Category: Insight Baseball

Trevor Bauer Will Not Be Babied Young power arms are the game’s most valued currency, so what to make of the Diamondbacks’ phenom who wants to change the way we think about pitchers’ development? Front offices aren’t so sure.   Drivers on Texas Loop 336 head east to the town of Cut and Shoot, west to the land of Rock and Fire. The gunslingers of America have a choice to make. Those who bear west steer onto a winding two-lane road lined with sprawling ranches, soaring oak trees and signs that remind them to DRIVE FRIENDLY. Many of the ranches off 336 are raising longhorns. One is breeding pitchers.   Down a hill, past a barn, next to a tractor, 60 young men gather in the 103° morning air. Some are freshly minted first-round draft picks. Others are Little Leaguers just trying to make local All-Star teams. They have come to the Texas Baseball Ranch in the town of Montgomery (population 600) to watch video of Whitey Ford and Bob Feller, run wind sprints with tires strapped around their waists and launch baseballs as hard and as far as they can.   Among them is a precocious 20-year-old from the Los Angeles suburbs named Trevor Bauer, the third pick in this year’s major league draft, the most decorated amateur thrower since Stephen Strasburg, the most intriguing pitching prospect since Tim Lincecum and the fault line along which big league teams will debate the handling of the game’s most valued commodity: the young hurler. While Strasburg stood out for his velocity and Lincecum for his mechanics, Bauer’s defining characteristic is harder to measure. He has an insatiable mind.   Bauer will tell you that virtually every play in a baseball game takes 12 seconds or less, so his workout regimen consists of vigorous exercises that last no more than a fifth of a minute. He will tell you that every hitter must decide to swing no later than the first 20 feet a pitch is in the air, so he practices throwing into a metal grid 20 feet in front of the mound to ensure that all his pitches start on the same plane. Bauer has at one time or another deployed 19 different pitches, some of which he may have invented: They include the “reverse slider” (a harder variation of the screwball) and “the bird” (a splitter thrown with the middle finger raised).   Here is the modern pitcher, New Age but down-home, a product of both Southern California think tanks and East Texas back roads. Bauer throws at least six days a week with baseballs, weighted balls or medicine balls. He long-tosses 380 feet, even before starts. He warms up for his outings with about 45 pitches in the bullpen, and during especially long innings when his team is at bat, he heads back to the pen for more work. On his first warmup toss between innings, he crow hops across the mound and unleashes a fastball more than 100 miles per hour. This past season at UCLA, where Bauer was National Pitcher of the Year, he led the country in strikeouts (203 in 136 2/3 innings), led the Pac-10 with a 1.25 ERA and held opposing hitters to a .154 batting average. More remarkably, his last nine outings were all complete games, and in only one did he throw fewer than 130 pitches. After each of them he was out long-tossing the next day.   Major league executives have been conditioned to wince at such a regimen, assuming all that throwing will weaken the arm and eventually lead to injury. Over the past 20 years most organizations have tried to protect young starters by barring them from long-tossing more than 120 feet, or from throwing more than 30 pitches in the bullpen or more than 100 in a game. The intentions were admirable. The results, as evidenced by thousands of elbow and shoulder surgeries, have been catastrophic.   Bauer saw what those organizations did and then weighed it against information he collected from coaches, classes, books, videos and personal experience. “I just felt like there was a more efficient way for me,” he says. He concluded that his throwing regimen actually strengthened his arm, as long as it was in concert with extensive stretching and sound mechanics. Before this year’s draft, he arranged face-to-face meetings with representatives from the clubs interested in him. He wanted to explain the specifics of his routine and the rationale behind it. He was willing to sacrifice a better slot in the draft—and therefore potentially accept a lower signing bonus—to be with an organization that trusted him.   “I told them all: ‘This is what I do, it’s what I believe in, and if you let me stick with it, I’ll pitch in the major leagues for 20 years,’” Bauer says. “Some were open. Some weren’t. But they needed to know what they were getting into.”   Kevin Towers grew up in Medford, Ore., throwing with friends every day in pickup games, hot box contests and home run derbies. He spent eight seasons pitching in the Padres’ minor league system, but when he became their general manager in 1995, he strayed from his rubber-armed roots. “We all did,” Towers says. “With the big signing bonuses, people were afraid to push the envelope, because if something happened, it was, How dare you? But maybe that thinking hurt us in the long run. Maybe it’s why we have so many problems now. Guys don’t go deep into games, and then when they do, they’re not used to it. Thirty years ago, you threw and threw and threw. To me, that’s healthy.”   Towers took over as the Diamondbacks’ G.M. last September, and in June, with his first draft choice with the franchise, he picked Bauer third overall and signed him to a major league contract that could be worth as much as $7 million. In his professional debut, for Class A Visalia on July… Continue reading Trevor Bauer Will Not Be Babied

Keeping your upper half back Keeping the upper half of your body back is key when attempting to hit the ball hard.  It keeps your head still allowing for better eye hand coordination on contact.  It also allows your hands to get out quicker in to the palm up / palm down power position.  Moving your upper half forward will give the ball approximately a 5 mph increase towards the hitter and cause many balls to be topped and hit towards the ground.  Don’t get me wrong, weight does transfer on to the front foot on contact but not the way most people think. The head should finish over top of the rear knee on contact.  If you are in the most powerful and correct position on contact, it should be very hard to hold that position for more than a second without hurting or stressing out your rear knee or foot.   The upper half coming forward is the old way which was used more in teaching methods in the 1980’s.  Since slow motion video analysis has become a big part with swing analysis in the 90’s, the upper half back has proved out to be for the better.  Bat speeds are at a much higher speed and players with rotational mechanics are quickly becoming the best hitters of all time.  Hitters with rotational mechanics can be seen in pictures included in this article.  Notice how all of them have their upper half back on contact. Players pictured are: Barry Bonds, Kash Beauchamp, Mark McGwire, Joe Mauer, Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, Cody Ross, Chris Cresenzi and Al Roach.   Now I am not saying a player can’t still hit a home run or a line drive double with their upper half coming forward, but chances are a lot less.  Look at the mechanics of a player who hits a home run in to the 5th deck and then look at the mechanics of that very same player who got fooled on a pitch and hits a home run that goes out by a row or two.  Chances are that when he got fooled, he was out in front and reaching for the ball or shall we say upper half forward. These results show that his bat speed was much slower in the upper half forward swing resulting in the ball not going as far. Who would want to have a slower bat?  Hopefully no one.  The goal is not try and hit the ball out of the park every time but rather maximize bat speed so the hitter can hit the ball harder.  If a hitter mazimizes bat speed, chances are he will have a lot more base hits and be more successful at the plate.

What Makes A Nightmare Sports Parent — And What Makes A Great One (written by Steve Hensen) The vast majority of dads and moms that make rides home from games miserable for their children do so inadvertently. They aren’t stereotypical horrendous sports parents, the ones who scream at referees, loudly second-guess coaches or berate their children. They are well-intentioned folks who can’t help but initiate conversation about the contest before the sweat has dried on their child’s uniform.   In the moments after a game, win or lose, kids desire distance. They make a rapid transition from athlete back to child. And they’d prefer if parents transitioned from spectator – or in many instances from coach – back to mom and dad. ASAP.   Brown (pictured below at podium), a high school and youth coach near Seattle for more than 30 years, says his research shows young athletes especially enjoy having their grandparents watch them perform.   “Overall, grandparents are more content than parents to simply enjoy watching the child participate,” he says. “Kids recognize that.” A grandparent is more likely to offer a smile and a hug, say “I love watching you play,” and leave it at that. Meanwhile a parent might blurt out … “Why did you swing at that high pitch when we talked about laying off it?” “Stay focused even when you are on the bench.” “You didn’t hustle back to your position on defense.” “You would have won if the ref would have called that obvious foul.” “Your coach didn’t have the best team on the field when it mattered most.” And on and on.   Sure, an element of truth might be evident in the remarks. But the young athlete doesn’t want to hear it immediately after the game. Not from a parent. Comments that undermine teammates, the coach or even officials run counter to everything the young player is taught. And instructional feedback was likely already mentioned by the coach.   “Let your child bring the game to you if they want to,” Brown says. Brown and Miller, a longtime coach and college administrator, don’t consider themselves experts, but instead use their platform to convey to parents what three generations of young athletes have told them. “Everything we teach came from me asking players questions,” Brown says. “When you have a trusting relationship with kids, you get honest answers. When you listen to young people speak from their heart, they offer a perspective that really resonates.” So what’s the takeaway for parents? “Sports is one of few places in a child’s life where a parent can say, ‘This is your thing,’ ” Miller says. “Athletics is one of the best ways for young people to take risks and deal with failure because the consequences aren’t fatal, they aren’t permanent. We’re talking about a game. So they usually don’t want or need a parent to rescue them when something goes wrong. “Once you as a parent are assured the team is a safe environment, release your child to the coach and to the game. That way all successes are theirs, all failures are theirs.” And discussion on the ride home can be about a song on the radio or where to stop for a bite to eat. By the time you pull into the driveway, the relationship ought to have transformed from keenly interested spectator and athlete back to parent and child: “We loved watching you play. … Now, how about that homework?”   FIVE SIGNS OF A NIGHTMARE SPORTS PARENT Nearly 75 percent of kids who play organized sports quit by age 13. Some find that their skill level hits a plateau and the game is no longer fun. Others simply discover other interests. But too many promising young athletes turn away from sports because their parents become insufferable.   Even professional athletes can behave inappropriately when it comes to their children. David Beckham was recently ejected from a youth soccer field for questioning an official. New Orleans radio host Bobby Hebert, a former NFL quarterback, publicly dressed down LSU football coach Les Miles after Alabama defeated LSU in the BCS title game last month. Hebert was hardly unbiased: His son had recently lost his starting position at LSU.   Mom or dad, so loving and rational at home, can transform into an ogre at a game. A lot of kids internally reach the conclusion that if they quit the sport, maybe they’ll get their dad or mom back.   As a sports parent, this is what you don’t want to become. This is what you want to avoid: • Overemphasizing sports at the expense of sportsmanship: The best athletes keep their emotions in check and perform at an even keel, win or lose. Parents demonstrative in showing displeasure during a contest are sending the wrong message. Encouragement is crucial — especially when things aren’t going well on the field. • Having different goals than your child: Brown and Miller suggest jotting down a list of what you want for your child during their sport season. Your son or daughter can do the same. Vastly different lists are a red flag. Kids generally want to have fun, enjoy time with their friends, improve their skills and win. Parents who write down “getting a scholarship” or “making the All-Star team” probably need to adjust their goals. “Athletes say their parents believe their role on the team is larger than what the athlete knows it to be,” Miller says. • Treating your child differently after a loss than a win: Almost all parents love their children the same regardless of the outcome of a game. Yet often their behavior conveys something else. “Many young athletes indicate that conversations with their parents after a game somehow make them feel as if their value as a person was tied to playing time or winning,” Brown says. • Undermining the coach: Young athletes need a single instructional voice during games. That voice has to be the coach.… Continue reading What Makes A Nightmare Sports Parent — And What Makes A Great One (written by Steve Hensen)

Obtaining Velocity the Correct Way People look at Tim Lincecums’ mechanics and think, “That is so unorthodox, it can’t be the correct way to pitch.” Yes, they are unorthodox, but I like to use the term “over dramatic”. Lincecums’ mechanics are actually very good, they are just over dramatized because he has to generate a ton of arm speed due to his small stature. He generates a lot of power from his lower half, which is why he is able to throw as hard as he does and has prevented any kind of arm injury in his 6 years of professional baseball. Before he was a starting pitcher, he use to reach velocity as close to 100 mph when he was a closer at the University of Washington. One tip on how to achieve this velocity by including your lower half is getting shoulder tilt. As your stride foot goes towards the catcher it is key to have your back shoulder tilted towards second base. This is one of many mechanical adjustments you can make to put most of the stress on your lower half and not your arm to prevent injury and increase velocity. Although, there are no pitchers that have the same exact mechanics. Different adjustments are made based on a lot of characteristics. As you can see, it is a common mechanical trait throughout the MLB if you take a look at the pictures of great pitchers such as Roy Hallday and Felix Hernandez.   Written by Carl Taylor – Head Pitching Instructor at We Drop Bombs Baseball

Playing High School Baseball Is Not Enough An athlete furthering his or her career is extremely important.  Working hard and trying to maximize potential, or see how far they can go with a sport has so many positive effects on an individual’s life.  One, they won’t look back when they are 25 years old and think, “I could of done more, or could of performed better.”  That is one thought that dwells on people as they get older, and makes them wish they could go back and do it all over again.  Two, it develops skills they need such as; work ethic, critical thinking and organization skills, making adjustments, and networking.  A lot of the positive attributes I developed as a person and people I have met that helped me along the way is mainly due to furthering my career as an athlete.  This brings me to why it is important to not just play high school baseball, but travel as well.   Let’s take a look at high school baseball first.  If you are considered a good athlete in high school, you have to play for the school team.  That gives you the sense of confidence that you are one of the better athletes in your area and it gives you something to work towards and prove.  If a college or professional scout sees that you did not play in high school that sparks up a pretty big red flag in their mind.  That is not a positive mark on your track record that you want people to see if you are serious about furthering your career as an athlete.  Most importantly, the high school season prepares you for travel baseball in the summer and fall.  You are keeping your body in shape and your mental focus sharp by playing high school athletics.  People under estimate how important it is to be in constant game situation competition throughout the year.  Which is why it is so important to play in a travel program.   Let’s face the fact that in-town athletics is depleting all over the country.  The sport of baseball and softball are becoming so competitive now, which is why the number of travel programs are rising exponentially and have been for the past 10 years.  If you have the athletic ability and drive to get better, it is a must to get involved in a travel program.  Twenty years ago, there weren’t even 12u travel teams out there.  Now, it’s starting as young as 8 years and under.  Playing travel ball is the way to stay competitive and improve as a player.  If you don’t, you can fall behind and have a really difficult time catching up.  This progression is changing the way college scouts recruit.  They are more likely to get recognized during the travel season rather than the high school season.   Playing high school ball and travel ball is key, they feed of each other.  The easiest way to look at the big picture, which a lot of people don’t understand, is the percentages.  These percentages are roughly estimated, but are honestly the truth.  The amount of players that play baseball until the age of 14 has a significant reduction as they get to high school.  Well less than 50% of kids that play baseball to the age of 14 actually end up making the high school team.  Then only about 20% of that 50% end up furthering their career and play in college.  So my point is, the more you play, the more you have a chance of being a part of those percentages.  Playing in the spring, summer, and fall is an absolute must if an athlete wants to further his or her career and maximize potential.  That constant game situation competition keeps an athlete physically and mentally sharp so they can keep up with other athletes and hopefully surpass them.   On top of it all, high school seasons only last about two months.  They start around April 1st and are concluded around June 1st.   One who is serious about playing baseball needs to look at playing eight to nine months of the year.   Written by Carl Taylor