Tips From Coach John Peter The biggest flaws I see in the swings of youth baseball players 1.   Dead Hands - Hands start the swing (ok, technically, hands and the front knee hinge). Remember, when the pitcher separates his hands, the bat needs to begin some kind of movement toward the load position. 2.   Hands Casting Too Far From The Body - This produces a slow swing and again eliminates utilizing the largest muscles in the body's core (from above the knee to below the bottom rib). To be your quickest, keep your hands no more than 4-6 inches away from the chest as long as possible. 3.   Front Shoulder Flies Open - Keep the shoulder closest to the pitcher on a line with the pitcher.for as long as possible. (This will also help players hit the ball up the middle, which should help increase hard hits and decrease strikeouts). 4.   No Hip Turn - Young hitters tend to hit with their arms. Wrong. This produces weak round balls. Completely turn the back foot AND get up on the toes, or at least the ball of the foot. 5.   The Front Knee Collapses - Simply put, the front leg MUST be stiff, whether using a stride or no-stride approach.

Baseball Bytes
From the book Gordie On Baseball
  Excerpt from Chapter 10, pgs. 127-28

Gordie on Coaching There is a fine line between winning and losing, and the difference in all sports, not only baseball, is the coach. I repeat, the difference is YOU, the coach! You determine the way your team plays the game and if your team is successful or not. And how you conduct your practice sessions determines how your athletes play in the game. Gordie on Pitching and Defense I established my baseball philosophy a long time ago, and it really hasn't changed much through the years. Teams win by playing good defense. I also believe that pitching is 75% of good defense, and probably, 75% of the game. Do you realize that in 65% of baseball games the winning team scores more runs in one inning than the opposition scores in the whole game? To prevent the big inning you need a sound pitching philosophy. Warren Spahn, one of the best pitchers in the history of baseball, helped me more than anyone else develop my pitching and defensive philosophy. Spahn's pitching philosophy surely made an impact on me, and in turn, I've tried to impact that philosophy to anyone who has ever pitched for me. Gordie on Offense Offensive philosophy must include "catch-up" baseball. I believe we have to "take" pitches in certain situations: we've got to load the bases, we've got to get the tying run to the plate, we have to set up our RBI men. Your offensive philosophy must answer loads of questions. Can you bunt the ball? Can you steal the important base? Can you do the little things that make winners out of losers? Absolutely! But you need to practice each skill so they become automatic in the game. What can you give your players? Remember the important values you are teaching: Proper working ethic, love and concern for teammates, respect for the opposition, playing honestly and with the highest degree of integrity, win and lose with dignity. When the put away the bats and balls for the last time, you will have left them with a foundation of values to build upon for the rest of their lives. Send this page to a friend   Gordie On Baseball - Only $21.95 Every coach on any level will miss out by not owning a copy of Gordie's little blue book. Think of all you can learn from a man who has won more games than any other coach in College Baseball history! This book is more than just baseball. It's life..and transcends the game. 164 pages "A tremendous book for coaches at all levels. It will help improve your practices, players and teams. Use this book so you can became a winner, like Coach Gillespie."   - John Anderson, University of Minnesota Hitting Concepts & Drills From the book Gordie Gillespie's Baseball Drill Book   Selected excerpts from Chapter 10, pgs. 127-30 Develop Confidence A player must conquer the fear of getting hit with the ball. Youth league baseball has encouraged the fear factor. The biggest and the strongest youngsters are the pitchers and a majority of the little leaguers are actually petrified when they get in the batters' box. In witnessing many games that my children and grandchildren have played in, I have watched many youngsters who never took a swing at the ball in the whole game. We're they afraid? Absolutely, and I can't blame them, the pitchers were fast and wild. Because of the fear factor, a lot of youth players call it a career before they have had a chance to develop their hitting skills. Youth baseball would greatly aid the conquering of the fear factor if they used softer balls. Wiffle balls, rubber balls, tennis balls are far more productive in gaining confidence. Our college team hits waffle balls and rubber balls all season long. The bulk of our batting practices are done with these type of balls. Our pregame practice is wiffle ball hitting in the outfield with six batting practices going on at the same time, and every player gets about 100 swings in half an hour. This is better than "6 swings an out," the usual pregame practice. Develop A Quick Swing All great hitters keep their lead elbow almost buried in their rib cage. Ted Williams had a habit of touching both elbows to his rib cage in preparing to hit. Keeping the hands close to the body guarantees a quick swing and excellent hip action, which means hitting the ball with power. Batting T Drill Excellent to develop a good, sound swing. Raise or lower the T, move it in and out to attack all type of pitches. I suggest using tennis balls and hitting them into a net. Backside Fungoes Drill This is an individual drill. Use tennis balls, wiffle balls, and a netting to drive the balls into. The hitter throws the ball up with the back hand, keeping the lowest hand on the bat, and attacks the ball above the belly button and below the armpits. The hitter is working on the fundamentals of hitting the high fastball. Try to hit hard ground balls at the shortstop so you get the feel of getting on top of the baseball. By throwing the ball up with the back hand you keep the body back, which is essential to hitting the baseball with power. Two important concepts of backside fungoes are: Hitting the high fastball Staying back and hitting off you back foot, execute the weight transfer to the front foot, and drive the baseball hard and down. Flip Drills From The Front Use wiffle balls or tennis balls. Short net to protect pitcher flipping balls overhand and game condition from 15 feet in front of batter. Close range means accuracy of throws and maximum swings. Pitcher mixed the speed of flips and location of pitches. Hit 25 and alternate until you hit 100 balls. Pitcher is kneeling on drill to get behind low net. Two Man Pepper Batters learning to handle bat, hitting one hop pepper to teammate. One of the best forms of batting practice. Distance of 40 feet. Have several hard balls handy, so fielder does not have to stop and shag balls that are out of his range. Gordie Gillespie's Baseball Drill Book - Only $24.95 More than merely a drill book, Gordie Gillespie has interspersed his winning philosophy and love of the game into a 150-page manual. Gain insight into the mental aspects of the game. Learn how Gordie runs his practices, his drills, his concepts behind the drills, and his philosophy of maximizing performance.   150 pages "The great teachers are the most receptive students. Every coach and player interested in baseball or softball should own a copy of this book. It is the 'Baseball - Softball Bible' for practice and drills. "   - Gary Ward, Oklahoma State University

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Featured Article
College baseball's all-time winningest manager lists the 12 things you need to know and do in order to be a good coach.

What It Takes To Be A Good Coach by Gordie Gillespie (Ripon College) [ article excerpt ] Organization A favorite expression of many people in all walks of life is: "I have got to get organized." Jerry Kindall, the great baseball coach at the University of Arizona, took a poll of his baseball players and asked his team what they wanted most from Jerry and his staff. Much to his surprise the players responded "organization." You won't accomplish half of what you set out to do without a concrete, workable plan. Persistence Patience and persistence are certainly a marriage. It is difficult to differentiate between these two virtues, and they truly go hand in hand in the coaching profession. You must persist, and you must teach your kids to persist. Yogi Berra's quote, "It's never over until it's over," is an excellent definition of persistence. Chris Evert, the great lady of tennis, was taught at age four by her dad that every volley was match point. Persistence, in simple words, is "never give up." Each of us fail. It is what we do after we fail that is important. I believe Abe Lincoln was defeated 17 consecutive times while seeking public office. The beautiful aspect about defeat is that it is a powerful learning experience. Integrity And Your Relationship With Your Coaching Peers Never compromise on rules. Rules are exactly that - rules! They are not suggestions. Society today treats the Ten Commandments as if they were the ten suggestions. Never compromise on right or wrong. It is a black and white situation, not a gray area. In dealing with umpires, referees and those that govern the game, we want the play called right at least 90% of the time. Instant replay has proven time and time again that we can't expect more than that. Officials are human and they will make mistakes. The important idea here is that you must support your officials rather they tearing them down or ridiculing them.    Read the full article

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Baseball's Legends: In Their Words

Batting Fundamentals by Ty Cobb Written on May 18, 1938 1.   Don't grip your bat at the very end. Leave, say, an inch or two. Also, leave at least an inch or more space between your hands; that gives you balance and control of bat, and also keeps hands from interfering with each other during the swing. 2.   Take position at plate, especially against right-hand pitchers, back of plate, and against a man with a real curve, you can stay on back line of batting box. Now try to hit to right-center. I don't mean you should place the ball in any one spot, but start now practicing to hit your righthanders to the opposite field. An inside ball from a right-hand pitcher you will naturally pull, say, to left-center. 3.   Don't slug at full speed; learn to meet them firmly, and you will be surprised at the results. 4.   Now, to hit as I ask, to right-center or center. You stand away from plate the distance you can see with mind's eye that you can hit the ball that curves on inside corner, to center. This distance away from plate will allow you to hit the outside ball to right. In other words, you protect the plate both on inside pitches and outside. 5.   Remember, the plate is the pitcher's objective and he has to come to it. I use 'back of plate' expression to mean towards the catcher, away from plate to denote distance from plate towards outside of box. Now, use a slightly closed stance, and keep a little more weight on your front foot than back. That gives you balance and won't pull you away from curves. You are always in position to give maximum drive. 6.   Don't pull a curve ball from a righthander. The ball is revolving away from you. Hit with the revolution and to right field. 7.   Keep your left elbow cocked on level with your hands or even higher. Never let the elbow down below the hands, and keep your hands always well away from your body - keep pushing them out, even with your body or back. 8.   Keep your back leg straight. Of course, if you put your weight more on the front leg, then the back leg will be straight. 9.   If high fast balls inside really bother you: Crouch over from waist and pass them up. Don't bite, in other words. In crouching, you make the pitcher throw lower, which forces him away from the position that bothers you. But I think with the instructions I have give, you will hit them wherever they pitch. 10.   Against a speedy left-hander: Don't pull. Use the same stance I have given you, and when he throws you his curve, knock him down with it or you will naturally pull it, as the ball is breaking in to you. But against a left-hander of fair speed: Move up in the box, also closer to plate, and pull this style of pitching. Footnotes: Ty Cobb's Batting Fundamentals is from a letter that he wrote to rookie outfielder Sam Chapman on May 18, 1938. It first appeared in print in 1947. At .366, Ty Cobb had the highest lifetime batting average of any player in the history of baseball. He won more batting average titles (12) than any other player, and in 1936 he became the first player ever selected to the Hall of Fame. Cobb played 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers and retired as a player in 1928 following a two year stint with the Philadelphia A's when, at the age of 41, he hit "only" .323, his worst average since 1906. Cobb also became the first ballplayer to star in a movie, Somewhere in Georgia, a drama by Grantland Rice.

Baseball Quotes, Wit & Wisdom - Ty Cobb

Batting is more a mental matter than it is physical. The ability to grasp the bat, swing at the proper time, take a proper stance, all these are elemental. Batting rather is a study in psychology, a sizing up of pitcher and catcher, and observing little details that are of immense importance. It's like the study of crime, the work of a detective as he picks up clues. Rarely should a base runner risk a steal when the game is in balance. It's to be used when you can afford to fail.   Cobb stole home a record 50 times Many players are thrown out by a split second. When you hit the ball, run it out with all the speed you have, no matter where or how you hit it. This, I claim, will earn you many hits during the season that you would not get otherwise. Speed is a great asset; but it's greater when it's combined with quickness - and there's a big difference.

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Rice Wins College World Series
Wayne Graham won five junior college national titles in eleven years with San Jacinto College. It took him twelve years to win his first College World Series and give Rice University it's first national championship in any sport.

On Monday, Graham's Rice Owls finished a 58-12 season by pounding Stanford 14-2 in the most-lopsided championship game in College World Series history. Stanford (51-18) lost in the title game for the third time in four years.

Rice, which was founded in 1912, was making their fourth appearance in the College World Series and the Owls had won just one of seven CWS games before this year.

"There are a lot of passionate people around Rice and they wanted this and needed it," said Graham, whose team beat the defending national champion Texas Longhorns twice to advance to the best-of-three finale against the Cardinal.

Although it came in a losing effort, Stanford's Sam Fuld set the CWS record for career hits with 24. The prior record belonged to Keith Moreland, who had 23 hits for Texas from 1973-75.

Other Collegiate Baseball Championships
Central Missouri State won the Division II title, defeating Tampa 11-4 in Montgomery, Alabama. The title was the second in school history for the Mules (51-7).

Chapman University (CA) won the Division III title, defeating Christopher Newport (VA) 15-7 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The title was the first in school history for the Panthers (39-12).

The CWS Prior to Omaha
The College World Series is the only major collegiate championship to be played in the same venue every year. Every CWS since 1950 has been held at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska.

But the first CWS was actually held in 1947 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where it returned for 1948 when former President George Bush led his Yale team to the CWS. In 1949 the championship moved to Wichita, Kansas before finding a permanent home the following year in Omaha.

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