The Biggest Problem With Baseball Pitching - High Pitch Count & How to Avoid It

The Biggest Problem With Baseball Pitching - High Pitch Count & How to Avoid It
By Jack D. Elliott

An ace pitcher is like the golden goose for many high school baseball teams. He can produce a lot of gold or wins if his team uses him properly. However, over use him and you risk serious physical injury to him and/or reduction in the effectiveness in his baseball pitching at the end of the season at a time when you need them to be at their best. Over the last few years, the issue of high pitch counts has come up again and again as ace pitchers are used late in the playoffs to play the 1st and 3rd games of a 3 game playoff series. The desire to win seems to override any concern for the pitcher's health.

Why is this such a health risk to pitchers? The baseball throwing motion is an unnatural motion because you are bringing the arm over the shoulder to throw the baseball. In actuality, an underarm motion is a more natural motion. The over-arm motion puts a large amount of strain on a pitcher's arm. His rotator cuff, elbow, and whole bunch of smaller muscles are put under tremendous stress during each pitching outing. When the pitch counts rise, this creates additional strain on these parts which can lead to serious physical injury.

The challenging issue is how to best address this baseball pitching issue. Here, are a few tips to help ensure your pitcher's safety:

1. Preemptive Strike: Parents should voice their concern to the coach early in the season about high pitch counts. Ideally, a coach would already have his pitchers on pitch counts for their games. Unfortunately, this is more the exception than the rule.

2. Rally Support: Parents should win public support with the other parents throughout the season to make it known that the parents as a whole do not support high pitch counts. Essentially, you want to make it known that winning thru high pitch counts will not be acceptable.

3. Create An Arbitrary 100 Pitch Limit: Parents should not let this be a gray area for pitchers. Parents should voice concerns whenever a pitcher throws more than 100 pitches in a game. This should be raised as an issue every time this occurs in a game and voiced to the coaching staff and the other parents.

4. Encourage Staff Development: Coaches and parents can encourage others to pitch for the team. The development of a pitching rotation will decrease the opportunities for pitchers to get high pitch counts. The reason is simply that the coach will have the ability to put in other pitchers when the pitch counts start to rise.

5. Don't rely on players to make a case: Parents cannot rely on their sons to tell the coach when they are hurting or have thrown too many pitchers. Most competitive high school baseball pitchers will never want to be taken out of a game. They will be caught up in the prospect of trying to win the game and will risk their health in the process. Parents should step in and champion this case for their kids.

6. Treatment During Playoff Runs: High pitch counts tend to become the most significant issue in the playoffs when teams reduce their pitching rotation to put only their best pitchers out there. During this time, parents should make certain pitchers are taking care of their arms. At the very least, pitchers should be icing their arms after every game and not pitch for the next two days when possible. Make you're your team has the appropriate equipment to help sore arms. Proper equipment includes baseball jackets for pitchers and ice wraps. Pitchers should be wearing a jacket over their pitching arm when they are not pitching. Although these steps will not remove the risk of injury, they will help reduce the severity.

Remember high pitch counts are not a situation that has to be tolerated or even required for good baseball pitching. With a little pre-planning by coaches and parents, most high pitch count situations can be avoided or limited. Winning matters, but it really isn't the most important thing.

Jack Elliott, is a former player and fan of the game. To read more tips and techniques like the ones in this article, please click here: http://www.baseballtrainingtechniques.com/Baseball-Pitching/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jack_D._Elliott



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Teaching a Balanced Batting Stance

By Jack Perconte

Putting the ball in play on the ground is not always a bad thing, but turning ground balls into line drives will definitely help the hitter's batting average and chances of playing baseball at the higher levels. Hitters with good speed can prosper by hitting the ball on the ground, especially in youth baseball, but at some point the ability to drive the ball into the outfield is necessary. Of course, hitting ground balls is better than hitting pop-ups but hitting the ball consistently on the ground is a sign of a faulty fundamental swing.

People generally think that hitting the top of the ball, which results in ground balls, is caused by hitting down on the ball or chopping at it. In my 21 years of coaching baseball, rarely would I come across hitters who actually chopped at the ball. I observed that most ground balls hit were caused by the hitters hands were on an upward path on the initial portion of the swing, usually caused by the lead elbow coming up at the beginning of the swing. This incorrect action is generally known as a chicken-wing, which does not allow hitters to bring their hands to the correct palm-up, palm-down hitting position at contact.

With this in mind, here are the drills which will generally turn ground balls into line drives.

Drill # 1 - To rid the player of the chicken wing problem, have them place their fielder's glove under their lead armpit and take numerous swings this way, allowing the glove to fall out on the follow through.

Drill # 2 - Have the hitter stand belly button away from a net and take swings with the end of the bat just scraping the net as it comes through the hitting zone. This will prevent the hitter from casting the bat out and over the ball which can cause ground ball hitting. This drill and the next on will help players develop the correct hands to the ball and hand position necessary to hit the ball in the air.

Drill # 3 - Place a tee at knee high level and have hitters work on hitting balls at this height until they begin to hit line drives or solid fly balls. Hitters with incorrect swings will continually hit ground balls at this pitch level. Hitters will have to develop the correct hip turn and swing in order to hit solid line drives on the knee high pitch, as stated.

* Hitters can combine these drills and perform all three at the same time. This becomes more difficult but can accelerate the process of developing the correct baseball swing.

For hitters who consistently hit solid ground balls, as opposed to weak or chopped ground balls, a slight adjustment in their stance or hand position may lower the bat position on the ball just enough to hit the lower back portion of the ball instead of the top of the ball. Hitters who widen their stance and bend their knees slightly may see the necessary line drives. Also worth a try is lowering the height of the hitter's hands a couple of inches in their initial set-up position. This may allow the hitter to get to the back of the ball more consistently. Following these few guidelines should turn those ground balls into solid line drives. For photo illustrations of these drills please refer to my book, The Making of a Hitter: A Proven & Practical Step-by-Step Baseball Guide.

Former major league baseball player, Jack Perconte gives baseball hitting tips and batting practice advice for ballplayers of all ages. His books and baseball hitting lessons advice can be found at http://www.baseballhittinglessons.com/baseball
Jack is the author of two books, The Making of a Hitter and Raising an Athlete - his parenting blog and books can be found at http://positiveparentinginsports.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jack_Perconte

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Little League Baseball Drills - Batting Practice

By Chris Campbell

I have heard it said by many an accomplished athlete, that one of the hardest things you can do in professional sports, is to hit a major league fastball. Or any major league pitch for that matter. Just ask Micheal Jordan. He may be a living legend in the world of professional basketball, but he only managed a 202 batting average for the Birmingham Barons (a farm team for the Chicago White Sox). The moral being, it's best to get your little leaguer started early, if they plan on challenging some of the MLB hitting records.

With that in mind, lets consider a few hitting drills that the kids can use to get their bats swinging true, and making contact as soon as possible. One of the best drills you can do with your kids, is simply to grab a bucket of balls, and pitch a few to them every day you can find the time to do so. It's practically impossible, for most kids to get enough batting practice with the team. There's a limited number of pitchers, catchers, and backstops for most little league coaches to work with. It's almost impossible for them to get more then a few minutes hitting each practice. A one on one practice with mom or dad every day or so will really help out.

Now just swinging for the sake of swinging will make you a better hitter, but there are a few simple points you should keep in mind, to maximize the time put in. Don't harp on these items too much, as they can be a bit technical and boring for kids. Try to make it fun for them at the same time.

Choosing The Right Bat

Picking a bat that's appropriate for your child's height and strength can make all the difference. It should feel comfortable for them to hold and swing the bat. If the bat is slowing down their swing too much, it's probably a little too heavy. There is a simple way to test a bat, even before you buy one. Simply have your son or daughter hold the bat by the handle, and hold it straight out to the side, so the bat is parallel to the ground. They should be able to hold the bat steady for at least fifteen seconds. If they can't, or their arms starts to shake, you should try a smaller bat.

Batter Positioning

It's important to know where the batters box is, where home plate is, and where the strike zone is. That way, even little league players, can put themselves in good position to reach any ball that is passing through the strike zone. Even if your in your back yard practicing, you can mock up a plate, and batters box. Just use a can of spray paint on the grass to mark out home plate and a made up batters box. Don't worry, it'll disappear the next time you cut the grass.

Little League Baseball Drills is a great resource for helping your little leaguer get the most out of his or hers favorite pastime. With a little good training, amateur or even professional ball players will see a dramatic improvement in the way they play.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Campbell

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Youth Baseball Hitting - How to Fix Your Baseball Swing

By Brian McClure

To hit the ball well takes a lot of practice. Youth baseball is actually easier than for older players because there is only the basics to learn and develop. This makes it easy for as as coaches to improve our youth baseball teams hitting.

We still must do it right. Practice does not always make perfect. The practice must be effective and done correctly or the mind and body will instill the wrong mechanics.

Hitting off the tee - has probably been a lost art. It is however making a comeback in certain circles. I have always started batting practice by hitting off the tee. Yes..all ages. Purpose of the tee is to load the bat and get our weight back. First check that the players hands are in the right place..batting stance should comfortable. Second, Load the bat (Body and hands go slightly back and front foot comes up) Third, short quick swing.

Common mistakes to look for and avoid is the player dropping his hands and and weight back to far which is caused by wrapping the hands around the head. Wrapping the bat and Dropping the hands is usually the youth baseball player trying to hit a hard fly ball. It lengthens the swing and there will difficulty in hitting the ball correctly(popups) if at all, in live pitching.

Soft Toss - My favorite way to practice hitting. A youth baseball coach (or whoever is doing the tossing) can get a lot of control over the ball and watch the mechanics without fear of injury. The most common way I see soft toss done is from the side of the batter. I prefer to use a screen and toss from the front. This better simulates the pitch and the tosser and see the hands, head, and stride better too. Franklin L-Frame Pitching Screen
Work on strike tosses in the middle, inside, and outside... up, down. Toss in a few balls too so the player can work on learning the strike zone also. As you see a lot of work can be done in a short period of time.
If you toss from the side ,it is best to have net to target the balls.

Free Hitting - Turn 'em loose. Pitch or use a pitching machine and let the youth baseball player work on improving his hitting with live pitches without a lot of coaching at this point. Let the player have fun and just hit away. The Tee drill and soft toss is to work on mechanics. Now Focus on the ball and Swing.

These tips and basic batting practice strategy will greatly help your players improve their hitting skills. As a parent you can quickly move your son to the meat of the batting order with these simple batting practice two or three times a week. As coaches we should try and implement some batting practice every practice. The best way is to divide them into groups..some work on tee..move to ..the soft toss..then free hitting and move on to shagging.

Author- Brian McClure Want to learn more about helping your child in youth baseball as a parent or coach? http://www.coaching-youth-baseball.com

See our complete list of Topics and articles on youth baseball here http://www.coaching-youth-baseball.com/topics.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brian_McClure

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Little League Baseball Drills - Batting Practice

By Chris Campbell

I have heard it said by many an accomplished athlete, that one of the hardest things you can do in professional sports, is to hit a major league fastball. Or any major league pitch for that matter. Just ask Micheal Jordan. He may be a living legend in the world of professional basketball, but he only managed a 202 batting average for the Birmingham Barons (a farm team for the Chicago White Sox). The moral being, it's best to get your little leaguer started early, if they plan on challenging some of the MLB hitting records.

With that in mind, lets consider a few hitting drills that the kids can use to get their bats swinging true, and making contact as soon as possible. One of the best drills you can do with your kids, is simply to grab a bucket of balls, and pitch a few to them every day you can find the time to do so. It's practically impossible, for most kids to get enough batting practice with the team. There's a limited number of pitchers, catchers, and backstops for most little league coaches to work with. It's almost impossible for them to get more then a few minutes hitting each practice. A one on one practice with mom or dad every day or so will really help out.

Now just swinging for the sake of swinging will make you a better hitter, but there are a few simple points you should keep in mind, to maximize the time put in. Don't harp on these items too much, as they can be a bit technical and boring for kids. Try to make it fun for them at the same time.

Choosing The Right Bat

Picking a bat that's appropriate for your child's height and strength can make all the difference. It should feel comfortable for them to hold and swing the bat. If the bat is slowing down their swing too much, it's probably a little too heavy. There is a simple way to test a bat, even before you buy one. Simply have your son or daughter hold the bat by the handle, and hold it straight out to the side, so the bat is parallel to the ground. They should be able to hold the bat steady for at least fifteen seconds. If they can't, or their arms starts to shake, you should try a smaller bat.

Batter Positioning

It's important to know where the batters box is, where home plate is, and where the strike zone is. That way, even little league players, can put themselves in good position to reach any ball that is passing through the strike zone. Even if your in your back yard practicing, you can mock up a plate, and batters box. Just use a can of spray paint on the grass to mark out home plate and a made up batters box. Don't worry, it'll disappear the next time you cut the grass.

Little League Baseball Drills is a great resource for helping your little leaguer get the most out of his or hers favorite pastime. With a little good training, amateur or even professional ball players will see a dramatic improvement in the way they play.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Campbell

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The Categories they have are: Baseball Training Equipment, Youth Baseball Training Equipment, Training Bats, Pitching & Throwing Trainers, Defensive Trainers, Batting Cages, Pitching Machines, Jugs Equipment, Game and Practice Baseballs, Protective Practice Screens and Nets, Portable Pitching Mounds, Baseball DVDs & Books, Clearance Items on Sales, BatAction Hitting Machines, Hurricane Hitting Machines, NEDCO Bataction Replacement Parts, SKLZ Hurricane Replacement Parts and Much Much More! Visit Baseball2U.com today!

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