Most often pitchers and position players associate their pitching velocity, bat speed or exit velo with their pitching or hitting mechanics. As our understanding of the body and technology has improved over the years, it is now more apparent than ever that your velocity ceiling, whether it’s pitching or hitting, is limited by your physical ability more than anything else.
If your velo is stuck… let’s find out why!
Continue reading “Profiling Pitchers and Players… The RPP Assessment”
Hitting a baseball is a series of sequential and interconnected movements. Many of the issues hitters face at the plate begin early in the hitting / swing process. Today, we’re going to review several components of what we consider to be a proper “Load”. If you don’t start your swing by loading well, chances are it may not end well either. Losses in bat speed, power, poor sequencing, poor swing metrics and poor “adjustability at the plate” are all examples of issues that can be initiated with a poor load. The way we look at it, there are a few things you should DO well and couple of things you should make sure you’re NOT doing:
Continue reading “What is a Proper Load for Hitters? The Do’s and Don’ts”
Welcome back to the “How to” series on pitching, where we will be diving into various pitches and speak about different grips, cues, tips, movement profiles, and even a top MLB comparison for reference when looking at a given pitch. Next up, how to throw a 4-seam fastball.
Continue reading “How to Throw a 4-seam Fastball (Grips, Cues, Types, etc.)”
The NCAA recently changed college baseball recruiting rules to slow the recruiting process for prospective student-athletes. Under the new rules, college coaches can’t communicate with a prospect, including inbound calls, until August 1st, prior to their Junior year. Additionally, no verbal offers or commitments will be made before that time. However, communication will be permitted while attending college camps held on campuses, but coaches are not allowed to discuss recruiting or make any verbal offers until the date listed above. Let’s review what these changes mean to you!
Continue reading “What Do the New College Baseball Recruiting Rules Mean to YOU?”
Welcome back to the “How to” series on pitching, where we will be diving into various pitches and speak about different grips, cues, tips, movement profiles, and even a top MLB comparison for reference when looking at a given pitch. Next up, how to throw a splitter.
Continue reading “How to Throw a Splitter (Grips, Cues, Types, etc.)”
I raised two boys in the world of travel baseball. They don’t play anymore. But the memories are endless and I learned a few things along the way. If I could do it all over again, here are a few things I would have done differently.
Continue reading “5 Things I Would Have Done Differently with My Young Ball Players”
Baseball pitches come in three basic categories: fastballs, breaking balls, and off-speed / changeups. Each category, and each pitch within the category, are generally identified by their type of grip, velocity and movement profile also known as “break”. Pitchers generally throw many different types of baseball pitches, in addition to a fastball. Although, there are a few pitchers in the MLB that throw just about every type of pitch, starters generally throw 4-5 different variations, and relievers and closers throw 1-3 different ones. The primary purpose for the variations in pitching is to throw a batter’s timing off and induce an out: as in a strike out, a ground out, or a flyout.
Now, let’s review each category and the various baseball pitches:
Welcome back to the “How to” series on pitching, where we will be diving into various pitches and speak about different grips, cues, tips, movement profiles, and even top MLB comparisons for reference when looking at a given pitch. Next up, how to throw a sinker or 2-seam.
Continue reading “How to Throw a Sinker or 2-seam (Grips, Cues, Types, etc.)”
Welcome back to the “How to” series on pitching, where we will be diving into various pitches and speak about different grips, cues, tips, movement profiles, and even a top MLB comparison for reference when looking at a given pitch. Next up, how to throw a changeup. Continue reading “How to Throw a Changeup (Grips, Cues, Movement, Types, etc.)”
Baseball pitch grips are a big part of throwing a baseball. Every pitcher has a unique way of holding and gripping every pitch in his arsenal. Since the size of the baseball is “a given”, success with different pitches and baseball pitch grips can be attributable to many things, including hand size, finger size, finger pressure, finger placement, depth of the hold, hand / finger dexterity and most importantly comfort. In this article we are going to review the eight major pitch types, each with its own distinct baseball pitch grip and movement pattern: Continue reading “Baseball Pitch Grips — A Comprehensive Guide”
