The Number One Baseball Hitting Problem On Earth!
A “quick hip” is when the front hip opens a fraction of a second early. It is a very common baseball hitting problem and a very serious one for many hitters at all levels of play. The swing itself should force the front hip open. If the hip opens a fraction of a second too […]
Baseball Pitching Tips: How To Back Up Bases Properly Saves Ballgames!
Way too often, backing up bases gets to complex and very confusing for a pitcher and it should not be. An errant throw can often determine the outcome of a baseball game. Baseball pitching tips should include teaching pitchers which base they should back up and how to properly back up the base. Once again, […]
Baseball Pitching Tips: How You Will Benefit By Being Unpredictable!
Let’s switch sports to football, but just for a second. I thoroughly enjoy it when a quarterback throws a “bomb” for a touchdown on first down. The reason for the successful “bomb” is usually that it was unpredictable and most likely the defense was looking for a running play. I think you know where we’re […]
Baseball Tips On Hitting: Your Baseball Hitting Style Belongs To You Only!
Your baseball hitting style is what you do at the plate before you swing the bat and baseball hitting mechanics are what you do when you are actually swinging the bat. If a coach wants to help you improve your baseball hitting mechanics, that’s one thing. But your very personal hitting style is an entirely […]
Baseball Pitching Tips: You Absolutely Must Use Checkpoints!
Making good use of checkpoints is one of the best baseball pitching tips anyone will ever give you. Checkpoints are very simply mental reminders that a pitcher gives to himself before every pitch. They are something that will help any pitcher be the most effective! Usually, baseball pitchers have about three or four and they […]
Baseball Tips On Hitting: Focusing On Just This One Thing May Lead To Your Success!
Wouldn’t it be great if in order to be a very successful hitter you were only required to do one simple thing. Guess what? There is only one thing for you to do to be very successful at the plate. That one thing is to consistently get the “sweet spot” of the bat on the […]
Baseball Tips On Hitting: How Practice Is Mandatory For Your Success!
You’ve got to go out and hit, hit, hit and then hit some more. Some professional players take 500 swings a day in the off season. It’s not by accident or good fortune that some of them bat .330 or hit 45 home runs. Maybe that’s why they are professional hitters, because they pay the […]
Baseball Tips On Hitting: How You Stride When Hitting Is Critical!
Exactly when you should start your stride varies among hitters. Usually, the stride begins a fraction of a second before the pitcher releases the ball and that’s my preference. Many teach that the stride should start when you see the pitcher pivot on the rubber and the hitter can see the pitcher’s rear end. That […]
Baseball Umpiring In High School: How To Communicate With Your Partner!
For the many who have read my many articles on playing and coaching baseball, hopefully you believe that I have a pretty good understanding of how baseball should and should not be played. At least I hope you feel that way. Now that I have become a certified high school umpire, I have found that […]
Baseball Umpiring In High School: You Blew The Game Coach And Not Me!
I umpired an extremely competitive and closely fought high school baseball game a couple of days ago. My assignment was to be the field umpire and my partner was assigned to home plate. We had our pregame conference with both head coaches and they both seemed like terrific guys. We shake hands and we all […]
Baseball Tips: How To Focus On Three Things To Improve Your Hitting!
I believe hitters are way too often bombarded with too many baseball tips on hitting. The guilty culprits are often teammates, coaches, parents and occasionally even your Aunt Mary. Take your time and take hitting in stride. No pun intended. Try to learn a little bit at a time and you will be just fine. […]
Baseball Pitching Tips: How You Communicate With Your Teammates Is Critical!
I can write forever about the necessity of good communication for a pitcher with all his teammates. It’s not something that’s taught very often but it can affect the outcome of the baseball game. What can be more frustrating than losing a game because a catcher got crossed up and missed a pitch because he […]
How Players And Coaches Should Deal With A Hitting Slump!
Very simply, a baseball hitting slump occurs because of something that you are now doing that is mechanically incorrect when swinging the bat or it can be something that you were doing correctly and now you are not doing it. In other words, either you have developed a bad habit or have gotten away from […]
Baseball Pitching Tips: How To Improve Your Control By Playing A Game That Is Fun!
Take a look at almost any inning in which three or more runs are scored and I would venture that in at least 75% of those innings one or more walks were involved. I teach pitchers that you must throw strikes consistently and I don’t care if a batter hits the ball into the trees […]
Are You Really Comfortable With Your Circle Changeup Grip?
You really have to experiment and find out what is the most comfortable for you when it comes to different grips on the baseball. Baseball pitching tips involve experimenting with many different ways to grip your pitches. This definitely applies to throwing the changeup. I would venture that 95% of all pitchers, at any level […]
Which Side Of The Rubber Should You Pitch From?
I’ll gladly give you my input about pitching from different sides of the rubber but ultimately you will have to decide what works best for you and where you are comfortable. There are many baseball theories on this but ultimately you will have the final say because you are doing the pitching. Usually, but not […]
The Long Toss: A Pitcher Will Benefit Tremendously From Long Tossing!
The “long toss” is simply a throwing session where you start out fairly close to your throwing partner, then gradually increase the distance between the two of you. You finish the drill by then gradually decreasing the distance until you are back to the distance you originally started from. Many very good authorities believe that […]
Baseball Tips On Hitting: Your Front Shoulder And Elbows Are Critical!
Let’s look at several important baseball tips on hitting involving the front shoulder and the elbows, particularly the back elbow. Your Front Shoulder: 1. It should go straight into the pitch and toward the pitcher and NOT fly open. 2. The front shoulder must be kept closed until the swing itself forces it to open. […]
How To Properly Expand The Strike Zone Is Critical!
Whenever you are ahead in the count, you should “expand the strike zone.” No, let’s rephrase that. You must expand the strike zone! That simply means throwing a pitch off the plate, that’s actually a ball. Or throwing a pitch too high or too low that is out of the strike zone. Let’s be clear […]
Baseball Pitching Tips: How You Hide Your Grip Is Critical!
For something that’s very important, I’m quite surprised hiding your grip isn’t talked about or taught more. How many things can be more detrimental for a pitcher than tipping off his pitches to opposing players and their coaches? Trust me. Players, coaches and managers will look for opposing pitchers that tip off their pitches! For […]
The Hit And Run Play: How To Execute It Perfectly!
Starting at square one, it is the responsibility of the batter to swing at anything, no matter where the pitch is located. If possible, hit the ball to the opposite side, whether it’s toward the second baseman if you are a right-handed hitter or toward the shortstop if you are a left-handed hitter. At the […]
How To Overcome Two Very Common Baseball Hitting Problems
I would venture that on any given team, at least one third of the hitters have one of these two very common hitting problems. Here are several baseball tips on hitting that should help to overcome them. Tension Is A Hitter’s Worst Enemy! I’ve heard this expression dozens of times and could not agree more. […]
Coaching Tips: Mind Games Between The Pitcher And The Hitter!
As you advance to older levels of play, you will find that many baseball hitters will play certain mind games with the pitcher and pitchers will do the same with hitters. Personally, I would not recommend getting involved in any mind games until the high school level of play or higher whether you are the […]
Baseball Pitching Tips: How You Can Get To Know The Tendencies Of A Hitter Very Quickly!
It is mandatory for baseball pitchers to find out the strengths and weaknesses of the baseball hitters they face. There are certain very clever things a pitcher can do. If the hitter takes a practice swing before facing you, pay attention to his practice swing! If he appears to be hitting an inside pitch […]
