how long I should play long toss for, how often, should I throw the ball on the line as far as possible or throw as far and high as I can. Just how can I best get that amazing arm that I want and need to get to the next level?

A: In the off season you shout long toss 2-3 times per week with no more than 50 throws per session. when you start throwing get some height on the ball as you are loosening up and stretching the arm out. When you are at the longest distance keep the ball high.  ou don't have to throw the ball as high as you can but do gets some air under it. As you start bringing your throwing partner closer to you, start throwing the ball on a line making sure you are doing a fundamentally correct crow-hop. Doing long toss on a football field is best if you can.  You will be able to mark you distance and track your progress

Q: Hi, I am a sidearm pitcher and I'm wondering if you could give me any tips on how to get better velocity on my fastball. I'm 15 and right now I can throw about 64-69 mph.

A: The same rules apply to improving your velocity whether you are an overhead pitcher, three quarters pitcher, or sidearm pitcher.  However, since sidearm pitchers put even more stress on their arm compared to other types of pitchers, you will need to put more emphasis on strength training than other pitchers would.  Here, are a few tips to help you improve your velocity:
1.  Begin a weight training program.  Choose one that is made for baseball pitchers as it will put extra emphasis on the muscles need to throw harder.  Even though a sidearm pitch is slightly different, you are still using essentially the same muscles: legs, shoulders, abs, triceps, forearm, etc
2.  If you are not already, start throwing long toss and begin a running regimen.  These things will help with your longevity and the log toss will also help strengthen your arm's strength and allow you to throw farther
3.  Begin to take pitching lessons from a baseball instructor in your area that has experience training high school, college and major league players.  By learning the correct mechanics, you can increase the speed of your fastball and remove other mistakes from your pitching motion.  Since you are a sidearm pitcher, try to track down those who have experience with sidearm pitchers.  This will help ensure you get the best advice and bang for your buck
4.  Allow for more rest after pitching outings.  Since this motion puts even more pressure on your arm, you will need to give it more time to heal between starts.  This is critical to ensuring you avoid injury and your arm stays strong throughout the whole season
By using these tips, you can reasonably expect to add 5 to 15 mph to your fastball.  However, this range is just an estimate as other factors such as genetics come into play.  Regardless, you will find that by implementing some solid strength training, your confidence and strength will improve adding benefit to your overall game.

Q: Which is better a wood or an aluminum bat when batting? why is that? Can you explain with charts and graphs so i can understand. Thank you very much.

A: If you are competing in a league that allows aluminum bats, I suggest that you take advantage of their benefits. Basically, aluminum bats allow for longer and wider "sweet spots" without adding weight. So, while maintaining bat speed, the hitter has a greater chance of making solid contact with the ball.  In addition, the construction of aluminum bats incorporates shock absorption systems that can add to the "pop" generated on contact. If you want charts and graphs ( it almost sounds like you have a science project due ) I suggest taking a look at manufacturer web sites or university level research papers.

Q: When a pitcher that I am facing has a curveball or any other pitch that has movement, the coach tells us to watch the seams of the ball. How do you read the seams to find out what pitch he is throwing?

A: This is a very good question. Your coach is essentially saying that a curveball or some other breaking pitch will have a different spin that a two seam or four seam fastball.  Simply, put a fastball will normally have a straight spin where the seams appear to be horizontal for a four seam fastball and vertical for a two seam fastball. In comparison, breaking pitches like a curveball will tend to have more of a diagonal spin to them. However, as a matter of practice, very few hitters have good enough vision to spot this distinction. I myself have 20/20 vision and was not able to make that distinction when I was hitting. Another problem with this is a number of pitchers will have natural movement even on their fastball making this even hard to guess which pitch is being thrown. For this reason, I would recommend you use these other tactics in determining what pitch is coming.
1.  The most common strategy is to guess based on the pitch count what the pitcher is going to throw.  For instance, almost all high school pitchers will lead off with a fastball and throw their curveball when the pitch count is no balls and two strikes.
2.  Look for tells in the pitcher's windup of what pitch he is throwing.  For instance, is the pitcher moving has hand around a lot in the glove?  If so, he is probably trying to get a good grip for a breaking pitch compared to a fastball which will be a pitch he can grip very easily.
3.  Study the pitching routine of the pitcher when they pitch to other batters.  You should not just be eating sunflower seeds waiting for your turn at bat.  Instead, watch the pitcher and see what his tendencies are for throwing certain pitches.
Bottom line: Do not be overly concerned about this issue.  Make your best guess with your at bat.  Sometimes you will guess wrong; however, other times you will guess right.  By being willing to take a chance with this, you will increase your chances for better hitting.  Over the course of the season, you will get much better at this guess work.

Q: My 8 year old daughter is having difficulty moving from coach pitch to kid pitch.  It seems she can hit the velocity and consistent pitch from her coach, but when the league switched to kid pitch she can't hit the variety of pitches from the kids.  She seems to understand the strike zone, but can't move the bat within the strike zone to hit a high or low pitch.  Are there any tips or drills I can do to help her with this?

A: It sounds to me that your daughter may be afraid of getting hit with the pitch thrown by her peers. She may have faith in pitches coming from the coaches, but the pitches coming from the other kids may scare her.  Has she been hit by a pitch thrown by a teammate?  If she can hit from a batting machine, then this would prove my point. Can she? She may not want to admit this however. I can't see her swing for myself, so you need to follow up on this yourself. Also, there are many websites that can help her with drills. Just GOOGLE ....baseball drills tips. Good Luck and keep in touch

Q: Athlete is a junior and a 2nd basemen for the varsity high school baseball team. How can you get the barrel of the bat ahead of the hands? It seems like his hands are always ahead of the barrel and they never catch up.  Do you have any suggestions or instructions??  Your help is greatly appreciated.

A: Well if I am correct in my understanding of what you are saying what it sounds like is your son is getting his hands inside the ball. This is not a bad thing. Now are you saying he is always late and hits the ball to right field? Have him work more one handed swings using his top hand.

Q: I have a problem. When I play baseball with my friends, family etc. I don't get nervous, but when i go to a tryout or play for a baseball team, I turn into a nervous wreck and play horrible. Making mistakes I know I can avoid. while I'm playing in the field its constantly me thinking "what if I drop the fly ball, miss the groundball and it rolls to the fence." I fear failure before it even happens. I know I'm a lot better then this. I really want to show those guys that say I suck, I'm really good. But instead of using the anger for help, I end up not using it all because the nervousness has me always thinking of failure. Its funny when I have no pressure I do great, no matter how hard I try to stop it come a tryout or game time it controls me like it wants me to fail on purpose. any help would be good to overcome this.

A: I see a lot of people in my office who are in similar situations.  They do great when there's no pressure, but under pressure they don't perform to their potential.  The MOST IMPORTANT thing for you to understand is that success IS INSIDE of you, because you CAN perform the skills.  That means you CAN succeed, you just need to learn to make pressure your friend. The first thing for you to do is change your language.  When you are thinking the "what if I mess up" then you are heading right for it.  What you need to do is get in the habit, through practicing it, of saying things like I'm catching this ball, this grounder is mine, etc.  I've helped a lot of players improve just by doing this.  It helps you shift your focus from negative to positive.  Remember, you already HAVE the skills, you need to put them into your head in a positive way. Another thing that can really help you is mental training.  Here is a tool that I teach lots of players. Sit down, relax, take five slow deep breaths, then picture or imagine playing a really great game.  You are catching the fly ball and fielding the groundball easily and feeling confident and focused.  Make it a multi-media experience - the sights, the sounds, the smells, the physical feelings and how you feel inside, catching the fly ball and fielding the groundball easily and feeling confident and focused.  After doing this for a few minutes, take a deep breath and open your eyes.  Stand up, stretch and shake it off.  Now repeat your imagination exercise.  After you've done this about 20 times, you are ready to take it to the next level. This time, when you imagine catching the fly ball and fielding the groundball easily and feeling confident and focused, choose a word or gesture that you link to that feeling (like the word SUCCESS or the gesture of pumping your fist).  As you practice this (a lot) your mind will learn to associate the word or gesture with the feelings of confidence and focus you've been building with your imagination practice.  What will happen is when you get into a real game, you say your word or do your gesture, and you WILL feel that confidence and focus.  And that confidence and focus is the key to you doing your best.  This may sound simple, but we learn by association (it's how our brain is wired) and now you are doing it on purpose.  I've helped many players improve using tools like this, they work! Good luck and let me know how it goes.