A pick-off is an outcome, not a move: Stay with me as this is one of those “stop and think” moments. A runner gets picked off when they are not paying attention. I am talking about when you actually pick them off, not the time they were stealing on first move. Quite honestly the number […]

Very early in my coaching career I was fortunate to have a son, who, at 10 years old questioned everything! Like most I felt my son’s questions were a test of my patience, but when he asked, “How long do I wait?” during a hitting drill, I realized what I was saying sounded very “baseball-ish,” […]

“Outfielders and Pitchers; get to the Outfield!” Two hours later, when BP is finally over, they do a quick infield/outfield before the practice ends. If your son’s an outfielder you are probably used to this. The infield get 300 grounders while outfielders practice consist of what flies caught during batting practice and the 4 or […]

It’s funny how calling for a sacrifice bunt receives the same reactions as a Scary movie. Imagine a combination of eyes rolling back into their heads, facial contortions evolving into a look as if they smell something awful. The creative ones take a more tactical approach by acting dumb. Rolling their hand asking for the sign again and […]

Not to Swing. [Boo, Hiss] I agree game situation is something to consider, but most coaches will justify not having him swing based on, “The odds are in the hitter’s favor they will reach first base on a walk.” When the real reason is because the coach does not trust the hitter’s ability to make a good […]

I truly believe a curve is a homerun pitch, provided a player knows how to hit. That is the dilemma. The majority of coaches, knowing that most high school pitcher’s curves are not the best, convince their players to not swing. Question; “When are they going to learn how to hit a curve; when the […]

Maybe if you have been playing in the Major Leagues for a long time, but a 300 batting in high school or over the summer is not generally enough to generate attention. I am a bit older…okay a lot older, but I really do believe I could bat 300 in high school. [Can I get […]

Run downs usually occur when the defense has done something mentally correct [e.g., hit their cut-off, keeping the double play in tact, or picked a runner off] and in fairness to the offense let’s concede their hiccup could have been physical [e.g., they fell] as much mental. Either way you now have a runner in […]

Glenn Moore stated emotions smudge an athlete’s mental picture, clouding their thoughts, as well their ability to visually focus on the right things. Whether it is the coach yelling, “Will you please throw strikes,” or just a good case of “fear of failure,” most pitchers allow emotion to take over and loose site of what […]

A college coach made a statement that troubled me for years. “LAX and Soccer is not killing baseball and softball, poor coaching is!” As I discussed creating passion for the game of baseball and the college coach’s comment with a psychiatrist, she stated we are designed to, “like things we are good at.” Interesting, we […]