Do Not Listen To These Popular Coaching Tips!
Here is a list of seven baseball coaching tips or beliefs that were either wrong from the start or have become totally obsolete: Come On Johnny, Get Your Elbow Up: The reference is to the height of the back elbow when hitting. You will very often hear this hollered to a young player by a […]
How To Be Successful Against Power Pitchers!
Against some of the harder throwers, many very good hitters cut down on their stride or even omit it completely. For those hitters who have trouble against “flame throwers,” they should remember that it’s not necessary to take any stride at all or to swing the bat that hard. Some baseball hitters, especially young hitters, […]
A Totally Bizarre Way To Raise Your Batting Average!
If you are struggling at the plate, what you should attempt to do is to hit every pitch at the pitcher‘s belt buckle. And no, I haven’t lost my mind and I resent that you’re thinking that I’ve lost it. Try to do this on every pitch, no matter what type of pitch it is […]
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 […]
One Umpire’s Perspective on a Batter’s Approach at the Plate
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
A Good Stance Begins with Your Feet
Throughout my career, and even since the conclusion of my playing days, people always took notice of my unique batting stance. My stance actually came about because of Nolan Ryan, the great Hall of Fame pitcher known for, among many other highlights, his seven career no-hitters. Nolan struck me out 29 times, with most of […]
Batting Practice using Pitching Machines – Good or Bad?
Frequently, I receive this question from my student’s parents, “Should I take him/her to the batting cages.” You would think my response is, “Sure, practice is good.” However, it is not that simple an answer for a number of reasons. First, and this is often my response, “Let’s wait awhile, because they are just going […]
The Flex Stance and Studying the Pitcher
When using the flex-stance, the key to making it work starts with knowing when to be flexible. You can use all three stances – the standard stance, which is medium open with your front foot 8-12 inches away from the inside chalk; the open stance with your front foot 12-18 inches off the inside chalk; […]
Understanding the Spin of the Ball
The very prospect of picking up the rotation of a baseball only 55 feet away from you normally traveling in excess of 90 mph is quite a daunting task. Not to mention that very few players, especially at the lower levels of the game, know what to look for – even if they are looking. […]
The Rules of Reading the Spin of the Ball
Knowing where and when to look. Those are the two simple, but important rules to reading the spin of the ball out of the pitcher’s hand. Every pitcher has his own release point, the point at which the ball leaves his hand – and the point at which a hitter should begin to read the […]
Rod Carew on Seeing the Ball
In many sports, it’s called being “in the zone.” In baseball, it’s “seeing the ball.” And when you’re “seeing the ball,” you’re putting together multi-hit games, hitting streaks, and home-run tears – everything’s going right for you at the plate. When you’re “seeing the ball,” it looks bigger, you pick it up sooner, your reactions […]
