How To Become A Pro Baseball Pitcher

Something to think about as you go about your day today: In professional baseball, pitching talent gets you there. Without it, you don't get a chance. Yet ... your work ethic is what keeps you there, and it's what gets you to the top of the heap.

Keep working hard this off-season!

If You Pitch, Don't Do This

Not only can you hurt yourself by accidentally tweaking your shoulder or elbow, but you look like a butt. Remember, baseball is a team sport. Don't do things like show frustration or act unprofessional, which takes the focus off of the team and puts it on yourself. Would Mariano Rivera ever do this?

You're better than that! Act professional. Do your job. Pitch your best and let the chips fall where they may. But most importantly, keep it about your team. Acting like Carlos Zambrano in this pic is selfish.

3 Inspirational Quotes From 3 Famous Baseball Pitchers

Happy Thanksgiving!

When I started this pitching tips blog four years ago to the day, I never realized how much fun it would be to share some of my favorite pitching tips and strategies. Thanks for all the comments and emails!

Today, I share with you three quotes from three of baseball's former greats. Perhaps on a day like today, with all the eating we tend to do (I'm partial to cornbread), you could fit in a run as Early Wynn suggests. :-)

"A pitcher is only as good as his legs. Therefore, he must do a great deal of running."
--Early Wynn

"To be a winning pitcher, a player has to have control of the pitches he has."
--Sandy Koufax

"Getting better spin on the ball is one of the surest ways toward pitching improvement."
--Johnny Sain

How To Be A Successful Relief Pitcher

As a relief pitcher, you want to make every day the same. You have to be ready to pitch every day, even though you may not get into the game. You don't want to get the call and be unprepared, so routines are important.

When I was pitching in the Chicago Cubs organization as a closer, I'd grab a glass of Gatorade in the fourth inning, do a dynamic stretching routine (my rope flex program, found here), visualize the guys I may face in the sixth inning. After that, you just want to stay loose so that if you're called to pitch, you're ready.

What makes you successful at relief pitching?

Pitching Charts: Tips On Charting Baseball Pitchers

Charting pitchers is an important part of the learning process that takes place during the baseball season. If you're a coach and not charting the pitchers on your staff, you should start doing so. It can be a great learning tool.

The pitching chart gives a pitch-by-pitch statistical analysis of a pitcher's performance in a game. There are several ways coaches and players can use pitching charts during the course of the season to track progress and improve performance. For instance, during the game, pitching charts can be a helpful tool to help pitchers determine what pitches to throw to the hitters they face in the next inning. After a game, pitchers and coaches can go over the charts to learn from any successes or failures they may have had during the game.

For more information on pitching charts and charting pitchers.

Looking For Professional Pitching Instructon In Southern California?

I'm often asked by readers of this blog if I know of a good pitching coach or baseball camp in different parts of the country.

For my readers in Southern California, I highly recommend Called Up Baseball Camps, which are run by my friend and former Chicago Cubs teammate Ben Orr. (Ben, a left-handed pitcher, and I played together for the Boise (Idaho) Hawks in 2001 on a team that included current major league pitchers Sergio Mitre, Angel Guzman and Dontrelle Willis. Boise is the Cubs short-season A affiliate.)

Pro-Level Baseball Instruction In Southern California

Located in La Mirada, Calif., Called Up Baseball Camps feature instruction from some of the best current and former college and pro baseball players in the area.

Sure, the goal at Called Up Baseball Camps is to see young athletes achieve great success on and off of the baseball field. But what I feel truly makes these baseball camps different from others is the fact that the instructors take time each day of camp to do a short Character Value Study from the Bible.

I hope you have the opportunity to take advantage of this baseball instruction. For information about the 2008 Called Up Baseball Winter Camp at La Mirada High School in Calif., or if you're looking for private pitching or hitting/fielding instruction from Ben and his brother, Sam, also a former pro, you can contact them here.

Do You Have A Personal Pitching Log Yet On LetsTalkPitching.com?

Did you know that one of the coolest features of the Let's Talk Pitching Baseball Forums is that you can keep a personal pitching log to track your progress, chart your game performances, record your workouts, set goals, share training ideas with others, keep a journal, etc.

What the pitching log forum does is give baseball pitchers a platform to dream. We have some of the very best stuff in there. CaDad, who also posts regularly over on High School Baseball Web, has a running log in there that is one of the most honest and in my opinion courageous logs and personal stories dealing with injury. Centerfield gives some of the most outstanding conditioning information available. And jdfromfla's log is great for dads as it tracks his son's progress from high school to a college baseball program.

Here are links to those pitching logs mentioned, but don't sell the others short. Hopes and dreams can be so inspirational to read about. I hope you'll join today (it's free) and start one, too!

http://www.letstalkpitching.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2726
CaDad

http://www.letstalkpitching.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3743
Centerfield

http://www.letstalkpitching.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2943
jdfromfla

[Thx for the idea, jdfromfla!]

Pitching Camp For Baseball Players

What's the best baseball pitching camp you've been to? Would you recommend it to other pitchers? Enter your comments on what pitching camp(s) you attended below...

Best Books On Baseball Pitching Instruction

I thought we'd revisit the "Best Baseball Pitching Instruction Books" list that I've put together on this blogat a few different times. What are your favorites and, more importantly, tell us why? How can the pitching books you recommend help other pitchers, coaches and parents?

Here are a dozen or so to get us started:

1. TUFFCUFF - This is my book, so of course, it's tops on my list. But for those of you looking for a complete, step-by-step training program that covers all the exercises, throwing, nutrition, etc. that you must do to become a stronger, harder-throwing, more able-bodied pitcher, there isn't anything else out there that's even close to this strength and conditioning manual.

2. The Mental ABC's of Pitching - Not as good as my favorite baseball book of all time, Mental Game of Baseball, but it's by the same author and covers the mental aspects of the game as it specifically relates to pitchers. Also of note is Getting Focused Staying Focused, by Alan Jaeger. Sure, Jaeger is known for his long toss methods, but this book is actually quite good.

3. The Art & Science of Pitching - The latest from Tom House and the National Pitching Association is well worth the read. LTP admin Roger references it quite a bit in the Pitching Mechanics threads.

4. Nolan Ryan Pitcher's Bible - An oldie but a goodie. Now I don't prescribe to everything that Nolan Ryan states in this book, but it does provide some good insights on training and mechanics.

5. The Act of Pitching - Section on pitching grips is good. One caveat: if you happen to be in the camp that believes long toss, weighted balls, strength training, pushing off the rubber, etc. are bad, then you will probably disagree with much of what the author has to say.

6. The Picture Perfect Pitcher - Co-written with Tom House, this book is Paul Reddick's claim to fame.

7. 101 Pitching Drills - Great pics and lots of drills that I find to be especially useful to use with younger pitchers learning the various elements of proper pitching mechs.

8. Baseball Master - Actually, this book is pretty good, particularly for youth pitchers up to the age of 12. Down side? It's an online book.

9. Louisville Slugger Complete Book of Pitching - It's not complete by any means, but there are some gems in the text, particularly for coaches.

10. Pitch Like a Pro - I like this book. Very little depth and certainly not for more advanced pitchers, but good none-the-less. I mean, sure he had a GREAT pitching staff to work with, but Leo Mazzone is probably one of the best pitching coaches of the 1990's. Just wish the book had a little more substance to it. Read it and you'll know what I mean.

11. Have to throw in Roger Kahn's The Headgame - It's a little old but fantastic insights are all through it.

12. For fans of the NPA, there's Fasball Fitness by Tom House, as well as the Pitching Edge.

Making The Switch From A Starter To A Closing Pitcher

I was a starting pitcher in college and a closer in the Chicago Cubs organization. For some, this transition is easier than for others. There's the physical difference - starting pitching is like running a long race, closing is like sprinting. But there's also a mental difference, which in my opinion is most important. Look, the physical ability is already there. You already have the skills or you wouldn't be there in the first place, right? It's the mental part that needs the work. And you've got to take the time to work on it.

I like a closer to be a real son of a bitch. I like the attitude. There's a little macho-ism.  Great closers like Rob Dibble, one of my favorites growing up, had smoke blowing out of his nose. There's got to be attitude there.  When you go from starting to closing, you'll gain velocity because of the adrenaline. It's a rush. A quick rush. You have to be able to control it ... c'mon, let's go, get in the box, I'm going to get you out. 

As a closer, you've got to have command of 2 pitches and you've got to know how to get ready in the bullpen without over doing it. You can do that by throwing a pitch for every pitch that's thrown on the mound ... or every other pitch.

But closing pitching is mostly just coming in and you have to pound the strike zone. Because those early pitches when you're coming into the game are really important.  If you blow a game, you've got to be ready to go the next night. A short memory is best. But above all, you've got to trust yourself. Let's f-ing go, let's see what's going to happen!