Playing baseball

[tbach24]

I have played like 2 games of baseball in my life. I was on a team for my middle school (it was private) but got kicked off. Anyways, that was a long time ago. I still toss the ball around every now and then, but next year would like to play. I'm not sure how realistic being a pitcher would be, but I'd like to learn how to bring up my velocity and movement anyways. I would also like to learn how to hit the ball well. I have good hand eye co-ordination already. What muscles are important for each and how can I learn to play better?

[CCass]

Steroids.

[Oski]

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I have played like 2 games of baseball in my life. I was on a team for my middle school (it was private) but got kicked off. Anyways, that was a long time ago. I still toss the ball around every now and then, but next year would like to play. I'm not sure how realistic being a pitcher would be, but I'd like to learn how to bring up my velocity and movement anyways. I would also like to learn how to hit the ball well. I have good hand eye co-ordination already. What muscles are important for each and how can I learn to play better?

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The most important muscles for pitching velocity are your upper legs. However, with that said, its important to learn how to throw correctly. In addition to weight work, you must have a stretching regimen to stay limber and you must run a few miles (preferably 5) each day.

[tbach24]

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I have played like 2 games of baseball in my life. I was on a team for my middle school (it was private) but got kicked off. Anyways, that was a long time ago. I still toss the ball around every now and then, but next year would like to play. I'm not sure how realistic being a pitcher would be, but I'd like to learn how to bring up my velocity and movement anyways. I would also like to learn how to hit the ball well. I have good hand eye co-ordination already. What muscles are important for each and how can I learn to play better?

[/ QUOTE ]

The most important muscles for pitching velocity are your upper legs. However, with that said, its important to learn how to throw correctly. In addition to weight work, you must have a stretching regimen to stay limber and you must run a few miles (preferably 5) each day.

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Will squats and leg press work well for upper legs? Or is there other things I need to do. Also, what type of stretching? I am VERY unflexible, but will try to do it. 5 miles, that may be a stretch for right now, but I'll try and work up to it. Thanks.

[Crveballin]

The best thing you can do for throwing and building up arm strength in your throwing muscles is long toss. You need to do long toss a few times a week and you will start to notice a difference.


As Oski mentioned your upper legs are extremely important in getting push off the mound and building velocity. If you notice power pitchers in the majors, they got big legs for a reason (Clemens Prior etc.) Try some hills or stairs if you like running.

Overall, pitching mechanics will determine your top performance.

[NateDog]

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I have played like 2 games of baseball in my life. I was on a team for my middle school (it was private) but got kicked off. Anyways, that was a long time ago. I still toss the ball around every now and then, but next year would like to play. I'm not sure how realistic being a pitcher would be, but I'd like to learn how to bring up my velocity and movement anyways. I would also like to learn how to hit the ball well. I have good hand eye co-ordination already. What muscles are important for each and how can I learn to play better?

[/ QUOTE ]

The most important muscles for pitching velocity are your upper legs. However, with that said, its important to learn how to throw correctly. In addition to weight work, you must have a stretching regimen to stay limber and you must run a few miles (preferably 5) each day.

[/ QUOTE ]

Will squats and leg press work well for upper legs? Or is there other things I need to do. Also, what type of stretching? I am VERY unflexible, but will try to do it. 5 miles, that may be a stretch for right now, but I'll try and work up to it. Thanks.

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Er, uh, well, if you want to be a pitcher, you need to throw. Lower body and core strength are important, but arm strength is the be all and end all. If you don't have arm strength, the lower body strength won't make up for it.

In baseball, as in football or any other throwing sport, arm strength does not mean how big and strong your biceps and triceps are. It refers to how hard you can throw. The only way to develop this is by throwing. Moving progressively farther and farther away from your partner, and throwing.

Meh, if you really want to know about baseball, PM me. I played thru college and spent a season at High A in Modesto until the knee couldn't take anymore.

nate

[ripdog]

Pitching velocity is not about arm strength, period. If you want to throw a 95MPH fastball, you need to accelerate the ball to a certain speed, and that speed depends on the distance that you have to accelerate the ball. For example, Randy Johnson does not have to accelerate his arm as much as Average Joe for obvious reasons. Here is your equation:

a=V^2/2x

a is is arm acceleration in m/s, V is pitch velocity in m/s, x is the distance (in meters) that the ball travels prior to release.

So if your delivery allows you 3.5 meters (11.375 feet) prior to release and you want to hit 95MPH (42.5 m/s) on the radar gun, you need to accelerate your arm to 576MPH (257.66 m/s).

In order to do this, you will need sound throwing mechanics. If you want to be able to do that more than once, get on a good workout program. Beware of advice coming from current or former coaches and players. Old school baseball people are notoriously stupid. Do some research and good luck to you.

Edit-Don't worry about movement until you've developed your fastball and change-up to their full potentials. At the level you'll start at, nobody (most likely) will be able to hit a curve, but as you move up, you'll run into players that can. At that point, you'll wish that you had a better fastball and change to go along with Uncle Charley.

[tbach24]

576 mph!?!? wow.

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Edit-Don't worry about movement until you've developed your fastball and change-up to their full potentials. At the level you'll start at, nobody (most likely) will be able to hit a curve, but as you move up, you'll run into players that can. At that point, you'll wish that you had a better fastball and change to go along with Uncle Charley.

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I'll be a junior in high school next year, I do think a fastball and change up will probably be most important, but won't a curveball be important at this level? Or do you really not need that until college?

[jakethebake]

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Pitching velocity is not about arm strength, period.

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The arm is just the lever. It doesn't provide any of the force behind the throw. The hand/forearm need the strength to hold the ball properly. Otherwise, the arm is just a whip.

[tbach24]

Things to do this summer to get better at beisbol:

1. Run
2. Squats, leg press, etc.
3. Throw the baseball a lot with a partner, increasing distance and stuff

Is this it? I'll be lifting and running anyways for my other sports, so this should be fun and easy!

[ripdog]

[qoute]I'll be a junior in high school next year, I do think a fastball and change up will probably be most important, but won't a curveball be important at this level? Or do you really not need that until college?

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As a high school junior with limited experience, I would expect that you'd make the JV team, depending on the talent available. My point is that if you want to be successful at this beyond high-school, you'll need more than a good curve to do it. If your aspirations are to continue with baseball after high school, I would forget about the curve ball and focus entirely on throwing mechanics with the fastball and change. After you are satisfied with your two primary pitches, start developing the curve. Once you get beyond high school, you'll find that the majority of the players can hit a decent curve, and they will absolutely tee off on your mid-eighties fastball.

Is it too late to volunteer as an assistant for your school baseball team? It would be a good way to get on the inside and would almost certainly get you a spot on one of next years teams. Plus, if you're good, you get passing grades from him in World History, even though the only points you earned in his course were the 12 out of 100 possible that you scored on the final /images/graemlins/laugh.gif.

[Oski]

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Er, uh, well, if you want to be a pitcher, you need to throw. Lower body and core strength are important, but arm strength is the be all and end all. If you don't have arm strength, the lower body strength won't make up for it.

In baseball, as in football or any other throwing sport, arm strength does not mean how big and strong your biceps and triceps are. It refers to how hard you can throw. The only way to develop this is by throwing. Moving progressively farther and farther away from your partner, and throwing.

Meh, if you really want to know about baseball, PM me. I played thru college and spent a season at High A in Modesto until the knee couldn't take anymore.

nate

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Of course, this is correct. I was responding in the context of which muscles he should work out in the gym. As you know, a pitcher has to be very careful not to bulk up his arms ... the trick is to build "long" strength by Jobe exercises, light weights, and throwing.

That being said, if you don't have the arm (or exceptionally nasty stuff) you ain't pitchin'. So, assuming the guy is going to pitch, he will be having to work out his legs and he will have to be running.

However, Nate is willing to give you a training regimen, I would take him up on it. Get advice from someone who's been there.

[Crveballin]

You will need to develop a curveball eventually. I learned mine pretty early in my career but ignored my changeup which currently sucks.

If you look at Johan Santana vs Barry Zito. Johan has one of the best changeups in the bigs where Zito has one of the best curveballs. The hitters have adjusted to Zito's curveball whereas they still have trouble with Santana's changeup.

So if I could do anything differently I would have worked on my changeup more so than I did with my curveball.

[M2d]

I threw in college and will echo what most others here have said: legs, long toss, legs. One thing I haven't seen, though, is trunk work. not situps, but twisting type excercises designed to strengthen (not necessarily flatten) your hips and waist.
Someone else mentioned that arm strength isn't as important as most people think because the arm is mainly a whip, and I agree to some extent. However, you need to strenthen your shoulder so that it can take the beating of throwing pitch after pitch. This doesn't mean heavy military presses, though. Heavy work can actually be detrimental to shoulder health for a pitcher. You want small rotation type exercises that strenthen the small muscle groups inside your shoulder capsule, and you want to be very disciplined when doing them to ensure that you isolate the targeted groups, maintain or increase flexibility, and don't let the larger groups take over.
check out this link for an idea on what type of shoulder work you should do: Jobe exercises (http://www.webball.com/power/jobe.html)

Other than that, throw, throw, throw. if you haven't been working out (throwing), then start slowly. nothing sucks more than an arm injury for a pitcher. Play catch for about fifteen to twenty minutes every other day for a week or two. Slowly lenthen the distance you're throwing. In a month or so, you want to throw at least five times a week with a long toss session in there about three times a week (MWF play long toss, TTH just play catch/medium toss to loosen up). Don't even think about getting on a mound until you've been playing long toss for a month or two. Even then, mix long toss in with your pen work.

If I were starting from scratch right now, I'd lift three times a week, concentrating on legs and trunk work (squats>>>leg press, btw, and cleans and deadlift rule). Minimal upper body work (some pushing and pulling work for your upper body, but the cleans and deadlift will hit your upperbody pretty well already. After that you want to throw to loosen up and strenthen your shoulder. then mix in a run. Long runs are good for stamina (you'll thank your cross country days around the seventh inning on a hot day), but you want to do sprint work for power as well.

When you eventually make it to the mound, don't worry about curve balls, sliders split fingers or other pitches. work on control and changing speeds. You should be able to get by in high school ball by changing speeds and hitting your spots. When you master the straight stuff, then mix in the spinnng stuff.
also, most pitchers can either throw a good curve or a good slider. Very few can throw both. most who try both end up with a slurve that screams "hit me!!".

Sorry this is so long. PM me for more if you like.

[NoChance]

I was a good enough pitcher to actually get some tryouts with the Reds and Royals.

The best two things you can do to get ready are:
1. Run a couple miles every day (or every other day)
2. Make sure your entire arm are is flexible. This includes the shoulders. Do lots of strething. There will be heavy strain on your shoulder and elbow. Playing catch "long distance" is good for strengthening you arm. By long distance, I mean maybe 30-50 yards. Like with all sports (swinging "through" the ball or running "past" the finish line, throwing long distance will make the pitching distance seem that much shorter)

I'm not big on the squats and stuff but I suppose if you don't get carries away with it, it may help. Running (even if it's a jog) will strenthen your legs properly and give you more endurance to last more innings when pitching. Much of the velocity comes from pushing off in your delivery. Being tall and having long arms also helps.

[ripdog]

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Things to do this summer to get better at beisbol:

1. Run
2. Squats, leg press, etc.
3. Throw the baseball a lot with a partner, increasing distance and stuff

Is this it? I'll be lifting and running anyways for my other sports, so this should be fun and easy!

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Two words for you to live by:

FUNCIONAL STRENGTH

Bulking up is a sin--get strong instead. Massive amounts of sit ups and push ups. Bench press 80# instead of 160#, But do 40 or 50 reps times 2. Apes always get hurt. Look at some pics of Hank Aaron. He was 5'11" and 180lbs. Pedro Martinez. The list goes on...

[this guy]

How tall are you? What is your build? Do you have big hands or long arms (usually a big +)?

If you're serious about becoming a pitcher, the first thing you need to do is learn how to throw a baseball properly (no where near as easy as it sounds). I also definately reccommend getting a good pitching coach if you can afford one. Also you want to start stretching regularly to get some flexibility in your body. Good luck.

[tbach24]

So basically what your saying is that I should just do 1-2 sets of whatever I'm doing, go with a low weight, and just pump it out until my arms can't go any longer? Should I do this for squats as well?

[tbach24]

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How tall are you? What is your build? Do you have big hands or long arms (usually a big +)?

If you're serious about becoming a pitcher, the first thing you need to do is learn how to throw a baseball properly (no where near as easy as it sounds). I also definately reccommend getting a good pitching coach if you can afford one. Also you want to start stretching regularly to get some flexibility in your body. Good luck.

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I'm 5'11 and 170, but right now don't have the most athletic build. That will be cured in the summer as I will be working out a lot. I think my arms and legs are probably about average size for my height, although I could be wrong. My right arm is about an inch longer than my left though.

[M2d]

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Should I do this for squats as well?

[/ QUOTE ] the reason you go on long runs is to build leg strength and stamina. squats give you explosiveness. imo, the bulking up is bad theory goes out the window when you're talking about the lower body. The more intricate the motion, the more you want to worry about flexibility and stamina. in throwing, the legs just push. build them up.

[tbach24]

Thanks for the long, detailed post, I appreciate it. The website with the Jobe exercises looks good and I'll work with them. The workout plan you have provided looks good, and also I have like a full year before the next baseball season, so I will be putting myself in good conditioning. Also, the sports I plan on doing (soccer and basketball) stress legs and conditioning, so that will probably help.

Now are there any tips for hitting or is that something I will just have to learn and pick up?

[tbach24]

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Should I do this for squats as well?

[/ QUOTE ] the reason you go on long runs is to build leg strength and stamina. squats give you explosiveness. imo, the bulking up is bad theory goes out the window when you're talking about the lower body. The more intricate the motion, the more you want to worry about flexibility and stamina. in throwing, the legs just push. build them up.

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Awesome. I just added them to my workout regiment (they were very intimidating) so they're pretty low right now. Should I do as the other guy suggested with these and do low weight and just do them until I can't anymore? Also, what other leg exercises should I do?

[M2d]

The workout plan is kind of what I did in high school and college, but tailored for someone just starting out. Since I was the most talentless guy around, I had to put in a little more effort just to get by.

for hitting, just swing. the legs/trunk excercises you do for pitching will help for hitting, but the swing's the thing. take 50 swings at night to groove it. you'll be sore afterwards. swing more as your body gets used to it.
the turning point in my hitting career (as it were) was the summer I spent with my cousin's summer league team. we'd lift, throw, and all that, but probably the most helpful thing (for me) that we did was play tapeball incessantly. basically, we took a wadded up ball of tape and used it as a baseball. then, we threw it from about forty feet and tried to hit it. since the tape couldn't hurt you (it stung a little), we could throw full speed from that shortened distance. We ended up losing a lot of 15-14 games that summer since we could hit just about anyone but couldn't field a lick.

best trunk exercise I've done:
lie flat on your back with your legs in the air, perpendicular to your trunk and your arms extended and flat on the ground. keeping your legs together, slowly rotate your trunk until your legs touch the ground on your left side. lift your legs back and do the same on your right side. repeat for as many reps as you can do.

[M2d]

squats, cleans and dead lifts were the cornerstones of my workouts. You could probably just get away with those three lifts alone.

[ripdog]

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So basically what your saying is that I should just do 1-2 sets of whatever I'm doing, go with a low weight, and just pump it out until my arms can't go any longer? Should I do this for squats as well?

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I honestly have no idea about squats. I hated them and only did them during football workouts (and under extreme duress). What I notice, especially at the novice level, is that big, bulked out, testosterone laden Manly Men tend to last about three games before they pop one of their overly developed leg muscles. When I played, I was always aware of the fact that even though the apes on my team could occasionally drive a ball into the stratosphere, I could do it far more often. I found early on that it is better to focus on technique first, the strength will come with repetition.

If you look at the pitchers who can really bring it, Clemens, Colon, among others, you might notice how big their legs are first thing. But my point is that there are pitchers out there with incredibly nasty stuff that don't have that body type. I could work my legs out every day and never look like Colon or Clemens. It's not my body type. Don't get sucked into one prototypical body type. Go with the hand you're dealt, but don't get caught up in trying to bulk up. Go for strength and flexibility.

[tbach24]

This sounds good. I don't really know what cleans and dead lifts are, but I'll look them up. Thanks a bunch.

[ripdog]

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for hitting, just swing

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Truer words have never been spoken. My workout in high school consisted of push ups, sit ups, bench presses, running, and taking 100 cuts a night against an imaginary pitcher. My stomach muscles were wrecked the next day for a while, but I kept it up. I would imagine every type of pitch coming in. After a while, without noticing it myself, I stopped swinging at balls out of the strike zone and was hitting for power and average. Again, without thinking about it, I found that I was completely focused in on the task at hand when I went against live pitching. A fancy workout program is unnecessary, IMO.

[tbach24]

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for hitting, just swing

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Truer words have never been spoken. My workout in high school consisted of push ups, sit ups, bench presses, running, and taking 100 cuts a night against an imaginary pitcher. My stomach muscles were wrecked the next day for a while, but I kept it up. I would imagine every type of pitch coming in. After a while, without noticing it myself, I stopped swinging at balls out of the strike zone and was hitting for power and average. Again, without thinking about it, I found that I was completely focused in on the task at hand when I went against live pitching. A fancy workout program is unnecessary, IMO.

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So all I need to do for ab's is take a bunch of swings with a baseball bat? This sounds awesome.

[tbach24]

That reminds me, the last time I swung a baseball bat was when I was 12 (17 now), so I have no idea about proper form. Is there a good pro to watch swing? Or a website that will show me a good stance and good progression through the swing?

[ripdog]

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So all I need to do for ab's is take a bunch of swings with a baseball bat? This sounds awesome.

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Sort of. Don't just swing. Make each swing as perfectly as you can. Each cut should be hard, on plane with the pitch, and you should imagine the ball coming off the bat as a screaming line drive. Take cuts at inside and outside pitches, curves and sliders. Make sure each cut is perfect and that you end up in a balanced and comfortable position. Stride towards the outside pitches and hit them the other way. Stride away from inside pitches and pull them down the line. Don't imagine some glorious, towering home run, just concentrate on making the perfect swing on every pitch. This is my last post for the weekend, but I'd be interested to hear about the condition of your stomach muscles after trying this. I'll find this thread on Monday and I hope you try it. My stomach was absolutely ripped throughout high school and lasted until my early thirties. Ahh, memories.

[tbach24]

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So all I need to do for ab's is take a bunch of swings with a baseball bat? This sounds awesome.

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Sort of. Don't just swing. Make each swing as perfectly as you can. Each cut should be hard, on plane with the pitch, and you should imagine the ball coming off the bat as a screaming line drive. Take cuts at inside and outside pitches, curves and sliders. Make sure each cut is perfect and that you end up in a balanced and comfortable position. Stride towards the outside pitches and hit them the other way. Stride away from inside pitches and pull them down the line. Don't imagine some glorious, towering home run, just concentrate on making the perfect swing on every pitch. This is my last post for the weekend, but I'd be interested to hear about the condition of your stomach muscles after trying this. I'll find this thread on Monday and I hope you try it. My stomach was absolutely ripped throughout high school and lasted until my early thirties. Ahh, memories.

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I don't have a baseball bat here or a person to throw with. Is there something else I could do this weekend? I was planning on beginning this when I got home (first week of June) but I wanted to be prepared. Is this bad?

[FishNChips]

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I have played like 2 games of baseball in my life. I was on a team for my middle school (it was private) but got kicked off. Anyways, that was a long time ago. I still toss the ball around every now and then, but next year would like to play.

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I have to admit that my first reaction was to laugh out loud and say "uh, no way you're going to make this work" and then make fun of you ... but I got so much help on the downloading of TV shows from OOTiots that I feel a need to give back... so here goes:

I don't know where you go to school or how big it is or anything like that, but let me say that I think its unlikely that you'll be able to become a high school pitcher in 9 months. I grew up in SoCal and played baseball almost every day from the time I was 12 all the way through HS and I was a pretty good athlete and I changed from Catcher to Pitcher the summer before my Senior year... and I was not very good at it. I'm not saying that you can't do it, perhaps you are a very good athlete and have an arm that was indeed touched by the BaseballGods prior to birth but its a long shot. I definately don't think that you can do it on your own. You'll need some help.

If you are absolutely serious about this then I suggest the following:
1 - talk to the baseball coach at your HS. Most schools these days (that I'm know of) run some sort of summer program. Tell the coach that you want to play next year, that you'd like to pitch and ask him if there is a way that you can work out with the team in the off-season. They'll be working out in the fall almost for sure unless you go to a small school where all the guys play 3 sports. Even then you should find out if there are a few guys that play baseball only that will be working out.

2 - if the baseball coach says "hey great, we're always looking for some new guys to give it a shot" then do EXACTLY what he asks you to do. No deviations. Learning to pitch is difficult. The mechanics are very important. Developing arm strength and doing it correctly is critical so that you don't hurt yourself. As others have said upper leg strength is very underrated amongst those not in the know (ever see how big the Rocket's theighs are).

3 - If he says, "sorry, we're set for next year" then ask him if there are open tryouts (in SoCal every school has to have them and I think they have to take 1 or 2 guys from the tryout to show that they took it serious). If there are then tell him you are serious and you would like to do everything you can to get ready for them and ask if he can help you out at all. You'll need to be a bit persistant here without being obnoxious or annyoing (fine line). He's the guy you need to impress and he's probably the most knowledgeable in how to improve. If he can't/won't help, try to talk to the JV coach. If that doesn't work... uh, post back here and I'll bet that some of OOTiots with baseball experience might be able to help put something reasonable together.

Good Luck with this - Its going to take a LOT of hard work on your part to make it happen

FishNChips

[M2d]

you don't need a game bat to do this with. just pick up a used bat at goodwill. Wood bats are cheap, and are a little heavier than aluminum. this is good since they build up your power, but aren't so heavy that they throw your mechanics off.

[M2d]

also, maybe you can hook up with a summer league team in your area. you'll get some guidance and the chance to see some live pitching as well as people to throw to. you may not play every game. you may not play any game. The chance to work out at practice will be great, though.

[tbach24]

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also, maybe you can hook up with a summer league team in your area. you'll get some guidance and the chance to see some live pitching as well as people to throw to. you may not play every game. you may not play any game. The chance to work out at practice will be great, though.

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Ohh, this sounds like an awesome idea. My parents have been asking me what I'm going to do this summer, and this is DEFINETLY preferable to summer classes

[FishNChips]

It sounds silly, but T-Ball is the way to go here. Go to your local sporting goods store, get a GOOD tee, a dozen baseballs and a net to hit into (if the guys at the sporting goods store are worth anything they'll be able to help you out). Swinging at a stationary ball right in the middle of the plate, belt high will help you learn how to swing correctly and will help build the correct muscles. 12 rips, unload the net, 12 rips, unload the net, 12 rips unload the net. Just like working out, build up slowly - DO NOT OVERDO IT EARLY ON. You play soccer and hoops so you know your body and its limits at least a little bit, listen to it.

Things that your swing should be:
*short / fast : at 170 you're not going to be a power hitter so learn to get the bat through the hitting zone fast
*short stride : one of the biggest mistakes that kids learning to swing make is taking a HUGE stride with their front foot. It throws the balance all off and its slow and it slows down the swing. Short stride
*Use you hips. You've got to rotate your trunk to generate power. I saw a few guys (that didn't last to the varsity level) that hit with just their arms. They could slap the ball around a bit, but never hit with any authority. You've got to get your lower body in on this as well.
*I'm trying not to use "don't do this" stuff, but I don't know how to phrase this as a "do this" so... don't drop your hands. Hard to write this, but basically if you set up to hit in your stance, your first move is that your hands go back into the "cocked" position. You don't want them to go down and back because then they have to come up and that is a)slow and b)creates an uppercut that is difficult to get rid of. So I guess the "DO" statement is "cock your hands back" at the start of your swing.

I'm sure there are some hitting videos out there. Start out on a Tee and go from there.

FishNChips

damn, I love baseball!

[FishNChips]

I think this is a great idea as well... my only concern for you is that most of the guys you'll be playing with will just have come off a full baseball season and their bodies/arms will be in very very very good baseball condition (arms will probably be tired, but they will be well conditioned). If you do hook up with one of these teams be sure to go slow, play catch and build up arm strength - be sure to include long toss. Don't go out and pitch in the first couple of weeks just to see how it goes.

You should absolutely find a way to play some sort of organized baseball this summer... just beware that there are risks if you just jump right in.

FishNChips

[ripdog]

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I don't have a baseball bat here or a person to throw with. Is there something else I could do this weekend? I was planning on beginning this when I got home (first week of June) but I wanted to be prepared. Is this bad?

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Awww, one more post before I sign out for the weekend. Take M2d's advice and pick up a wood bat for cheap or free somewhere. I'm guessing that a 33" or 34" model would be optimal for you. You don't have to start right away, but make sure you get to it soon.

As for someone to watch, I have been looking for major league hitters that have a stance similar to mine. Richie Sexson's stance is very close, so is Jeter's. It's tough to put something into words that you have grooved and now do without thinking. Here are some points that I think are important. I'm sure that I'll think of something else soon after hitting the post button. Here is my approach:

Step into the box and get comfortable. I kept my bat quiet (as opposed to Gary Sheffield), hands back and elbow up. Next I would tuck my front shoulder under my chin. I think that the elbow up thing helped me take a level cut and the front shoulder under and in contact with the chin helped keep my head steady. This also placed me in a sort of "wound up" position. When I took my practice swings, I would concentrate on getting my arms extended, so I hit the ball where it was pitched. Get the bat into the strike zone quickly and that is where your arms should be extended. I would get serious power generation on pitches down and in. In the box, I would never take my eye off of the ball. I didn't watch the pitcher, I watched the ball throughout his wind-up and into the catcher's mitt. I loved to hit the middle to inside pitch, so I'd take strikes on the outside half until there were two strikes, then I'd be aggressive with the entire strike zone.

It's not bad to be thinking about the game. Once you get in shape, you should be able to swing a weighted bat, then pick your bat up and have it feel so light that you can't feel it. One last thing, I used to grip my bat very tightly to avoid the "bees in the bat handle" problem. If you do this with your practice swing routine, you'll build up those forearm muscles that are so important in hitting.

As far as throwing, if you have a tree in your yard, you can hang a tarp from it and throw balls into the tarp. Limit yourself to a reasonable number of tosses. Work on accuracy and building up stamina. I hope you'll keep us updated on your progress.

[ThaSaltCracka]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm not sure how realistic being a pitcher would be

[/ QUOTE ] not very realistic. Learn to become a better fielder, and play OF.

[tbach24]

Great post (again). I probably won't be able to get a bat any time soon but my school is out in the middle of the woods so finding a nice large stick shouldn't be difficult.

[Dead]

Just give it up.

You will never make the major leagues and you can't make a living in the minors. You're too old to start.

[tbach24]

[ QUOTE ]
Just give it up.

You will never make the major leagues and you can't make a living in the minors. You're too old to start.

[/ QUOTE ]

Obviously. Moron.

[Dead]

I guarantee you that I would be able to drill one deep to right field off of you, if you ever tried pitching. You just don't have the intelligence to be one.

[tbach24]

[ QUOTE ]
I guarantee you that I would be able to drill one deep to right field off of you, if you ever tried pitching. You just don't have the intelligence to be one.

[/ QUOTE ]

1. Isn't the point of this thread to help me improve my pitching? That is to imply that it is likely not good? So your feat wouldn't be impressive.
2. If I pitched against you, I would try to beam you in the head.

[Jack of Arcades]

[ QUOTE ]
Just give it up.

You will never make the major leagues and you can't make a living in the minors. You're too old to start.

[/ QUOTE ]

You can't make a living posting on 2+2, I suggest you give it up.

[FishNChips]

[ QUOTE ]
2. If I pitched against you, I would try to beam you in the head.

[/ QUOTE ]

You clearly have the right mental makeup to be a pitcher. Homie runs his mouth, homie gets drilled! Actually, all Dead has to do is show up and he should get beaned. I doubt his team would care much either:

Dead to his pitcher(after getting beaned in head): "you're going to get us some payback right? You gotta protect your own."
Pitcher : "Nope, you're on your own jackass."

Dead gets beaned again in next AB, charges mound, is summarily pummelled by opposing team as his team watches and cheers from the comfort of their dugout.

Dead... u jackass... of course its not likely that he's going to make this work, but he wants to give it a shot, he's like 16/17 so why the hell not. He's athletic and in reasonably good shape so what the hell. If his HS is in the sticks they'll probably be thrilled to have another guy to help shag balls and throw some mop up innings somewhere along the way and he'll get a chance to play which is what HS is really about.

Go tbach24!

FishNChips

[tbach24]

Very funny, I especially liked this:

[ QUOTE ]
Dead to his pitcher(after getting beaned in head): "you're going to get us some payback right? You gotta protect your own."
Pitcher : "Nope, you're on your own jackass."

[/ QUOTE ]

[Dead]

So eat some more chips, Teddy, you baby.

[tbach24]

[ QUOTE ]
Teddy, you baby.

[/ QUOTE ]

Do I need to whip out the pic of the kettle?

[Dead]

Do you realize that you've posted for 9 straight hours on here, and that you did the same thing last night?

Your chair must be very soiled.

[tbach24]

[ QUOTE ]
Do you realize that you've posted for 9 straight hours on here, and that you did the same thing last night?

Your chair must be very soiled.

[/ QUOTE ]

lol, yes I do. Do you realize that you have like 5/3 as many posts as I do in about 2/3 the time? You must be 5/2x as pathetic as I am.

[ripdog]

[ QUOTE ]
Just give it up.

You will never make the major leagues and you can't make a living in the minors. You're too old to start.

[/ QUOTE ]

Dude, what's your problem here? Who said anything about making the pros? Or the minors for that matter.

One more piece of advice, tbach. Ignore this guy and any other poster who tells you to forget about it. I didn't start thinking seriously about the game until I was 16 and from that point I made huge and almost immediate strides forward. You can do the same.

[tbach24]

[ QUOTE ]
I didn't start thinking seriously about the game until I was 16 and from that point I made huge and almost immediate strides forward. You can do the same.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is very nice to hear. My brother browses 2+2 and saw this and was telling me to give it up and do track (he was an elite HS runner) because he claims baseball is not something you can learn at this age. Despite this, we've talked and he's agreed to help me with all my baseball stuff this summer.