Can you explain the importance of being coachable and having the desire to improve?
The draft is really the beginning. Every player drafted will need to get much better to ever make the Major Leagues, it doesn’t matter where you went to school or what your batting average was in the Cape. If you don’t think you need to improve then odds are you will not make it. The great ones, I mean MLB great ones work harder than anyone…that is what makes them…them!
I love to hit. Off a tee, front toss, in a cage, on a field…wiffle ball, whatever. I don’t need many fingers to count the amount of activities I enjoy more than crushing baseballs, however, the ways to go about it are endless. Right now my focus is playing but someday I will undoubtedly be passing on what I have learned to younger guys in a greater capacity than a blog. If it weren’t for my past coaches, both ones that have worked in a team setting or individual lessons, I would be in a different line of work. Just like I have my own style, you have yours and probably don’t appreciate it when someone tries to change it. It doesn’t matter if you do a back flip prior to swinging as long as you eventually make your way into a position to hit in accordance with what I will refer to as the Fundamental Truths of Hitting.
Have you heard of this website called youtube? Well in the past 6 months or so the amount of slow motion baseball clips of big league players on that site has increased fairly exponentially. I know this because I check often and used to be disappointed at the lack of footage. These days things are really lookin’ up and the resources for cage rats like us are growing.
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Ok so on to my point: search “baseball hitting mechanics” and watch as many clips as you can before your mom gets suspicious that you may be up to no good on the home desktop. You will see frame by frame breakdowns of guys as fundamental as Ryan Sweeney to as unorthodox as Vlad Guererro. You won’t see too many guys look alike in terms of their stance and style but through my observation and now yours we can settle on the Fundamental Truths of Hitting, things they all do. Each one of these truths I will expand upon later in depth so we can uncover the many layers of each but for now, here is the outline, head to toe.
Head – still and on the point of contact after the ball is hit; hit with both eyes, not just the one closest to the pitcher
Shoulders – front shoulder is lower than back shoulder and is relaxed prior to swing; minimal inward rotational movement during load
Hands – create rhythm and contribute to load; don’t break and roll over until after contact and full extension
Arms – fully extend as swing is completed and finish high over the shoulder
Core – bellybutton faces the pitcher right before contact is made
Hips – just like the shoulders, slightly turn inwards during load and then open up during swing
Back Leg – in order to utilize lower half power to its greatest extent strive for the back leg to be as close to parallel in relation to the ground
Front Leg – is straight upon completion of swing
Back foot – at point of contact hitter is on the back toe driving through the ball
Front foot – in order for the hips to clear the front foot opens
Feel free to comment, agree and disagree. Talk hitting.
To have a voice
I remember in high school hearing a song lyric that I wanted to show the world or having something on my mind that I just had to share and my best option was an AIM away message. Yeah, I was cool. A blog allows you to say much more than you otherwise could tweeting or in your facebook status. It doesn’t matter if you are passionate about basket weaving or sports cars, someone else has the same interest and you likely have something to offer in that niche.
To practice writing
I have always felt I express myself best when I write things down. Surely I am no Mark Twain but in a written letter, email, text message, and now blog posts, what I say is calculated and I have complete control over the clarity and thoroughness of what I am trying to convey. At the same time, I have realized my shortcomings with vocabulary, spelling, and grammar. I make a point to proof read each post so I don’t sound like an uneducated buffoon but I know I overuse commas and have most likely butchered the English language on more than one occasion. I am working on it though.
To pass on what you know to those who want to learn
Many of the times I will come up with an idea for a post without actually knowing what I am going to say. The topic itself is born out of curiosity or a need on my part to improve. For example, the recent article Be Neutral – Getting Ready Like a Big Leaguer spawned directly from my need to settle on a way to prepare for the ball to be hit to me as the pitcher delivers. That was my focus as I observed the spring training game and with substitutions made by both clubs I saw 19 different versions of pre pitch preparation.
People who think they know everything about baseball don’t visit this site. Their loss.
To make money
Make no mistake about it, eventually and hopefully in the near future 108stitchez.com will be a marketing tool and thus a source of income for me. I was a student athlete at Merrimack College’s Girard School of Business and this blog is one manifestation of what I learned in the classroom. Thanks to social media, conventional marketing is decidedly on its way out. I pay attention to commercials one day a year…Super Bowl Sunday. If done properly a business’ social media marketing campaign (which typically involves a blog among other things) can be far more effective than a billboard on Main St. and a whole lot less expensive.
It goes something like this: If you are interested in buying or selling your home, renting an apartment, buying or selling a condo, please don’t hesitate to give Mike Andre a call at 781-727-8619 or e-mail him at michael.andre@ERA.com.
By the end of this week well over 1,000 people will now know a good friend of mine and former teammate is a licensed Realtor in the Boston area.
To journal
Until this winter I had never been west of Albany, NY. I know, lame. Spending time on the west coast was a new experience and the places I went, things I learned, and people I met make an appearance somewhere on here. Unless the internet gets abolished I will forever have access to what I have been through the past few months and going forward.
Check out reid-jackon.com. I am a regular reader of his website because what he is doing with his life is interesting and different. After an email correspondence or two with Reid I found out a few things about him. We have quite a bit in common (ex. We both hate people who do bicep curls in the squat rack) and also, if the dude wanted to he could have a nice job that paid him well and be on his way with a “real job”. It’s just not in the cards for him; he has an opportunity to play professional baseball in Belgium. It’s a ballsy move on his part but look me in the eye and tell me you would pass up an opportunity like that? No doubt, he will never forget what he is about to go through and has started his own blog to document his travels. Check it out here.
A few weeks ago I made a post about the checkswing network which is much like facebook for baseball players. I began surfing around the site and came across Roberto’s Kid’s, a charitable organization that collects baseball equipment for children in Latin America and thought it was an interesting idea.
I visited their website and felt like it was something that not only I, but really anyone, especially those that come to 108stitchez.com could contribute to.
I believe most readers are baseball enthusiasts and have likely played this game. With that being said it is safe to say many of you have some equipment that you no longer use and might even be proactively looking to get out of the basement. I have at least 10 bats which are still in good shape both metal and wood taking up space and a few gloves that I will donate as well. I have never been a catcher, yet I have a pair of brand new shin pads just laying around that I will never use. With a little more digging I am sure I will find much more stuff that could be of better service elsewhere, namely, with Roberto’s Kids.
I just returned from a week long family vacation at New Smyrna Beach in Florida. We went to Universal Studios, we surfed, watched an Atlanta Braves spring training game at Disney, saw Cirgue Du Soleil…oh yeah and visited 1 of 3 Rawlings Outlet Stores in the world. In this store there was a bin full of pro preferred gloves for $180 and another wall covered with gloves. I left there with a new outfielder’s mitt: 12.75” Heart of the Hide mesh back with a modified trapeze web. Man, I was pumped. As lame as it might be, the Rawlings Store was the highlight of the trip.
I am a lucky dude, and I suspect most of you are fortunate as well. The experience of buying a brand new glove is something that many children in Latin America don’t have the means to do. Even if our individual efforts to change that situation are small, collectively it could be a big deal.
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Based on the 108stitchez facebook fan page there are at least 500 people that are aware of this blog. If everyone donated one article of lightly used or new baseball equipment that would be a substantial donation to the Roberto’s Kids organization.
If you have any lightly used or new equipment that you could donate to Roberto’s Kids email 108stitchez@gmail.com and I will tell you what to do next!
Some more great insight from our MLB scout!
Can you think of an example of a time where a player you were interested in did something that turned you off (didn’t hustle or something like that?)
Scouts like players. Most have played the game. We are not looking for things “not to like” Ex. Throwing a helmet or arguing with an umpire… it happens. Now chronic bad behavior could be red flag. Disrespecting teamates or coaches- Bad sign. Players we draft have to “get along well with others” in the minor leagues.
What is the difference between someone who gets drafted in the early rounds compared to the late rounds?
Players in the ealry rounds get more money. Players in the later rounds less. In the end you have to play your way to the major leagues. Most scouts tell you if you give a guy a ton of money you expect him to make it. Now if you take a guy in the 20th round and he gets a $1,000 bonus- and makes it to the major leagues- That is big deal, That is where scouts get a lot of credit. Drafting is not an exact science. Anyone drafted has a chance!!!
The $60,000 signing bonus by the Cardinals was money well spent
Brad Ausmus - 17 years in the bigs, 3 time Gold Glove, 1 Time All Star, never appeared on the DL..d.rafted in the 48th round
Wow it has been a while, too long. After receiving some hostile emails and angry phone calls I realized I needed to get back on top of the blogging game. Without feeding you a handful of excuses as to why I have been MIA I will just mention my family went on vacation and stayed at a condo with no internet access. So I return from my hiatus excited and ready to go with some new ideas.
You may have noticed some changes to the layout of the site. From now on I will be posting a “drill of the week”. I will do my best to mix it up between offense, defense, speed training, lifting, and pitching/arm strength exercises. Also, I will soon set a deadline for our first Clemente’s Kids donation, more on this later but for those of you “in the know” keep em’ coming!
Read below on pre pitch preparation.
While in Florida my family decided it would be nice to head over to the Atlanta Braves complex in Disney/ESPN Wide World of Sports and catch one of their spring training games. The previous day we went to Universal Studio’s and rode every roller coaster at that joint which exhausted me and made me sick to my stomach so the chance to relax and watch baseball was a relief. Many people think baseball is boring and to each their own but I think they just aren’t watching the right things. If it were as simple as runs scored, balls and strikes, and outs maybe it would get kind of dry but people like us know there is much more going on than that.
My eyes were pealed looking for things I could pick up. One of the issues I have been trying to resolve is the best way as a fielder to prepare myself for the ball coming to me. The “ready position” that we were taught in Little League where we put our hands on our knees will no longer suffice. So, I paid extra attention to what the big leaguers do and have decided that it is paramount to be “neutral”.
It is common to see both outfielders and infielders creep forwards as the pitch is being delivered. The slightest bit of forward movement at point of hitters contact will cause at least one jab step forward which significantly decreases range especially on a ball that is “back”.
As you will see in this video each player, largely dictated by which position they are playing, do something different as Derek Lowe delivers the ball. However, they all come to a neutral position which to me means they can move any direction in accordance to where the ball is being hit. Most of them have some forward movement but notice where their feet end up and how their weight is distributed.
Here is my breakdown of what is happening against a left handed hitter:
3b Chipper Jones – Left, Right, glove is knee high
SS Yunel Escobar – Left, Right, small hop, fairly upright but ready, glove is belt high
2b Martin Prado – Left, Right, hop, glove is on left thigh
1b Eric Hinske – Left, Right, squat, glove is knee high
Against a right handed hitter Jones ended up crouched a little lower and Prado stood a little more upright. Escobar and Hinske were consistent regardless of what hand the hitter was.
It is important not to be a robot but these guys repeated the same movement on every pitch. Have you thought about what exactly you do before the pitch is thrown? If not, do it now. How can you change what you do to give yourself the best chance to react and range?
More to come soon I promise!
Originally posted on Sunday, 14th March 2010 by Eric Cressey at ericcressey.com
Q: I run into a TON of Fathers who want their son to gain velocity. What are your keys to gaining velocity?
OK so I know Harold got himself into a little trouble over there at ESPN and he got the axe. The Little League World Series will never be the same without him. Apparently Harold was a little too smitten with the female employees in Bristol and left the big whigs at the network with no choice but to let him go. Luckily for Reynolds, he is damn good at what he does and was immediately snatched by the MLB Network which is putting ESPN to shame with their baseball coverage and analysis.
I am not a huge television guy and I think watching too much tv has the potential to rob one of precious time where they could otherwise be doing something productive. However, I learn something new everytime I see Harold on the mini indoor turf field with his special guests. In fact, his segments on MLB Tonight are essentially a television version of what I want this blog to be like. He always has new guests on who talk about their area of expertise. There are great tips from guys who have played in the big leagues.
The MLB Network in general is great especially right now as they have created 30/30 which covers one team per day while the clubs are in spring training. It is an exciting time of year.
Check out Harold hard at work in this video. It looks to me like he could suit up tomorrow and be ready to go. You just don’t see this out of your typical sportscaster or analyst.
We didn’t forget about you left handers!!!
I conquered jet lag almost immediately by catching a few z’s on the red eye and then fighting to stay awake the next day. An even more difficult task was getting acclimated to the cold weather again. With a nice baseball tan and a habit of wearing solely gym shorts and 3 quarter t’s everyday it hurt me to dig out the jackets and winter hats. In the northeast though, we do what we have to do.
Baseball is typically not played in the snow but for us, many times the season is underway when we still have it on the ground which means the majority of our preparation has occurred indoors. There might be a plowed turf field around if you are lucky but for the most part, we simulate game conditions as best we can until the very first pitch of the year. It is certainly a disadvantage to be confined to batting cages, football fields, and gyms like we are but using it as an excuse doesn’t melt the snow or make it any warmer out so we make do. I think it adds a little character and toughness when we shovel our field for opening day and play in three undershirts.
The University of Maryland, a college on the east coast that got absolutely rocked by bad weather, went to great lengths to get their work in. I don’t think they are alone though with their level of dedication and sacrifice to play this game in fact I believe it is a characteristic of the entire region. Here are some pictures of their situation and the article that accompanied them.
It is hard to go from playing everyday on the west coast to being cooped up inside due to snow covered fields. I got the itch and had to do something baseball related. This is what I came up with and it is something anyone can do so long as you have access to a paved driveway, a tennis ball and racquet, and one friend. The video sequence is as follows:
Three reps 6-3, Three reps 4-3, Three reps 6-4-3, Three reps 4-6-3
For third basemen have the tennis ball hit harder, first basement can work on short hops, outfielders can practice no one on no one out, runner on 1st base hit, do-or-dies, and positioning the body for a fly ball and throw. There are endless combinations and you can get your work in basically no matter what the weather.
To get a feel for different bounces and surfaces mix in a raquetball or a lacrosse ball.
