Join us next Tuesday, January 31st at 9pm EST over on BBA Baseball Talk, a podcast that I host every 5th Tuesday of the month (once every quarter). You can listen to the show online by following this link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ivieleagueproductions/2012/02/01/bba-baseball-talk-the-cba

or feel free to be part of the excitement by calling into the number above!

Image via CrunchBase

On this show I will be joined by Baseball Reflections writers Matt Whitener of (his main site is Cheap Seats Please) & Tim McClelland (whose 17 year old son, 6-5 235 lb RHP who’s touched 92 will be drafted this year).

As we get closer to the show, I will try to post the talking points of the show once Matt, Tim and I nail that down!

Photo taken from Google Images

When I was younger I had a great eye for pitches thrown for balls & strikes. I almost never got called out on strikes, but over the last 2 seasons (and over 20 years later) in my over 30 baseball league I have been called out on pitches thrown on the outside corner (some teammates agree that some of these were off the plate, too). That brought me to ask my friend, professional umpire Perry Lee Barber for some pointers. So I asked her if I should stick to my guns or start swinging at anything close with two strikes on me? I’m leaning towards swinging more times than not on those pitches even though I may end up with similar results (a swinging strike 3 rather than being called out looking). Here was her reply…

In brief, my philosophy is this: baseball is a game of adjustments, for both players and umpires. And now for the not-so-brief, my typically long-winded way of explaining my thinking about this particular question. Umpires’ adjustments do not come in the form of adjusting to a pitcher’s strike zone, or a batter’s; rather, in the form of constant recalibrations of movement, positioning, and focus so as to make the best, most accurate determinations of the outcomes of pitches and plays. The adjustments a batter must make in order to maximize his or her success potential at the plate and on the bases should, and often MUST, take into account multiple factors, including the propensities of plate umpires to call a wide strike zone or one the size of a pinhead, or something in between. Failing to do so will run the risk of resulting in, as you point out, being called out on strikes or otherwise making out (sometimes two!) when just a microscopic and momentary re-tooling of one’s philosophy, batting stance, bat grip, focus, position within the batter’s box, et al., can mean the difference between a strikeout and a base hit. I tell batters all the time: plate umpires will NOT adjust to YOU; it’s your job, and greatly to your advantage, to adjust to US.

Think of it this way: in my capacity as an umpire, specifically a plate umpire, I call an average of 250 to 300 pitches per game. For those pitches, I see a minimum average of, say, twenty different batters multiple times during any given seven-, nine-, or extra-inning game. Each of those twenty batters sees the SAME plate umpire, me, back there for every at-bat during a single game – so who do you think it makes more sense to assign the job of “adjusting” to changing factors and circumstance, the hitters or the plate umpire? if I as the umpire regard it as my job to do the adjusting, I’d be doing it every at-bat, every time a new batter comes up to the plate. This would place an “adjustment” burden on me that would be nearly impossible to bear, as my focus needs to be on the PLAYS, not the playERS. Conversely, a player who routinely comes to the plate an average of four times per game must make a batting adjustment only during each of those at-bats, and based on far more limited parameters than an umpire would have to deal with if it were he or she doing all the adjusting. So it just makes sense for hitters to adopt a philosophy that allows them to adjust to an umpire’s known style of identifying balls and strikes (for instance, I’m a “pitcher’s umpire,” as I steal every strike I can – although I do so within the restrictions of the rule book definition of strike – so hitters familiar with my umpiring “style” know to be swinging the bat when they come up to the plate.) I use as much of the plate, including the black, or the “corners,” as I can to determine whether a pitch is a ball or a strike. I also tend to call a “higher” strike than many umpires, and hitters will sometimes complain or look shocked when I call a strike above the belt – but the good ones, the smart ones, will incorporate this information (“Okay, she calls strikes a little above the belt) into his or her arsenal of baseball knowledge and use it to, say, protect the upper outside corner, especially with two strikes, or otherwise formulate a slightly recalculated strategy for getting on base or driving in a run, or whatever it is he or she hopes to accomplish during the time at bat. I see this all the time! A batter will get angry that I’ve called a strike he considers “too high,” and rather than using the information to his own advantage, making the necessary mental and physical adjustments (which are, for the most part, as I already pointed out, microscopic in nature as opposed to any grand re-figuring of an attitude or a stance,) he will allow his flash of anger to control what he does for the remainder of his at-bat, and will, in many instances, wind up striking out looking or swinging, or flailing ineffectively at pitches and making out some other way. And then, of course, blaming ME for his failure. (“You took the bat out of my hands!”) I always wonder why a hitter would wish to deliberately invest such power over his performance in an umpire; it’s the same thing as saying, “What I as a hitter do out there doesn’t matter; the only thing that matters is what the plate umpire does.” On the other hand, an intelligent hitter will think, “Hmmm, okay, she’s calling that pitch a strike,” make the necessary adjustment, and wind up smacking a double down the line or driving in a run with a sac fly. I can’t tell you how satisfying it is to me as an umpire to observe this phenomenon at work, and how disheartening it can be to learn that some hitters are just constitutionally incapable of making the adjustments that would serve them so much better than an unyielding adherence to a “my way or the highway” type of philosophy. One of the best, most consistent hitters I ever saw was Rod Carew; when I first fell in love with baseball, my mom and I would drive to Anaheim from her home in Palm Springs whenever the Angels were home and watch him at work in the batter’s box. It was an amazing revelation, seeing him make all these mental calculations and adjusting his stance, his position in the box, the way he held his bat, the angle at which he held his HEAD, tiny little things like that, not just from one at-bat to the next one, but from one PITCH to the next. And with a .328 lifetime batting average, I’d say Carew is a pretty good barometer of whether adjusting to a pitcher or an umpire, or both, can make an appreciable difference during a hitter’s time at bat.

Here’s a little story for you. When I was umpiring in the Atlantic League, Sparky Lyle was the manager for the Somerset Patriots. He loved this one relief pitcher he had named John Briscoe, who had seen some limited ML time with Oakland during the 1990s, but I absolutely hated him because he would throw this slider at the knees that would wind up too low as it crossed the plate for me to call it a strike. (Bottom of the knees is as far as I go, I tell catchers if they ask.) I refused to reconfigure my strike zone to accommodate the fact that Briscoe’s best, “out” pitch was this knee-high slider that tailed downward, and Briscoe refused to adjust his pitching philosophy to adapt to “my” strike zone. So we were always at odds whenever he would come out of the bullpen, and I’m sure he wound up believing I’m the world’s shittiest umpire because I wouldn’t call as many strikes for him as other umpires did. Sparky hated me too, for that reason and others too numerous to go into, but we had a sort of love-hate relationship anyway, not just over the Briscoe thing. He loved to fuck with me when I was on the bases and he’d come out to make a pitching change, waving his right arm weakly or surreptitiously, then claiming he’d signaled for the lefty or some such nonsense, although he eventually got it that his shenanigans were hurting him a lot more than they did me. Twice when he pulled this stunt I told him the pitcher he originally signaled for (the righty) wouldn’t be able to pitch later on, as he was already officially in the lineup and switching him with the lefty, the one Sparky claimed he allegedly signaled for, would eliminate him from the lineup for the rest of the game. (Not to mention which, the righty, the one he claimed he didn’t want, would be required to pitch to a batter or get an out before he could legally leave the game.) Anyway, Briscoe never seemed able to adjust; Sparky eventually did. Guess which one is still in baseball? (Sparky’s held the Somerset managerial job since the league’s inception in 1998.) And one more short story for your elucidation: the best advice I ever heard a dad give his son, who was about to pitch a game for which I was the plate umpire? The dad was giving the son a pep talk before the game started, and saw me standing there in my plate gear getting ready to call the managers to the plate for the pre-game conference. As he walked away, the dad looked at me, turned to his son the pitcher, and said: “THROW THEM WHERE SHE’S CALLING THEM.” Wow. I felt like running over and kissing that dad! Not, “Throw your game,” or “Stick to your best pitch” or anything like that: it was, throw it where she’s calling it. So simple, so brilliant – and yet….

A little parable for your edification, with my compliments, Peter. In essence, I would advise you to be willing to adjust to multiple factors during any given at-bat; but don’t go up there fearing that if you don’t swing at everything you’ll be called out on strikes. Stay within yourself, but always reach farther than your grasp? Sort of paradoxical, I know, but that’s one of the beautiful and mysterious things about baseball. Go up there looking to swing at strikes or pitches you like, the ones that are within your “zone,” and occasionally an umpire will call you out looking on a pitch that isn’t a true strike, but more often than not you will achieve some measure of success, whether it’s by actually hitting the ball or by learning something valuable you can use later on to help you hit the ball. And isn’t going down swinging at a bad pitch you thought the umpire might call a strike less traumatic than being called out looking at a pitch that’s off the plate anyway? At least by swinging the bat, it’s YOU who controls the outcome of the play, not the umpire, whether you miss it or hit it.

So there you have it boys and girls, a professional opinion to my problem, and one that I’m sure many of you might benefit from as well!

Play Ball!

I’d like to thank Perry once again for first answering my question and then allowing me to post it here for all our readers to benefit from. Let’s see if I can hit .300 in 2012, my third year back in the game.

Photo taken from Google Images

1. What differentiates what you do as compared to a traditional Physical Therapist?

PT management commonly includes prescription of or assistance with specific exercises, manual therapy, education, manipulation and other interventions (internet definition).

My expertise and present concentration is in the areas of sports performance and non-invasive injury/pain management. There is no touch, surgery, manipulation or drugs involved. Also, I have worked with many other conditions such as weight loss, smoking cessation, ADHD, etc.

The Technique
PsychoNeuro Pain Response™ (PNPR™) also called Talking Away Pain™ (TAP™) is a combination of well-known techniques found in literature that allow the body act as its own biofeedback device.  TAP™ offers hope for health by engaging the conscious mind in interesting, focused, neutral and positive self-talk while the mind-body automatically improves in the quickest, most efficient and healthful way possible.  Four steps are involved. The first is to define pain. The second is to show the individual how to control pain. The third is to determine if it is okay for the pain to be eliminated or reduced. The final step is to deal with any stress of fear the individual may be experiencing due to the pain, injury or otherwise.

Basically TAP™ makes use of the mind, verbal questioning and emotions to eliminate pain, improve functionality and enhance performance. TAP™ is basically an educational technique. I teach and/or guide the athlete or non-athlete to allow their bodies to heal in the safest, fastest and most efficient manner.

Non-invasive Injury/Pain Management
What I do, very effectively, is assist trainers, physical therapists, medical staff, athletes and coaches who have exhausted conventional, standard channels to enhance performance, safely speed healing and reduce pain from injuries [AZFoxTV10—Phoenix Suns use Alternative Therapies & can be seen below]. I work in conjunction with the medical team whether it be with an athlete or non-athlete.

Sports Performance

My performance enhancement techniques have helped teams win championships and athletes advance on a world-class level. When all other avenues have failed, I have been able to effectively assist athletes with mental blocks inhibiting appropriate performance. Also, having an athlete mentally ready to return from an injury is misunderstood and often neglected. Why? Most medical staff members do not know how to answer the athlete’s question, “Will the ‘healed’ injury perform under game conditions?”

2. What type of work have you done with baseball players (after all, this is a baseball site)?

I have worked with baseball players to enhance performance, break out of slumps, safely eliminate pain, speed healing and improve functionality over the phone and in person. Skype is now available to clients. Following are three examples:

Case 1-MLB Pitcher, Shoulder

During Cactus league spring training, a pitcher was referred to me by the team chiropractor. He had been in therapy for a shoulder injury, for approximately six months. He still had limited range of motion and was in a lot of pain. Using only mental techniques, in approximately 20 minutes, he was pain-free with complete range of motion.

Case 2- Runner Injures First Baseman-Rapid Return

On Wednesday, June 23, 2010, a first baseman was knocked unconscious. He received a broken wrist, a concussion with amnesia and a cut in his eyelid and brow requiring stitches. While he was fielding a throw from the third baseman, the batter ran into him. Two days after his accident, June 25, I taught the first baseman visualization techniques to eliminate his pain and speed his healing. His pain immediately decreased. On June 29, the day before his appointment with an orthopedic physician, he had another session with me.  During this session, he practiced visualization techniques to further speed his recovery.

The next day, June 30, exactly one week after his injuries, the athlete saw an orthopedic surgeon. His mother said that when the surgeon saw the X-ray, he asked if the injury was a year to one and a half years old.  When told it was one week old, he could not believe it. The following week, two weeks after the wrist was broken, the orthopedic surgeon removed the player’s cast. He indicated that he had never removed a cast earlier than six weeks before. “It was amazing,” he said.
Case 3- Pitcher and Outfielder: Wrist & Shoulder

On Saturday (2/26/11), I worked with two college softball players, a pitcher and an outfielder, to prepare for their spring tour. Their AD/Coach asked if I could help with the players’ injuries. Both, under the care of the team trainer, had shoulder injuries with a lot of accompanying pain. The pitcher also had a painful wrist injury. After the initial session, which lasted approximately one hour each, neither experienced any pain. The trainer was amazed and pleased. Upon follow-up (four days later), neither felt any pain since the initial session. On Monday (2/28/11), the pitcher was strong, confident and able to pitch and do push-ups without any pain. By the way, the sessions were over the phone.

3. I read somewhere that you can treat an athlete over the phone. Please explain to our readers how you can accomplish this?

Working over the phone is pretty much the same as working in person. It is a little more difficult because you cannot see the client (unless you use Skype). This could cause one to miss some of the physical clues that the client may be giving (i.e., do they understand what you want or are they doing what you wish in the proper way). The client history and other information is still required. Usually the coach, parent, team physician or trainer has already supplied the diagnosis, prognosis and status. I always work with the medical team working with the athlete. All the authorization forms and questions need to be answered prior to the intervention.

I would like to point out that since the introduction of the TAP™ technique in 1989, there has never been a problem observed or reported.

4. Have you worked with professional baseball players? Can you mention any names of players you have worked with?

Yes, I have worked with MLB players. No, I do not have permission to mention any of their names at this time.

5. What makes your work better, faster or more efficient than that of traditional work done in your field?

Our personal system, mind-body-spirit, if allowed to, will heal in the fastest most efficient way. Most of the time, the process of healing is slowed by fear and anxiety. When an injury occurs, a great deal is done to fix or repair the physical injury. The mental side of the injury is almost always neglected because most clinicians do not feel that the mind and emotions are that critical, but they are.

I deal with the side that is usually neglected. I teach the client to, to utilize all their resources. This has led to faster, better healing than with just conventional standard medicine (CSM) and training methods.

6. What types of injuries can you treat with this method (are there any limitations) & which ones cannot be treated this way?

Here is a partial list of conditions that I have worked with:

Achilles Tendonitis
Ankle, 2°inversion sprain, continued pain
Ankle, previous Fibula fracture-post cast treatment
Anxiety
ADHD
Back-facet sprain
Back Pain-Lower
Behavioral Change
Breast Cancer-biopsy pain
Breast Pain-unknown origin
Broken neck
Broken ribs
Broken toe
Broken wrist
Bruised hip
Cancer pain
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Charley Horse
Chronic Ankle Sprain
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Chronic Headaches
CMP Syndrome-knees
Compartment syndrome
Concussion
Contusion-forearm Crossed eyes
Cruciate Ligament
Damaged meniscus
Depression
Diabetes
Disc-herniated and degenerated
Elbow-chronic epichondilytis
Fibromyalgia
First-degree inversion ankle sprain
Grade 2 ankle sprain
Hamstring strain
Head trauma
High Blood Pressure
Hypertension
Jaw and neck pain
Knee; Medial Rentinaculum Irritation
Knee; Reiter’s Syndrome
Knee-hyperextension
Low abdominal strain
Lyme Disease
Multiple Sclerosis
Muscle Spasms
Neck, shoulder w/headache
Neck-tenderness, paravertebral spasm, Severe restriction
Numbness
Occipital Headaches
Osteoarthritis
Osteoporosis
Pain due to Surgery for Breast Cancer (teletherapy – over phone)
Patella tendonitis
Phantom pain
Quadriplegic – groin and pelvic pain
Repetitive injury management
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rotator Cuff injury
Sciatica
Shoulder Tendonitis
Silicone Implants-fatigue, pain
Sternoclavicular Sprain
Stress
Stress Fracture
Surgery – pre- and post- operative Injury management
Thumb dislocation, decrease in ROM, muscle weakness
Tibialis Posterior Tendonitis-shin splints
Tic Douloureux
TMJ
Whiplash

There are no limitations because, theoretically, the body can be healed of any condition. See Larry Dossey’s, M.D.,“Canceled funerals: A Look at Miracle Cures” (Alternative Therapies 4, no. 2 (1998): 10-18, 116-20). Clinical trials and two research studies seem to indicate that the TAP™ technique can work for everyone and is cost effective.

There is little to no risk with the TAP™ technique. The individual is generally referred by their physician, physical therapist, trainer or other medical professional. During the sessions, the referring healthcare professional is kept appraised of the condition of his or her patient. At the completion of the sessions, the individual returns to the referring healthcare professional, in order for him or her to determine the appropriate activity levels or other treatments.

I want to mention that I am not licensed to practice medicine and I do not practice medicine. I teach techniques that allow clients to safely and quickly heal. Healing is a spiritual thing…True healing requires balancing the mind and body, guided by Spirit.

7. Is your practice more of a reaction to or in prevention of injuries (or both)?

I am proactive in teaching athletes to make good choices in practice, sporting events and life. This reduces the likelihood of injuries. Obviously, when an injured athlete is referred to me, I am react to the situation.

8. How did you come about using (or developing) this method? Is it trusted or are you seeing athletes coming to you as a last resort?

I stumbled upon it. The process started years ago when I was asked by an oncologist to teach mental techniques to individuals with terminal cancer. The purpose was to see if mental techniques could help relieve pain and thus reduce the amount of medication being used. This was successful. The reduction in medication dosage improved the patient’s quality of life and enabled them to communicate with their families.

I developed the present TAP™ technique in 1989, while working with the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN, football team, to enhance performance. One day, after praising the results of my performance enhancement techniques, Head Football Coach Vic Wallace asked if there was anything that I could do for pain and injury?  He had two fullbacks and a middle linebacker hurt. One fullback had a partial shoulder separation and meniscus damage; the other fullback had a partial shoulder separation, and the middle linebacker a grade II ankle sprain. I saw them for approximately 20 minutes each, in succession.  At the end of the sessions, all three were pain free, had full range of motion (ROM) and full strength. All three athletes, who were not scheduled to dress for the game, played the next day. The athletes were observed, one for two years, to see if there was any reoccurrence of the injuries. None of the three athletes ever experienced any further problems due to their injuries.

Thinking back, I realized that what I had done was similar to what W.B. Fahnesstock, in his 1869 book called Artificial Somnambulism, suggested. He wrote, “if the mind is directed away from pain-injury for a length of time, with suggestions for health, the person would get better.”

My technique continues to be refined.

9. Is it trusted or are you seeing athletes coming to you as a last resort?

Those physicians, trainers, coaches and others who know me, consult with me in ASAP. Many others find me through referrals, my website <www.reliefforyou.com>, my blog.reliefforyou.com, articles and other resources. Some come as a last resort, because nothing else has helped.

10. Is your practice more affordable to patients due to your methods in comparison to a more traditional methods? Why?

Yes, very affordable. Many clients have spent tens of thousands of dollars on failed surgeries, physical therapy, manipulations and drugs with little relief. My work is non-invasive, without surgery, drugs or manipulation. Do not get me wrong. There are times when surgery, drugs and/or manipulation are needed. The individual should avail themselves to all available treatments and listen to their physicians.

11. Do you treat non-athletes as well as athletes?

A great deal of my work is with non-athletes for a variety of conditions, many considered “incurable.” There is a great need for affordable, safe, effective and lasting positive techniques in our health care system today.

12. One last question do you happen to have any video (from YouTube or otherwise) concerning you & your practice/method that you can send me the link to compliment this interview?

1. Phoenix Suns Use Alternative Therapies-AZ Fox TV-10

3. This video goes into a brief step by step process of my work: Football Player eliminates shoulder, ankle and shin pain.