There was a very interesting article this week on ESPN.com that may date the origins of baseball to an English lawyer back in March 1755. I am still recovering from spending a week in the hospital with my wife & infant son so a link to the article is below. Enjoy and leave a comment…
It sounds easy enough. Runner on 3rd with less than 2 outs and a fly ball is hit in the outfield. Runner tags, takes off and he slides into home safely. Perfect, right? Now we all know it doesn’t always work out like this so lets start from the beginning. It doesn’t matter if you…
It’s a tough job being a catcher. You are the captain of the defense because you can see the whole field and you are in charge of the pitching staff. In essence you are an additional coach added to the staff. There are a lot of things we can cover when you are running the…
The ability to be a dangerous hitter with 2 strikes is critical to becoming a great hitter. If a player has confidence to do damage with 2 strikes he will not be afraid to get to two strikes. If he in not afraid to get behind in the count he will also be more patient…
This past Thursday the Staten Island Yankees and Brooklyn Cyclones played a minor league baseball game that seemed pretty normal until the last at-bat. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Pat Venditte, an ambidextrous pitcher for the Yankees, faced Ralph Henriquez, a switch hitter for the Cyclones and all heck broke loose.…
I was in Alaska for a baseball camp this past week and did not have time to write a column. Therefore I am going to go with some baseball trivia. Enjoy! The National league was established in 1876. The teams were: Chicago White Stockings, St. Louis Brown Stockings, Hartford Dark Blues, Boston Red Caps, Louisville…
The question has been asked by many people over the years. How heavy of a bat should I swing? Some people feel that if they have a heavier bat the ball will go further. There is some validity to that, but what about when the bat is so heavy that it’s swinging you! I believe…
Last week we discussed batting stance and today I want to emphasize the importance of keeping the front side of your body closed at contact. This is extremely important if you want to maximize your chances of hitting the ball hard with the barrel of the bat. In baseball terminology the front side would be…
I get a lot of questions regarding how a player should set up in the batter’s box. Most kid’s like to emulate the pros that they watch on television and that can create a problem. A batting stance is all about comfort which is key to a hitter. When it comes down to it, it…
If you have not already asked your team this question you should. It’s a great way to introduce them into the mental aspect of baseball. What do I mean by that? Challenge your team to look deeper than just how many outs there are or what’s the score. Encourage them to learn as much about…