| Baseball coaching, along with society has changed | | | | body strength. But even so - all the upper body |
| over the years. Baseball is the oldest professional | | | | strength in the world won't help if you don't have a |
| sport practiced in the United States, and its layered | | | | solid abdominal core, and good glutes to deliver power |
| and nuanced history lends us legends like Micky Mantle | | | | when you make contact. |
| and Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio. | | | | Three other factors have altered the way professional |
| However, baseball coaching like the one that received | | | | baseball players train, and alter the baseball coaching |
| Babe Ruth, or even Jumpin' Joe won't help you train to | | | | you should receive if you want to get into the sport |
| be an effective player in modern baseball. | | | | seriously. The first is the length of the season. At 162 |
| While modern baseball still has much the same | | | | games, the season is very long. It takes a great toll |
| fundamental rules as it did when professional play | | | | over the course of April through late September, plus |
| started in the 1880s - the diamond has not changed, | | | | spring training. For college players used to a 36 game |
| the height of the pitchers mound has been dropped by | | | | season, it's a shock how much longer a baseball |
| less than an inch, and the strike zone has been | | | | season is. Even those who've played in the minors |
| adjusted, but fundamentally, the game is unchanged. | | | | have found that the full on professional season is a |
| The impact of how the game is played on the | | | | grind unlike anything they've seen before. That grind |
| professional level has put a significant priority on | | | | requires mental toughness to get through the game. |
| baseball coaching, the different techniques applied and | | | | The second factor is interleague play during the regular |
| overall training. | | | | season. Before interleague play came about, half of |
| First and foremost, this is the era of the specialist | | | | your games would be in your home stadium and the |
| pitcher. Pitches are faster, pitching is more rigorous, | | | | other half would be in, at most, 10 other stadiums during |
| and the chance to injure yourself with ligament or | | | | the season. This meant that adaptive baseball |
| rotator cuff damage is higher. The concept that | | | | coaching could prepare you to build up a mental |
| someone will ever pitch as many games as Cy Young | | | | knowledge base of each stadium and its quirks, both |
| did is ludicrous; a 20-game winner in the pros is | | | | minor (the way that Coors Field channels the wind and |
| considered a rock as a pitcher. | | | | the mild slope towards left field) and major (the Green |
| Consequently, more of baseball coaching for pitchers | | | | Monster at Fenway). Now that there's interleague play, |
| focuses on short bursts of activity, with the aim being | | | | building up the feel for all the stadiums you'll be playing |
| to reduce the amount of damage each pitch does to | | | | in means having a visceral knowledge of all 29 away |
| you. Managers focus on rotating pitchers in and out at | | | | stadiums during the season; this has made things more |
| different times of the game, and often have specialists | | | | difficult for outfielders and catchers particularly. |
| and starting pitching setups tailored to specific | | | | The final factor relevant to effective baseball coaching |
| opponents. | | | | is unbalanced schedules and what they've done to the |
| The other consequence of the specialist pitcher era is | | | | travel arrangements. Where it used to be that an east |
| that the bench still remains at 25 players; with more of | | | | coast team would do a series against Seattle, Oakland |
| those slots taken up by pitchers, the ability for the | | | | and San Diego over three weeks, then hit up Kansas |
| other players on defense to rest and recuperate is | | | | City on the way back home, minimizing the travel |
| greatly diminished. Baseball is an endurance sport, | | | | budget (and the disruption from time zone shifts), the |
| particularly for outfielders, but even for first and third | | | | modern era will have a series on the West Coast, |
| basemen. The emphasis on their training is core body | | | | followed by a series on the East Coast, followed by |
| strength, and focusing on building the "burst" from their | | | | another Midwest series, followed by a series in |
| legs (much the same way Olympic sprinters work out), | | | | Tampa. |
| while maintaining enough slow-twitch muscle to keep | | | | The total amount of time spent traveling has gone up. |
| going for a long game, and a long season. | | | | (This is causing some owners to balk, as with the price |
| Core body strength is also critical for hitting; most of | | | | of av-gas doubling in the last year, the travel budgets |
| the strength that drives a bat comes through the | | | | are getting expensive enough to notice, even for |
| thighs, hips and abdomen, with the shoulders and upper | | | | baseball franchise owners.) All of these factors make |
| arms used make the bat respond quickly. Because of | | | | the baseball coaching and mental toughness part of |
| the era of the live ball, and the faster pitches, | | | | the game (and training to deal with it) more important |
| responsiveness on the bat puts a premium on upper | | | | than ever. |