Tips From Coach John Peter Hit Your Pitch...Not The Pitchers! The first pitch in an at-bat is designed & meant to get you out! Not that many mistakes are made here. So... the deeper you get into the count, the more opportunities you will have to get that mistake pitch. This is the one pitch that you can hit hard and hopefully drive for a double! It also gives the pitcher an opportunity to fall further behind. Eventually, when a pitcher gets behind 2-0, 3-0, or even, 2-1 and 3-1...he will be forced to come in with a cripple pitch (some sort of get-over strike), which you should be able to easily handle. Swing At Good Pitches! As Ted Williams was known to say...and I paraphrase... "The first thing you have to do is find a good pitch to hit." Pitching does not win games...it prevents losses. Scoring runs wins games. Watch the Game! If you are batting 6th in the lineup, you should have 5 mental at-bats against the pitcher from the dugout...There's no reason to get fooled.   (This was graciously stolen from Steve Springer, author of the audio CD, Quality At Bats.)

Baseball Bytes
From the book High Percentage Baserunning
  Excerpts from Ch. 5, pgs. 125, 128-29

Players should remember that the catcher must throw a greater distance to second base than to any other, exactly 127.26 feet from the plate. If the runner has a 15-foot lead, he has to run only 75 feet. The race is almost always a tie. How to Steal Second Base Off the Pitcher Good base runners at all levels of the game learn to study the peculiarities of each pitcher they face. No two pitchers will be exactly alike. The runner must first find out how much lead each pitcher will allow before he throws over to first base on a pickoff attempt. Most teams find that 10 feet is the maximum. Remember, the runner does not steal on the catcher. He always steals on the pitcher. Left-Handed Pitchers Be sure the runner steps in a direct line toward second base. Watch the pitcher's right shoulder carefully. He will usually move that part of his body first. The shoulder has to come around toward the runner before the pitcher can make the pickoff throw. Very few lefties can get much of a pickoff throw to first base and keep both shoulders in line with home plate. Excellent pickoff moves by lefties usually fool the runner with the leg kick. Watch the lower leg and foot. At the highest point of the pitcher's leg kick, the runner will see the leg move very slightly toward him. Don't watch the knee only, but the knee, lower leg, and foot. If the runner sees either the right shoulder move or the leg and knee kick toward him, he should get back fast. Of course, when running from first base, the runner learns that he cannot take as much lead off first on a leftie as he can on a rightie. Lefties are open to the runner. They can see the runner at all parts of their stretch and delivery. Right-Handed Pitchers Runners can take longer leads (no more than 14 feet) and get a better jump on the right-hander, because the pitcher's back is turned to him. Right-handed pitchers usually throw to first base less often than a left-hander will. Again, step directly toward second base and watch the pitcher's left shoulder carefully. The pitcher must usually move that part of the body first in order to deliver the pickoff throw. Remember that righties pick off with sheer quickness those runners who take too big a lead, but lefties do it with a deceptive move. Don't get caught leaning on any type of pitcher. Keep your body weight on your feet and toes so you can break either left or right with equal speed. Remember, too, that when a right-hander lifts his leg, he is delivering to the plate. Otherwise, he would have to balk. Runners who steal off right-handers do so by taking advantage of a weakness in the pitcher's delivery. If they want to improve their stealing, runners must learn to study the pitcher very carefully. High Percentage Baserunning - Only $17.95 Learn game winning baserunning techniques. Stu Southworth, a veteran coach and mathematics instructor, has calculated the probability of success for each of 28 baserunning plays with 114 vividly illustrated diagrams, charts, and figures   206 pages, includes a glossary and baseball's official rulebook on running. "Any baseball coach who believes in making things happen rather than waiting for them to happen should read this book. And even if you are a coach who believes in waiting for the big inning, I guarantee that after reading this book you will consider changing your style." - Gary Adams, UCLA Head Coach

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Featured Article
Master the psychological aspects needed to be the best coach you can be....Coach JP

Put Me In Coach: Setting the Tone for a Positive Experience Dr. Darrell Burnett, a certified sports psychologist specializing in youth sports, explains what a coach must do to make youth sports enjoyable for each child. Some coaches have a difficult time handling the youth sport atmosphere, and some may underestimate their importance to their players. The No. 1 reason why kids come back is positive coaching. Coaches must grasp the idea that their role is important. When I talked to the coaches and we define a successful coach, it isn't determined by their win-loss record. The coach has to keep the kids involved." There are four needs a coach must establish for a child to keep him or her returning to youth sports.....    Read the full article

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Baseball Facts

Money Matters Players 2003 Average Salary: $2,555,476 Players making $1 million or more: 385 Players making $1 million or more in 2000: 425 MLB Minimum Salary: $300,000 MLB Minimum Salary in 1993: $109,000 MLB Minimum Salary in 1983: $35,000 MLB Minimum Salary in 1973: $15,000 Major League daily per diem (meal money): $76.50 Highest state income taxes for MLB players California   9.3% Minnesota   7.85% Ohio   7.5% New York   6.85% States with no income tax Florida Washington Texas (that's why A-Rod choose the Rangers) Fans Average 2003 MLB Ticket: $18.69 Increase from 2002: 2.8% Most expensive average ticket: $42.34 (Red Sox) Least expensive: $9.00 (Expos) Cheapest ticket for Expos games held in Puerto Rico: $10.00 Average ticket price to see the defending champion Anaheim Angels: $15.97 Increase from 2002: 35.5%

Baseball Quotes, Wit & Wisdom

Baserunning is an art and a skill. If I'm on second, one ball on the batter, I'm going to try and get a big lead to distract the pitcher. My job is to help get ball two. Now the pitcher's got to throw a strike. Batter knows that. I know that. He's in a position to get good wood on the ball. He gets a single, I score. That's good baserunning.   Richie Allen A great ballplayer is a player who will take a chance.   Branch Rickey Every great batter works on the theory that the pitcher is more afraid of him than he is of the pitcher.   Ty Cobb Baseball is dull only to dull minds.   Red Smith I see great things in baseball. It's our game — the American game. It will take our people out of doors, fill them with oxygen, give them a larger physical stoicism. Tend to relieve us from being a nervous, dyspeptic set. Repair these losses, and be a blessing to us.   Walt Whitman

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