Get Your Mass Into The Swing

F=MA

For those of you that remember your middle school science class this formula will ring a bell. For the rest of us here is a quick refresher...

Force Equals Mass Times Acceleration.

In baseball we interchange the term "force" with "power".

If a player wants to hit with more power he either has to increase the "mass" value (without negatively affecting his bat speed..."acceleration") or increase the "acceleration" value (without negatively affecting his ability to hit the ball on the "sweet spot") of his swing.

Check out this video for clarification....

Parents frequently ask me what is the right bat for their player. We can use the formula F=MA to choose a bat.

Or you can always go with the kids' (and manufacturers') method of choosing a bat...Base your decision on the coolest graphics or newest color combinations.

Here is how it works...

If you have a player that is very good at centering the ball on the sweet spot then I would recommend a bat that has a smaller barrel to maximize bat speed.

A good small barrel bat will have much of the weight distributed closer towards the barrel to place the "mass"near the sweet spot. These bats may have a greater weight differential -12 but may feel as heavy as a -10 or -8 because they are top end loaded.

On the other hand if your player would benefit from a slightly larger hitting surface (to maximize "Mass") then I would recommend forfeiting bat speed in order to make better contact. In this case you should opt for a big barrel bat and work on swing mechanics and overall strength to add power (through increasing "acceleration") to their swing.

Over the past ten years or so the big barrel bat has been great for hitters. Because it has offered the best of both worlds...a huge hitting surface with an extremely light weight.

However, recently the dangers associated with a light weight, big barrel bat has prompted leagues and manufacturers to rethink the standards for big barrel bats.

BBCOR is a new designation relating to the exit speed of the ball off of the bat. It stands for  Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution...Will stick with BBCOR for now.

When it comes to buying a bat, parents tend to get the biggest bat they can for their kid and hope they grow into it. When bats are north of $200, I understand why parents try to get several years out of a bat.

Certainly, if your kid needs the big barrel bat then I would recommend it for them. However, if you have a kid that is pretty good at making solid contact you may want to consider some of the newer "small barrel" (2 1/4 inch barrel) bats.

Not only will the kid generate more bat speed ("acceleration"), his barrel accuracy will continue to improve.

Many high school leagues use wood bats in the summer. Wood bats require hitters to be very accurate with the barrel to hit the ball on the sweet spot. Wood bats are much less forgiving than the metal bats. Swinging a small barrel bat will make the transition to wood easier for players.

Hopefully, these pointers will give you some confidence the next time you are in the market for a new youth baseball bat.

Please comment with any questions or remarks you have about choosing the right bat for you.

Thanks!

Brandon

You Can Thank Me Later : )

Nothing earth shattering in today’s post...Just solid coaching for catchers. 

I realize that writing to such a small niche in the baseball community about an obscure detail severely limits my audience.

Just remember, I’m doing this for your own good. One day you may be delegated to coaching catchers or have a kid that wants to learn how to catch then this post will come in very handy. 

You can thank me later : ) 

Check out this short video demonstrating the Key Reference Points to the Signal Stance.

Reference Points

1. Balls of the feet
2. Feet narrow
3. Knees in
4. Sign back towards groin
5. Glove to the side of shin
6. Chest and upper torso tall

Next time you are at a game notice the little things that good catchers do to separate themselves from other catchers. You will probably find that they are “clean” when it comes to giving the pitcher signs in a well executed signal stance.

Your comments are always welcome.

Thanks!

Brandon

BBCOR Bats Impact Catchers

The new BBCOR bats will change the way the game of baseball is played at the amateur levels. 

No longer will players be able to hit home runs off the end of the bat or drive balls into the gaps off their handle. 

Two obvious changes will occur over the next several years at the amateur levels of baseball. First, pitchers will begin pitching inside much more often. And secondly, teams will play for a single run rather than playing for a big inning (3 or more runs). 


In doing so, more teams will utilize the bunt.

In this post/video I want to focus on 3 Keys to fielding bunts from behind the plate.

3 Keys to fielding bunts...

1. Field the ball on the left side of the ball (except on a “perfect bunt”).
2. Pick the ball up in the middle of the body using 2 hands if it’s rolling and the bare hand if it is stationary.
3. Create a throwing lane to 1B (with a drop step) when fielding a bunt close to the 1B line.

If a catcher is able to achieve these three key reference points they will field bunts more successfully.

Please feel free to add your thoughts and opinions about the changes we will see with the advent of the BBCOR bats.

Thanks!

Brandon

Here's Why...

I love baseball. 

Check out this short video of David and I at the Braves game. And don't forget to comment on a memorable time you had at the ball park.

We left Acworth around 2pm to get to Turner Field in time for batting practice. It usually takes us an hour to get to the stadium. 


Except this Saturday, the GA vs. Boise State football game was at the Dome. We left in plenty of time to fight through traffic.

Believe it or not...no traffic! 

That gave us more than enough time to get something to eat and enter a Publix drawing for a cooler (didn’t win. But got two sweet seat cushions). 

We also checked out some vendors and the monuments of Aaron, Spahn and Niekro. 


What David was most interested in was getting into the stadium to watch BP.

Once the gates opened, we headed straight for the seats in right center field. 

No luck on getting a HR ball while the Braves were hitting.

But everything changed when the Dodgers took BP. Dana Eveland, a pitcher for the Dodgers, flipped David a baseball. 

This made David’s day! 

You realize (when you have a place of influence in someone else's life) that sometimes the smallest, insignificant events in your day can make a profound impact on the life of another.

Once batting practice ended, we went down to check out where our seats were. 

Lower level, row 13...Are you kidding? These seats were way better than where I used watch games from when I played---the bullpen!

BP ended around 6:20pm. We still had about an hour before game time. This gave us a chance to check out Sky Field and the amazing views of the stadium and the Atlanta sky line from atop Turner Field.

David’s next quest was to get his newly acquired baseball signed. 

As soon as he saw the Braves players warming up, we hustled down form Sky Field to try to get an autograph. 

I don’t know who the Braves player was that signed the ball...but again the fact that he took the time to sign just a couple more autographs made David’s day.

The game was tied 1-1 until the Dodgers ended up winning in the 10th 2-1. 

During the game we got to see Prado (David’s favorite player), Freeman (my wife’s favorite player), Uggla (hit a bomb) and Matt Diaz. 

I know Matt Diaz is not a high profile super-star. But what I really appreciated about him was his effort. Diaz came in to pinch hit, singled up the middle and ran harder than anyone on the field that night. 

Venters and Kimbrel got big strikeouts to end the 8th and 9th (fireworks included). 


The Dodgers went on to win in the 10th on a sac fly to center scoring Dee Gordon.

It was 5 minutes after midnight Sunday morning when we pulled back into the driveway. 

All in all, about 10 hours hanging out with my 11 year old son at the stadium, watching baseball, living the dream....That’s why I love this game!

Please, comment about a memorable experience around baseball.

A special thanks goes out to Philip Alequin with Turner Broadcasting for the great tickets! Also, thanks again to Dana Eveland and the Braves player that signed David’s baseball.

Is it Cheating or Trying?

Coaches and athletes are always trying to get an edge on the competition.

That "edge" is what drives us to work harder and smarter than the next guy. However, there are rules that govern our actions.

With the recent steroid era (hopefully) coming to an end, we saw how the line of competition had gotten blurred, then moved and then totally disregarded. All in an attempt to gain an edge on the competition.


The video below shows a pick off move to first base that is called the "balk move".

Coaches teach this move to players because they are trying to gain an edge on the competition. 

Base runners usually key on the pitcher's heels. If they see the front heel move they break for second...If they see the back heel move they get back to first.

Please comment with your thoughts on this move and the idea of pushing the edge of the envelope of fair competition.

Thanks!

.2 of a Second Changes Everything (for catchers anyway)

Consider how long .2 of a second is...

For a high school catcher, .2 of a second is the difference between being an average high school player to being a top collegiate or professional prospect.

When a catcher throws down to second base scouts measure his "pop-time".

The stop watch begins when the pitch hits the catcher's mitt and stops when the short stop catches the ball at second base.

An average time for a high school player is around 2.05-2.15

Shaving off .2 of a second will make a huge difference in a catcher's opportunities to play at the next level.

Here is a great technique to improve a catcher's efficiency  when throwing to 2B.

• Right Foot (jab step, gain ground)
• Left Foot (in line to second and behind the plate)
• High Exchange (take the ball out of the mitt higher than where it was caught)

Check out this 60 second video to see it in action ( I apologize for the wind noise).

It's kind of crazy to think about the minuscule differences between greatness and mediocrity.

Work on these three, simple steps to become a great catcher!

OUCH!...Gouging at the Ball Park

It is never my intent to be negative in my blog posts. Unfortunately, this one may come across as such. 

I highlight the following scenarios not to complain, rather to find a solution to the exorbitant costs of Travel baseball.

Here are just a few items that need to be changed in the way baseball is organized and run in my community.

Let’s start with tryout fees...$25-$100 per player. Of course, there are some organizations that do not have a tryout fee. Kudos to them!

However, it is comical how the park I coach out of calls their tryouts a “clinic”. 

They know it is not a clinic. It is a fundraiser. 

Call it what it is and at least let the parents get a tax right off for contributing to a “non-profit” (it’s hard to type that without laughing) entity.

Other parks charge $ fees $ for their tryouts as well. The real kicker here is that most travel teams are only looking for 3-5 players/team. But of course they need to look at 40-50 players at $50/ea. to find their 3-5 players (and not to mention an additional $2,500 to go into the team budget).

I hear of families taking their kid from one tryout to the next thinking they have a chance to make a team. When in reality the coaches already know what position players they are looking for but they will gladly take everyones tryout fee. 

Second Item: Gate Fees...At a tournament this year tournament organizers charged $7.00 for kids over 3 years old. 

Are you kidding? 

The tournament was for 11u teams. You can go to a top tier college game for less than $7.00.

After tryout fees and gate fees there are th tournament fees for competitive baseball...These team fees start at about $400 and go up from there (for a 3 game minimum tournament). 

I get it. It takes money for fields, umpires, first aid staff (tournaments should be required to have a professional trainer or EMT on site at all times) and insurance. 

Let’s do the math...$400/ team with a $150 gate fee (rather than charging every person $7.00 that comes to the games) times 20 teams. Your total is $11,000 for the weekend. 

My question is this: 

Is this the best we can do? Eleven grand for a weekend of games in which most teams will play 4 games.

Think about how much per at bat it costs a kid...

The team plays 4 games, 3 AB/ game and there are 12 kids on the team.

The team cost for the tournament was $550. If you divide that number by 12 families you come up with $45.83 for the 4 games. 

On average at Bats costs just under $4.00 and go up to about $6.50 EACH!

No wonder their is so much stress on every pitch and every play.

These numbers make Disney Land look like a good deal. 

Two other questions: 

How did we get to where playing baseball at a competitive level got to be this expensive? 

AND MORE IMPORTANTLY...

How can we fix these situations of gouging at the ball park?

Please comment with ideas and discussion points.

Thank you!

Brandon

26.2 Miles of Baseball

Great day today! Meeting with Jim Weldon from ClubhouseGas and Will Cowan from Kennesaw State University was very productive.

Be on the look out for new videos and written content for coaches, parents and players. We will unveil new practice drills and practice planners.

One lesson, I was reminded of today, is how every significant accomplishment in life is a journey. 

My dreams of playing in the Big Leagues are a distant memory. 

Unless of course, there is a team that wants to sign a solid .215 hitting catcher that doesn’t throw quite as well as he did 15 years ago, to a one year deal...then I’m your guy! 

But when making it to the Major Leagues was a goal of mine, it required a “marathon mentality”.

Perseverance, dedication and commitment are qualities that I learned from my time in the Minor Leagues. Even though, I fell short of making it to the Bigs, I still draw on these traits everyday. 

Especially after an exciting day like today.

We came up with grand plans and lofty goals. However, I know that it will be more like a marathon than a sprint to accomplish all that we set out before us. 

BASEBALL LESSON...

Parents and coaches that look at situations with the journey in mind have a much more positive (and meaningful) impact on their kids’ lives. 

I have seen too many father son relationships ruined for a lifetime because the dad/coach took a myopic approach to a situation. 

The destruction that a dad can inflict in a 30 second tirade could indelibly mark his son’s memory for the rest of his life. 

Now Trust me...I’ve messed this one up as bad as any dad could have. 

Over time and a lot of positive reinforcement you can make amends and build your son back up. However, avoiding the tirade altogether is the best approach. 

I find that when I look at baseball or life as a sprint their is more pressure and more mistakes made.

Remember baseball like life is a game of failure, adjustments and perseverance.

Make it your goal to get the most out of your short time in baseball. Realize the enjoyment of seeing new places, meeting new friends and competing against great teams. 

For the most part, kids makes mistakes at the same rate as other kids, but when your outlook is journey minded or the marathon mentality you can ride out the slumps a little better. And more importantly you can appreciate and enjoy the highs associated with baseball.

I know in this ridiculously fast paced world we live in it is counter-culture to discuss “the journey” but I believe it to be the best approach. 

Not only is it a great way to view baseball, it is a great way to live life.

Anybody want to run a marathon with me?

"Reset"

For those of you that are familiar with the Atari 2600...You know the importance of the red "Reset Button" on the game console.

Whenever a game of Astroids or Pac-Man was not going well for me (meaning: I was loosing), I simply hit the reset button.

Of course, this would lead to Wrestle Mania in the family room between my brothers and me. Nonetheless, it was a great way to start the game over.

Today is my "Reset Button" day for the BaseballSmith blog.

From now on, my goal is to share (hopefully) insightful, valuable information to my readers on a more consistent basis.

We should have plenty to share over the next several months...

Annie begins her fall softball season. I have volunteered to help out. Should be FUN!

David is taking the fall season off to get his elbow healthy. I'll let you know how that goes.

Quick Aside (since it has been a while since my last post):

I am no longer the head coach of David's baseball team. He has changed teams. And I will be an assistant coach this season.

IMO, the assistant coach is the best gig in youth baseball. You get to coach the kids without dealing with all the "headaches" of being a head coach. Maybe that is where the term head coach comes from. : )

I am excited about spending the upcoming fall with my family and the teams we are a part of regardless of our role. And I look forward to Resetting the BaseballSmith blog.



Brandon