Where has all the “play” gone? I was recently introduced to a dude that goes by the name of Coach Ballgame. While I’ve yet to meet him, I love his approach. One of the really cool things that he organizes is sandlot baseball games. You know, pick teams… one team go get the bats while the other goes out into the field… and play baseball.
In a recent Daily Dose, we talked about the benefits of Wiffle Ball. Well, do you remember Pepper?
I found myself this week at a 3 hour round table discussion with some great baseball minds. Sitting to my right? None other than Mark Freakin’ McGwire. Yeah, THAT Mark McGwire. What a stud, and what a great dude.
Let’s continue this “World According to Big Mac” Tour and talk about loose hands. He said that he wanted his arms to be loose and that the grip was his trigger. It actually was his timing mechanism as well, after eliminating a leg kick in an effort to “get quieter.”
Doesn’t change the need for “fundies first” and how we’ll train up the young ballplayer. But it sure does make sense of what college and professional scouts are looking for.
Engage the mind, build athletic accountability, and increase focus, presence, and mental toughness through this simple habit.
Truly, they are the same. The hitter and pitcher movement is the same. It’s about a baseball player using the body to make a ball move. It’s back to front, front to arms. Back leg, to front leg… front leg, to arms. It’s loading into the backside only to explode forward.
I like the old guys. The third-contract pro’s. I’m a Dodger fan, so for me that’s Chase Utley reinventing himself year after year to continue to be valuable. Rich Hill pitching nearly into his 40’s. Clayton Kershaw adjusting to his “maturing” skill set with more sliders and less fastballs.
From my understanding, this is the path described as “the kinetic chain.” This is how we build and produce a pulse of power… transfer it forward, only to capture/catapult/and add more power to that burst… and then transfer it into the hands.
Ryan Fuller. Ever heard of him? I hadn’t either. Ryan was just hired by the Baltimore Orioles to coach hitters and Class A ball in Maryland. I shared a roundtable discussion with Ryan recently and was fortunate to hear some of his cutting edge opinions and teaching techniques.
