Royals Athletics
Mascoma Valley Regional High School
Boys Varsity Baseball
Team Links.
Throwing - Struggling with accuracy?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNT7f_JYIQU
A LOT of information that is mostly directed towards pitchers but every position throws and we all need to keep a great majority of this stuff in mind when working on our throwing form.
Catchers - Frame Job - How to Steal Strikes as a Catcher
https://www.12up.com/posts/how-gary-sanchez-changed-stance-to-steal-more-strikes-01e2bz70cqx4
Glove low, come up to catch a ball instead of going down to get it. The Twins pitching staff is pretty good and Mitch has been a big part of it. Check out the results! Video is towards the bottom of the article.
Catchers - One Knee Setups
https://coachesinsider.com/baseball/archived-newsletters-baseball/the-benefits-of-one-knee-setups-for-catchers-with-brian-whatle
This is another video that outlines how to more effectively catch the ball making pitches look more like strikes. Take notice of the knee placement for lefty vs. righty hitters. I agree with this coach - receiving and blocking make is so stealing is less likely.
Catchers - More One Knee Setups and Bonus Glove Movement!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KL4TNtCBXI
Another good reference for one knee setups for catchers. This video has a lot more details and goes over some different styles and blocking!
Also some discussion on how to properly execute modern glove movement.
Pitchers - How to throw a sinker (long version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjE1s5_2Ads
Mike Soroka is VERY good. Check this out for some in depth conversation about sinkers which can be extremely effective in getting ground outs and swinging misses when mixed with other pitches.
Pitchers - How to attack a hitter
https://youtu.be/TGo4wkPIszM
This is another great instructional video from the MLB network. Billy Ripkin goes over how mixing location and speed can really mess up a hitter's timing and balance.
Pitchers - It's All in the Hips (and arms)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H71zHACI0A
Good video about hip rotation in relation to where your arm is. Good execution of this allows for a) better control and b) more velocity.
Pitchers - Leg Drive Basics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJn8rcZASnI
This guy has a few good videos. This one is about using your legs to promote more velocity on your pitches.
Pitchers - Pitch Mechanics with John Smoltz and Al Leiter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhhA44XM46I
Two MLB Network analysts/former players talking about the finer points of pitching. Timing and consistency are everything to get the ball to where you want to pitch it. Also, if you have the MLB Network, please, please watch it - there is some good stuff getting taught on there!
Pitchers - Mechanic Misconceptions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ex_otCn4to
An alternative way to look at some of the stuff that I teach pitchers. Good stuff!
Also, check out that super-cool mound!
Pitchers - Trevor Bauer Mechanics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPOCb467tnA
Trevor Bauer is a baseball nerd (which is a good thing!). He's also one of my favorite pitchers to watch. This is how someone like him gets ready for a game and what he keeps in mind for his mechanics. This is stuff he did before winning the Cy Young award last year.
Pitchers - Details, details, details
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH3vRPQG6h0
Every little thing that you can do to be deceptive on the mound is helpful. Check out Pedro and Smoltz diagnose some old issues that Chris Archer was having a few years ago.
Pitchers - Trevor Bauer - Gangster Curveball (and some warmup ideas)
https://youtu.be/T21TLQAn7m0
Trevor Bauer is known for creating a lot of spin on his pitches that make them better, no matter what pitch (except for knuckleballs which he does not throw). This video has some good warm up ideas for getting your body ready to pitch (especially finding that body coil that helps with arm whip) as well as some ideas to keep in mind when throwing curveballs.
Infield - Ronnie Chicos!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDlnzZs4DUU
Learn how to practice fielding grounders from Ron Washington and Ozzie Albies.
Infield - Arenado and A-Rod
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5fjIKZMmXA
Nolan Arenado is one of the best defensive third basemen to come along in a long time. Watch him and A-Rod talk about infielding. Also, watch his glove come through the ball when he fields grounders - we should be doing that when possible.
Outfield - First Step
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDm42doiNY4
Mike Trout is good. Watch this to get an idea of what Mike Trout thinks about when playing outfield. LOTS of good habits here! Also a little dash of base running theory. We should be aggressive on the bases and going from first to third is key to scoring runs for us.
Outfield - Must Dos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8AdYiWJWiI
A couple of things to keep in mind when playing outfield. Everyone should be able to play outfield (AND there are three positions out there so a great opportunity for playing time!). Coach Justin has some pretty good videos so check those out too.
1) Know what you are doing before the play and before the ball gets to you
2) Watch the hit zone during the pitch to best see the ball off the bat
3) Please, please hit your cutoff and keep your throw low rather than high. Please!
Hitters - Tony Gwynn Hitting Tips
https://youtu.be/tsZGog9xn5Y
Tony Gwynn is one of the best pure hitters in baseball history. There are some VERY good tips in this video that are applicable to all levels of baseball. The video does look a little older, I know. However, this is all still applicable today. Making solid contact gets runners on base and eventually scores runs which is how we win games!
Hitters - Tee Mentality
https://m.facebook.com/watch/?v=366899333895045&_rdr
Check out Eloy Jiminez, the future of the MLB, the Big Baby, work on the tee. There is some Spanish in there so have some fun with that too! Most of all, watch his approach when he is working on the tee. Watch the ball come in (use your imagination) and drive up the middle.
Everyone - Get inside the mind of an umpire!
https://youtu.be/_zusam3TORs
First of all, ALWAYS be respectful to umpires. They have a very hard job and not being nice to an umpire has never helped a team win. If you ever have an issue, come talk to one of the coaches quietly and not in front of the entire team. If we are seeing the same thing we may (or may not) have a discussion at an appropriate time with the umpiring crew.
This video shows how we can take advantage of a strike zone. Every umpire has a different zone (and some umpires have different zones on different days or even different innings!). There is a little quiz in the middle of this video with an ump-cam that shows how tricky calling strikes can be.
If an umpire has more of an outside or low or high zone, we need to first exploit that while on defense and then also recognize the zone while we are hitting as those pitches will likely be called a strike while we are batting as well.
