Winning Baseball: "Slow the Moment Down"

 The other night, I made a trip to the mound to try and calm down one of my younger pitchers.  The game was tied, there were base runners everywhere, and the pressure was mounting.  The umpire was squeezing the zone (no doubt feeling the pressure himself) and the crowd had become a factor.   

As we stood there together on the bump, I told the young righty to take a deep breath, and gave him some of the best advice I ever received as a professional:  "Now, slow the moment down."
 
If you, as a Coach or as a Player, ever get "caught up" in the moment, you will more than likely make a hasty decision based on emotion, rather than rational, you will feel "out of control" and "tight", and as a result, you usually make a mistake. 


By "slowing the moment down", you are able to calm down your heart rate, clear your head, and relax in high pressure situations.  You are able to think, to process information and to make wise decisions.  And more than anything, you are able to go "back to the basics", "throw to the mitt", and ultimately, perform at your maximum ability in the most crucial of situations.

This same advice also works for hitters.  By "slowing the moment down", hitters can see the ball longer, can understand their zone better, and as a result, quiet down the noise that surrounds them on all sides with the game on the line.

So the next time you find yourself having to come through in the clutch as a player, or making a game-changing decision as a coach, remember..."Slow the moment down" and you will no doubt come through and make the right move!
 




 

How to Play Winning Baseball: Chapter One: One Great Play, One Great Pitch!

In the first inning of most games, the score almost always becomes 2 to 0.  Whether it is a Big League game or a Little League game, pitchers almost always give up two right away and this dynamic is the result of several different things. 

It could be the pitcher having trouble making an adjustment from the bullpen to the mound.  It could be the adrenaline of facing a worthy opponent.  It could be a wind shift (you may not be aware of this, but if the wind is in your face, your curve ball breaks more and if the wind is to your back, your curve ball breaks less, but your fastball is better).  It could be your defense being caught off guard. 

None the less, there is only one way to prevent these two runs from scoring (and it's not throwing a simulated game in the pen)!  The winning way:  One great play, One great pitch.

Tell your defense before they take the field that someone will have to make a great play in the first to keep the other team from scoring.  Then the thought is first and foremost on their mind and more than likely, they will deliver in helping you to win the first inning!

Automatically, your pitcher will also know at some point in the first, they will have to make a great pitch, and again, if the thought is first and foremost in their mind, they will make that pitch and they will prevent the other team from getting the upper hand.

And as a result, with the shoe on the other foot, your opponent will now be faced with the very difficult task of making one great play and one great pitch and preventing you from winning the first and going up 2 to 0!

When should my son begin to throw a curveball?

This morning, a reader asked me, "when should their son begin to throw a curveball?"  The kid in question is 14, and had just attended a pitching clinic in which he was taught how to throw a breaking ball correctly.  As a result, his Dad wanted to know, "did I feel he was ready to begin throwing this pitch regularly or should he wait until a later age?"

My general rule on when to begin learning a breaking ball is based on the physical maturity of the youth. And the basic rule is "if they are shaving, they can learn and throw a breaking ball."

However, I'm a much bigger fan of the slider or a cutter (which is a pitch with an arm action very similar to the fastball) rather than the curve (which puts a lot of torque on the elbow.)  But if you/he do decide to begin working on a breaking ball, bear in mind, I recommend he only throw it with two strikes for now (that way, he will continue to develop his fastball/change early in the count), or bookend it (meaning throw it as the first pitch and last pitch to their best hitters).  This way, he can learn the breaking ball successfully, pitch well, and still continue to develop his fastball (extremely important to long-term development) and his change-up.