June 30, 2025 • 49 mins
Ready to take your first step on the mound? In this episode, former MLB pitcher Brett Graves breaks down the essential first moves in pitching development — inspired by Premier Pitching’s latest blog:
👉 Getting Started with Pitching Training in 2025
We’re talking about how to build a solid training base in 2025:
⚾ Identifying your starting point — and what matters early
🧠 Understanding workload, mechanics, and recovery
🔁 Why movement prep is crucial before you ever throw a pitch
📈 Setting realistic, performance-driven goals
Whether you're a player, coach, or parent, this episode gives you the framework to start developing pitchers the right way — with longevity, performance, and health in mind.
📚 Read the full blog here: Premier Pitching Blog
🎥 Subscribe to YBMcast for more in-depth baseball development conversations with Brett Graves and more!
#KeepKlimbing #BrettGraves #PitchTraining2025 #PremierPitching #PitchingDevelopment #YouthBaseballMidwest #YBMcast #BaseballTraining #PitchingMechanics #YouthPitching #BaseballDevelopment #BaseballPerformance #PitchingCoach #TrainToCompete
👉 Getting Started with Pitching Training in 2025
We’re talking about how to build a solid training base in 2025:
⚾ Identifying your starting point — and what matters early
🧠 Understanding workload, mechanics, and recovery
🔁 Why movement prep is crucial before you ever throw a pitch
📈 Setting realistic, performance-driven goals
Whether you're a player, coach, or parent, this episode gives you the framework to start developing pitchers the right way — with longevity, performance, and health in mind.
📚 Read the full blog here: Premier Pitching Blog
🎥 Subscribe to YBMcast for more in-depth baseball development conversations with Brett Graves and more!
#KeepKlimbing #BrettGraves #PitchTraining2025 #PremierPitching #PitchingDevelopment #YouthBaseballMidwest #YBMcast #BaseballTraining #PitchingMechanics #YouthPitching #BaseballDevelopment #BaseballPerformance #PitchingCoach #TrainToCompete
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
What's going on everybody. Welcome back, Thank you for checking
out this episode of the Keep Finding Podcast. Back today
with my man Brian, and we're going to talk about
a blog topic that we've put out somewhat recently February
twenty six, not really that recently, but right this year,
just about getting started with pitching training in the year
(00:27):
of twenty twenty five specifically, you know, and you know,
the blog kind of cites a lot of, you know,
personal things through my experience that you know, some things
kind of like I wish I could go back and
maybe tell fifteen year old version of me, you know,
things that you know, I maybe I learned a little
(00:50):
bit on the way, you know, and things that I
might do a little bit differently now in twenty twenty
five than I did in you know, two thousand and
eight or whatever that was. So you know, there's a
lot of different things. And obviously, you know, like for
me personally, I look back on that that journey in
that career and and you know, I'm I worked hard
through all those circumstances, you know, and I feel like
(01:12):
I made the most of what I did. But but
we always should like kind of keep growing and learning
and going on from there, you know. And you know,
I look back and think about things that I did,
and while in the moment, you know, I really felt
like I was working hard and you know, working towards
achieving you know, my goals. But but now, you know,
fifteen or so years on down the road, I can
(01:33):
look back at it, and hindsight's always twenty twenty and
you know, poke some holes and well, you know, might
have done this different, might have done that different, and
and and you know that's just a constant for us
and our business of just trying to always be learning
and trying to figure out better ways and strategies to
continue to grow and develops as people, as coaches, as
(01:54):
you know, for our players, for our for you know,
everybody in there. You know. So that's a little bit
of an over view of the blog.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
There's one thing that I think is interesting when you
start talking about things and we all get you know,
retrospective by they what could I go back and tell
thirty year old me, Now that's how old I am.
But nonetheless, I think it's interesting. You know the old adage,
(02:22):
you know, youth is wasted on the young, and I
mean it's it's an adage for a reason, and I
would just I would hope and you know, in talking
with a lot of young athletes now as we do,
and just even at the PCDL League and listening to
these young men, what are you working to accomplish? The
(02:47):
seriousness in which you take something doesn't mean you have
to not enjoy your youth or enjoy what you're doing.
But the first part of that, I think sometimes and
it's a difficult thing, and I think we've done this
to ourselves in society, is who are we listening to.
(03:11):
We've kind of pushed away the parental guidance, you know,
and there's coaches and mentors and things like that, but
parents and understanding that they're there to help you and
guide you through that understanding if you're working to do
something at a high level, it takes a certain amount
(03:32):
of commitment to achieve those things. And at fifteen and sixteen,
that's very difficult for us to register. It just is
you can say what you want you'd like to. I mean,
there's very few kids that really understand that, and you
do see them from time time, I'm sure, but I
think and this is where blogs like this and information
(03:54):
if you're a fifteen sixteen year old kid, you should
go what is it? What's the website?
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Our website, yampitching dot com.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Premiere pitching dot com. There's a whole level of blogs there.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Guys.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Reading is good. Reading is still good, and it makes
you slow down I think a little bit, which I
think is a good thing. Sometimes we're so fast paced
with the video, which is great, there's nothing wrong with
the tools we have, but sometimes sitting down and just
reading through that, taking a moment, be introspective a little
(04:29):
bit and take some of the things that are said
there and look at yourself. Where am I at? Do
I think this way?
Speaker 1 (04:39):
You know? What's as you said?
Speaker 2 (04:41):
You know? Could I tell younger Brett? And so when
you're reading that, understand this is what he's doing here.
And it's a lesson for us sometimes to as a
young person to take a moment and listen to those things.
Don't always just speed through every thing just to get
to the next your next opportunity. Take the moment to
(05:07):
engage in all of the things around you, within what
you're doing.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Amen, that's such great advice, like slow down, be intentional
with your work, Like I put this out all the
time on social media. It was something that resonated so
much for me that the difference is in the details
and all of all of those details. You know that
that you know, maybe not during high school, I think
(05:32):
during high school timeframe when I look back over the
course of that entire time frame, you know, the entire journey.
For me in high school, I felt like you you
won or or you know, stood out just by like
showing up, if that makes sense, just by like showing up,
you know, showing up to practice, showing up to work out,
(05:53):
showing up to whatever. Because the game's gonna whatever game
you're playing, gonna weed out everybody that doesn't show up right.
But then once everybody shows up, what separates you, you know,
it's the very very fine details that that you know,
once everybody's doing the same sort of exercises that you're doing,
once everybody's doing, you know, the same type of assessments
that you're doing, once everybody's starting to you know, do
(06:13):
whatever you're doing right, Like whether that whether that is
because you know, the knowledge information resources are getting more
readily readily available, you know, throughout Saint Louis, throughout the
country or whatever, or if that's at a higher level
of competition, of which you know the players. You know,
the games weeded out all the players that didn't want
(06:35):
to show up. The games weeded out all the players
that didn't do the right type of training. The games
we did all those people out. Now everybody's doing that.
What separates you, there's still really really fine details and
basically your encouragement right there. Uh, you know, you were
speaking more about like learning about what you need to do.
I'd even take that a step further and say, even
(06:55):
within your workout and your routine or you're throwing program,
slow down, be intentional, be thoughtful, you know, like your
energy and your focus and your execution or all things
that you can that you can practice on October fifteenth
during an upper body workout that involves no throwing for
(07:18):
that day, you know, because focus in all those things
is such a learned skill that, especially these days with
all the distractions and social media and quick hitter content,
we lose, we lose the perception or the idea of
how to how to do those things right. So slow down,
be intentional, Read some things, teach yourself some things. Now
(07:40):
consume content that helps you, you know, learn better. And
deeper about who you are, what you need to do,
and in those details, but even in your physical activities,
those are the details that are going to separate you
from like competition, because at the end of the day,
you know, whatever type of player you are, you know,
(08:03):
the player that doesn't show up to the practice, if
you're if you're an aspiring you know, baseball player, the
player that doesn't show up to the practice. Maybe when
you're sixteen, you feel like that's your competition because that's
the guy that you're trying to beat out for the
position or the you know, the guy on the other
team whatever. That's not your competition. You know, that's not
(08:23):
your competition. Your competition is the other guy just like
you doing exactly what you were doing, if not better
on the other team or on your team. You know,
that's your competition. So cast those guys aside. I don't
even care about those guys. You know, the game's going
to weed them out. You shouldn't either, you know, but
you should be thinking about and and you know this
is what your This is what your eyes get open
(08:44):
to every level that you go through, right like like
I went from being you know in Saint Louis fighting,
you know, scrapping, trying to trying to you know, earn
my spot and and win games here, right, And was
able to do that with some great teammates and coaches,
and we went and did that, and then and then
I went to college, and holy cow, was just a
whole other level, you know, like like, you know, not
(09:07):
necessarily that I was like some big fisher by any means,
but the analogy of like big fish, little pond, holy cow.
When you start to realize where your talent fits in
and this grand picture of what baseball actually is not
just what you've been exposed to, your mind's like, holy cow,
I better step it up. You know. It's not that good.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Yeah, I'm not good, right, that should be what the
first thing you think, you know, like, or at least like, man,
I've got a lot of ground to cover, because the
reality is, Look, there's people that just woke up.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
There's just people that were born better at this game
than you. And that's just the reality. And the more
you get exposed to that, the more you realize how
thoughtful and intentional and everything you need to be in
your practice plan to help beat and separate yourself from
that person because ultimately that's your competition. You don't get
exposed to it until higher levels, and then it's too late,
(10:01):
you know, and then it's too late that you look
back and you say, man, if I would have been
doing that for about seven years, I'd had a way
better chance of meeting that dude that you know, came
from overseas that throws one hundred and something, and you know,
it doesn't work out anything like what we do, you
know what I mean, like or whatever the case may be,
the you know, kid from a different state or like whatever.
You know, like all of that's coming. You know, all
(10:23):
of that's coming, you know, whether it's college recruiting for you,
whether it's professional scouting, whatever, it's like whatever, like if
you want to continue to advance in our game, you know,
and that that that truthfully could just be you know,
on the freshman or JV squad for you too. All
all of that is it's all relative. Whatever whatever you're doing,
it could be you know, it could be a kid
you know coming on you know, in in into your team.
(10:45):
It could be you know, you you trying to make
the JV team at your high school, you know what
I mean, Like all of it's just relative. So yeah,
be thoughtful and detailed and all those things, and those
are the separating factors.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
I don't want to get too field because I want
to make sure. But there it just what you said.
There it just had a conversation with Diego Silaris on
baseball talk about athleticism. You know that guy's a better
athlete than me, but that doesn't mean that he's a
(11:19):
better baseball player.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
Than I am.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Okay, how do you enhance and maximize your athleticism and
can you play the game better than him so that you,
you know, and that's where the intentional part you minimize
you you outshow his athleticism by what your athleticism is.
(11:44):
He may just I mean genetics. As you said, you
know that that person is just a better athlete than you,
But that doesn't mean that your athleticism can't be enhanced
by your baseball IQ the intentional because maybe he not
working as.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Hard exactly, you know, the building athleticism and and that
pursuit of that. Even if you are a good athlete,
building athleticism is the is the number one thing that
will take you the furthest in your baseball journey. You know,
and and we always say, like, build the engine, you
know what I mean, you know, you build the engine
(12:21):
and you bring the skill along, you know, because we
can't neglect either side of that, you know. But until
the engine is at a certain capacity, you know, you're
kind of wasting time building the skill, you know, because
if the if the force output and the you know what.
I We've talked about this before, like you know, it's
it's foolish to think that it's just one or the other.
(12:43):
But the focus I think is really on the engine
first and then into the skill. You know. So, so if.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
You're at six hundred horse power, can you get to
eight hundred?
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Yeah, exactly exactly. You know. So, so as far as
getting started with pitching training, you know, I think I think, uh,
there's a lot of you know, this time of year
where where we're knee deep in the summer, we've got
probably a solid month or two of everybody still playing baseball,
and you know, I think there I think there's a
(13:16):
lot of people that are looking at the fruits of
their labor, really happy with it or really displeased with
it at the moment, you know. And uh, you know,
either either side of the fence that you're on there,
you know, and the big picture of things doesn't matter.
And what I mean by that is that you still
(13:39):
show up tomorrow try to get one percent better. Now,
that's the only way to deal with adversity. That's really
the only way to deal with success too, because if
you let the success go to your head and that's
still not your goal tomorrow, then you'll get off track,
you know. So, you know, getting getting into some of
those things I think, uh, you know, from a development standpoint,
development journey opens our eyes, opens our eyes to like,
(14:02):
what what I need to do? Where? What do I
need to improve on? You know, our our assessment process
obviously is meant to identify things for that. You obviously
have your own personal experiences and and and goals and
and you know input in all of that that that's
super critical too, you know. But it's this time of
(14:22):
year that everybody's kind of kind of looking at their
year and and you know, they're they're you're you're either
happy and different or you know, sad.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Do you look at this in this situation?
Speaker 1 (14:35):
Now?
Speaker 2 (14:35):
I understand major League Baseball, it's his own entity.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
It does what it does.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
But when I look at youth baseball into the collegiate side.
You see this pattern, and this is kind of how
we've kind of set ourselves in motion, because I always
think when September one kind of rolls around, football season started,
it's getting big labor days there, you got some fall ball,
but for the most part, guys are resetting themselves. You
(15:01):
have college playing some fallball, and it just kind of
I look at that September one as basically the new
year as it rolls through with youth and collegiate baseball,
because I think guys are starting to think about, you know,
what's my program and all that kind of.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
Sure, yeah, would you agree, Yeah, one hundred percent. I
would say that that's about when the clock rolls over
for for you know, baseball players. Mine's mine's kind of
start to shift into off season mode and and you know,
what do I want to accomplish this offseason to put
me in a stock when in the next you know,
the next spring. That's an awesome place to be. You know,
(15:40):
I think around that time of year, you look look
after your season, this this year, whatever age you are,
whenever it ends, you know that that next like week
should just be like a very deep reflection, self assessment period,
very honest, you know, re reshift or structure your goals
if needed. Understand really like.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
What what you want to improve, how how your season went,
and if those things you know how those things need to.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Be addressed moving forward. I guess you know, and we've
talked about this in future or in past episode. Sorry,
where you know, find find something that that is a problem,
you know, to solve that problem, keep asking how until
you get down to the root of the problem, right right,
and then it'll be very very clear, very honest on like, well,
what do I need to improve to ultimately get this
(16:35):
improvement on the field that I you know, want that
I'm seeking. You know that that self assessment process is
extremely important for all the players, so that that week
after your season ends should be a really deep reflection
time period.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
I think it's interesting too because if you're a collegiate
picture or high school picture, I definitely think you know okay,
because I think sometimes kids don't know how to get
started with that. How do I reflect on that? Where
do you start? Well, let's let's look at this. Free bases.
That's a big topic in baseball. Free bases more times
(17:11):
than not will beat you. Yep. So you've got thirty
innings of baseball and thirty walks. I think that's a
place to start because I can look at thirty walks, well,
how was I walking all these guys? What was it?
And is it a matter of pitch count getting too high?
(17:31):
Could am I not throwing my secondary pitch for a strike?
Is that the process that you think kind of helps
them get and whittled down?
Speaker 1 (17:41):
You always work from the field backwards, and so you'd find,
you know, game objectives like that that are obviously critical
to end game success. And I'm going to piggyback off
that example right there. You keep asking yourself why that
happened or how that happened, you know, and you're going
to get down to a root. So let me give
you an example, right walks in thirty innings? Why do
(18:01):
I walk thirty guys? Okay? There's a couple of different scenarios,
And I think that this is where, like being honest
in it is super critical. Okay, because because your answer
to some of these questions sends you down a different
course of action that if the answer is not true,
then the action that follows won't be appropriate. Okay, So
(18:23):
thirty walks third innings. If the answer is I didn't
attack the strike zone good enough, or I was nibbling
at the corners, or I, you know, kept trying to
throw a certain pitch that I didn't have good command of,
right Like say, you know, for some reason, my slider
was a better command pitch than my fastball, you know,
and I kept trying to throw fastballs then you know
(18:45):
in those counts, like in a count, you know, then
you probably should have thrown whatever you felt like. You know,
So those are all very game management approach space things
that when I go into my bullpen or in my
you know, whatever else the next week or the next
off season or whatever, a little heightened sense of awareness
that like, okay, here's some here's some things that we
need to improve now. If it's if it's I'm trying
(19:09):
to throw the ball down the middle and I don't
have the command basically to repeat my delivery enough to
get the baseball where it needs to be, whether that's
you know, to the glove or or just to the
strike zone in general, well why why? And you know,
(19:31):
you could look at that as a very physical thing,
you know, like I don't have the body control, body awareness,
the stability to do that. And I would say a
lot of times with your younger pitchers sixteen, you know, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen,
basically they're growing so much better, you know, like like right,
they're not in good control of their body yet. And
I tell I tell people and players this all the time.
You want to control the ball, you got to first
(19:51):
control your body. If I can't control my body, I'd
never expect you to be able to control the ball. Right,
So if you keep asking, yeah, if you keep asking,
well why you know, like if if I was just
trying to throw the ball and hit the dead gun
box and I couldn't do that, it's it's most likely
not a mental thing. It's a physical thing, okay. And
if the physical thing was when, then then we could
(20:13):
spur into a lot of different things. And that's kind
of what we do at Premiere, right, Like, it could
spur into what am I strong enough? Am I mobile enough?
You know? Like do I repeat my delivery in my armslot?
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Like?
Speaker 1 (20:23):
Well enough? Is it a physical thing? Is it a
strength thing? Is it a mobility thing? Is it a
timing and sequencing thing? Right? Like? There there could be
a lot of different things, And that's ultimately on the
physical side of things. What we try to break down
and do to help find KPIs to then develop a
plan and and you know, build the stability or build
the mobility or build you know, build the engine to
(20:44):
ultimately do that. Now, now that's fantastic, And I also
don't want that to get misconstrued. Is that's that's fantastic.
That like, you're gonna build your engine that's not only
gonna help you with your command and your repeatability, but
it's also gonna help you with your velocity. And you
want both of those things, right Like most of the time,
you know, especially from personal experience, you know. And and
(21:06):
when I when I tell you stories like this, I
hope it just sounds I hope. I'm coming from such
a humble place, I promise. Okay, I believe. But the
I know what it feels like to throw ninety five
and I'm telling you my best games I've ever had.
My delivery was flowing so smooth, the feeling, the feeling
(21:27):
that I had was so smooth. I attribute it. I
tell people all the time, it's like the ball coming
off the middle of the barrel. You feel less Actually
when the ball comes off right right and it just flies,
it's perfect. That's what you're pitching. Delivery should feel like
your best velocity and stuff and command and health and
(21:50):
recovery all comes from the exact same place of a
very efficient, smooth, flowing delivery. So if you're seeking velocity
and you feel a ton of effort to do it,
you're not going to have your best philocity. It might
be to up like what you were doing before, just
because you're trying harder. But a not sustainable be not
(22:14):
good not good command. And see, if we could get
all of our muscles flowing and sequencing better, the velocity
could be higher. Right. So I mean I have conversations
like this all the time, and I mean this could
get really into like some deep spools site, okay, And
I don't mean for it to get to like off
the wall here, you know, but like as pictures. And
(22:35):
I've done this, I did this wrong way more than
I did it right. You know. I've did it wrong
a thousand times and I've done it right a few times,
you know, But some valuable experience I guess in knowing
what it feels like when I do it right. But
like you know sustaining is a challenge, but you know,
we as pitchers and pitching coaches are very quick to
(22:57):
teach movement timings and feelings. And what I tell people
all the time is that, like, man, that what I
just told you. When I was doing it my best,
I didn't, I felt less. So we sit there and
we chase feelings, you know. And actually, when I got
to the my like older and I and I could
wrap my head around that. Every time I threw, I
(23:18):
was just trying to feel that loose, effortless and the
ball just jump out of my hands. If I did
that right, I knew everything was where it was supposed
to be an all time. So the only feeling I
was chasing, Sorry if this sounds abstract, The only feeling
I was chasing was a non feeling was like a
smooth flow, you know, Like I tell people all the time,
I try to give them these analogies make it make sense.
(23:40):
Like you're pouring the gas and the mower and it's
like bump bump, bump bump. Soon as you pull the plug,
it goes smooth. Like that's the feeling we're looking for,
that smooth transfer of energy. I love it.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
I agree completely. Coaching wise, we'd talk to infielders. I
would talk to infielders, look, because we're so caught up
in give me max effort, and so in our minds,
effort is straining, is stress moving like no no, no, no no,
and flowy smoother, And I would always say this smoother
(24:15):
is faster when you see somebody come through boom, smooth
boom all of a sudden, like oh wow, because it's smoother,
is quicker because you are flowing, it's a flow.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
What I would tell you in that moment is that
like I felt like my body was moving so slow
through the air, and then I had so much time,
you know, like I wasn't I was actually moving faster.
I was rotating faster, I was throwing faster. But it
feels like you're just floating so so so yeah, if
you're if you know that same feeling. I had a
(24:49):
coach tell me one time exactly what you just said.
Slow as smooth and smooth as fast, and that like
stuck with me. It's like okay, you know, like now
could that be taken a little too far? Sure? Everything
can do, you know, like we want to we want
to like have some good you know, assertive aggressive, like
energy towards the plate when we're pitching or when we're
throwing the first or like it's got to be like
(25:11):
movements with conviction. Right, yes, but but like that that
concept for sure, you know is UH is extremely beneficial
I think for for players as early of an age
to wrap their head around, because again that's a that's
a fantastic thing I wish I could tell to you.
You know.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
Yeah, it's always uh, it's always some of those things
like that. And you know, when you're talking about we
come back to looking at points, you know, and this
is what I think kids stumble on, you know, go
back to the thirty innings, thirty walks. Yeah, but my
ra was two point three. Well okay, let's let's talk
about high school baseball in these respects. So if you're
(25:52):
starting your if you're assessing yourself as you're starting into
your program, yeah, my walks were a little high, but
man I had to I got out of it. Okay,
But that's a false sense of of understanding the issue
because could you have been sub one and what level
of competition are you playing in high school baseball? We
(26:16):
can say what we want to. There are teams that
you know, if I get through the first three guys,
you can say, I'm sorry, I'm not belittling anyone or what.
That's just the nature of competition. How deep is that
lineup and how what do you have to do as
(26:40):
a pitcher to get through that lineup? And so if
you're walking thirty guys but you got a two three,
what's your level of competition? And then what are you doing?
And you can't let yourself get caught up in some
of these other numbers. You know, my you know this,
but what was your whip? What was your opponent batting
average against? You know, what were you doing that way?
What was the slugging against? Some of these things that
(27:03):
help you start digging into some of the things the
areas in which you need to concentrate and focus and
set yourself in motion for the upcoming season, for.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Sure, yeah, you know, and and especially these days with
how crazy the portal and recruiting and everything's gotten that
that that if if you're if you're listening to this
and you think that, to be honest with you, even
some very like grossly young ages that I'm not going
(27:34):
to try to put an age on it. You know.
But like, if you're a baseball player or parent of
one that thinks, uh, the transfer portal doesn't or hasn't
affected you, you were wrong. Absolutely, you are wrong. Okay.
If you think all it is is you're looking up
at ESPN or you know, your Twitter, you know, timeline
or whatever to see how many people are in the
(27:55):
portal these days, and that's all it is to you,
You're wrong. Like it's really a fact. Did everything? You know?
The landscape is totally changed. The criteria to make it
to certain schools has changed, The route to make it,
you know, to certain schools has changed. You know. Look,
(28:16):
and and the reason I bring this up in this
type of conversation or this there, there's never been a
better time to really hunker down and control your controllables
and and really focus on getting better, because at the
end of the day, it just became way harder to
(28:38):
be a college baseball player in general, be way harder.
It was already really really difficult, and it just became
way harder. And you know, this dynamic is going to
have such a trickle on effect that in this given
year that the colleges don't have to submit their final
(29:00):
roster for the upcoming season until December first. Okay, so
this entire year of what's happening right now, players are
committing to the school. The coaches are realizing that now
they don't, you know, they got a better opportunity to
get a better player, So they got to cut somebody.
So somebody gets cut, and then he's back into portal
and now he's got to find a new home, and
then that happens again, and that happens again, and then
(29:22):
there's this huge like trickle down effect, you know, all
the way across baseball. That again, it's not just college players.
You've got twenty six and twenty seven's right now, twenty
eight's maybe even two that that five years ago would
have been getting great looks from colleges and getting recruiting
phone calls and scholarship offers and whatever that aren't getting
(29:45):
any of those. Because there's six thousand players still in
the in the transfer portal right now, you know, and
a lot of them have committed already. There's probably been
a thousand commitments, you know, they're they're they're As of yesterday,
I think there was like six thousand plus players in it. So,
so how are you gonna go. Yeah, they're gonna go
and get some of these players that now are gonna
(30:06):
affect you know, those So so let me let me
keep going. The twenty six and twenty sevens aren't gonna
get a home yet, and their recruiting is gonna get delayed.
And now these twenty eight twenty nine's that come up,
uh their expectations on their recruiting year, well, these coaches
are looking at them. And sure, I mean, look, if
you're one of the top players in any class, like
(30:28):
you haven't got nothing to worry about. Okay, the one percent,
the five point five percent, Yeah, yeah, right, like the
one the one percent of those guys who like they're
they're no brainers, they're gonna go somewhere. That's fine, you know,
Like that's just that's the way it works, you know.
But everybody else, it's all gonna get delayed and affected.
And and I tell you this long story only just
(30:49):
to say that my two cents, my personal opinion is
it's never been a better time to really focus inward
on yourself and becoming the best baseball player, focus your
time and your money on being the best you can be,
because the opportunities just got way slimmer. It just became
way harder. You're competing not only with these other sixteen
(31:11):
year old kids that are at your sixteen year old
tournament for these recruiting you're competing against a twenty one
year old college portal player for that you know, roster
spot that you're seeking. And at the end of the day,
you could do everything possible. I already there's players that
come to my mind right off the top of my
head that have had a fantastic year and they just
(31:32):
got bumped for whatever reason. Not it's circumstantial, it's nothing
that they've done or done wrong, but like the coach
decided to go with a different guy, a different you know,
structure of the roster or age demographic or whatever. That's
like nothing to do you know with me as the
player so to developed, you know, So that that's one
very big thing, like we're going to talking about, you know,
(31:55):
getting started with pitching training in twenty twenty five, huge
caveat just to say, you really need to understand the
dynamics of baseball these days in context of all of
these you know, suggestions, are you yeah in February, Yeah,
because because the game and the evaluation of the players
within the game has totally changed. And then also just
(32:17):
the circumstances that we're used to from a recruiting standpoint,
you know, just very simply, you know, like I got
guys right now that are you know twenty six is
that you know, throw ninety am giving you a super
hypothetical you know, you know circumstance here, but like throw
nineteen ninety three and they've had a really really good spring,
(32:38):
and three years ago when they were an eighth grader
and they watched that kid do that, he was going
to you know, big old Division one school, you name it, right,
and now he's there and going, hey, what the heck?
I just did the same thing. Why am I not
getting that? Just because the landscape is totally changed.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
In and it looks like that, you know, the guy goes, oh,
he's going to big time you, and I'm going to
podunk you. No, relax because what do you consider po
dunk you.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
I've had SEC coaches call me and tell me the
route to get to our school is go to a
junior college, red shirt a year. A little bit of
this is you know, depending yeah joking, but yeah, but
hear me out right, This was straight from their mouth.
Go to a junior college red shirt, play your second
(33:27):
year crush it. You're a red shirt freshman, go to
a mid major crush it, and then we'll get you
after that. They want to see, Yes, three years into
college and two years on the field of playing well, right,
and you've got two years of eligibility left when you
come there. So you're how old are you after that?
Put you're twenty one at that month.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
Yeah, you're twenty one with and that's what they want.
Speaker 1 (33:49):
Three years, Yes, that's what they want. That's why they're
trying to get there, right. And then you also have
to understand that like other coaches understand that that's how
they're building their rosters. And if I'm the coach anywhere,
I have to consider, am I going to bring this
class of this team in with a bunch of eighteen
(34:09):
year olds? Or am I going to try to go
get these other guys? Because you know me running me
running the best you know, nine eighteen year olds I
can get my hands on out against a group of
twenty one year olds is just going to have an
uphill battle. I don't care, I don't care how talented
they are. There's so many other game management things and
(34:32):
lifestyle and you know whatever. Like those twenty one year
olds have been exposed to so much more life in
baseball that is going to be very difficult to compete.
Speaker 2 (34:41):
The SEC has an whether you like it or not,
Big twelve to a degree, I think the ACC to
a degree, they've become minor League Baseball. And that's the route.
They've structured it. They've done it. It's it's if you're
paying attention, that's why they The MLB did an overhaul
(35:04):
on their sprint, on their infrastructure and their lower levels,
and it's it's brought all this, all this has been
you could. I know that we're not maybe privy to
some of this, but I think a lot of it's
been planned because of money and things like that. How
it's processed exactly. So it's restructuring and setting it resetting
(35:27):
itself because I think it was it was. I think
Baseball's looked at themselves, how do we do this?
Speaker 1 (35:32):
What's the next?
Speaker 2 (35:33):
Because they're not getting those young stars up like the
kid from Kansas.
Speaker 1 (35:37):
City, Mazowski.
Speaker 2 (35:40):
He just came up, you know, and fastest kid to
come up since Bo Jackson, And I think that's what
they're looking for. They're looking for that infusion of young
talent and things a little quicker, and this is really
the only way you can do it, because if you're
drafting an eighteen year old.
Speaker 1 (35:54):
There's a lot of things that play. There's a lot
of things that play. I think, you know, the unionization
and the lawsuit minor league players lawsuit had a lot
to do with it. Yep, they have to play. They
have to pay minor league players about three times, but
they used to do. They weren't going to take up
(36:15):
their budget three times for that. They were gonna cut
it by a third, and it was very obvious, you know.
I think there was a lot of changes that with
the shutdown of COVID, there was a lot of changes
that they always wanted to make that with the shutdown
of COVID, the shrinking of the draft, this is a
lot of maybe taking advantage of that dynamic of what
(36:36):
happened that like, Okay, it's it's the best time, best
chance we're going to get for a restructure because stuff's
like kind of turned up on its head. Anyways. You know,
with the draft being when it is now and the
amount of rounds that it is now it's all coincides
with the you know, minor league players and the affiliates
and and and ultimately the goals of the major leagues.
That's what it's all. You know what it's all about.
(36:59):
You know, but but but but to echo your point,
the professional baseball atmosphere, meaning the business side of the
game has now crept down into these levels that were
not ever used to like really seeing it at in
the history of our game. That you know, I had
(37:20):
a conversation I've had multiple conversations actually within the last
two weeks with players specifically that I was like, man,
like I just I don't mean this in a harsh way,
but like, this is what you signed up for. You
didn't know it at the moment, you know, but you signed.
This is free agency and you've never been exposed to
it yet. And this is free agency. Okay, let me explain.
(37:42):
Ten teams go after Bryce Harper or whoever, right, like
like free agent star X. Ten teams go after them,
and one team's going to get them. But they all
got four hundred million on the line. You know, they
can't go sign their second guy. So they know if
I got to pay this guy four hundred Mili. Okay,
and that's what's happening six thousand guys in the transfer portal. Okay.
(38:02):
You have to understand big picture where your talent stacks
up and all that, and you have to be honest
with yourself. You're not in the top ten, you know
you're not, Okay, most likely Okay, you're not. If you were,
If you were, you'd know already. Okay, So you have
to understand how it works. Okay. I had a kid
tell me, brend I've gotten thirty phone calls and not
(38:22):
one offer. I go, that's fantastic, I go, I go,
You're gonna get one because they're all calling you right
now knowing that there's a very good likelihood that they
like you, and they you know, they do like you.
That's why they're calling you. It's very high likelihood that
they're going to offer you. But they've got to see
what their outfielder ahead of you, yeah, is going to do.
And they know that he's got ten schools calling him
(38:45):
that he could go to and and he can only
go to one. Okay, So you know, they're trying to
build the best roster that they can. So they have
to call all the players that they think they can
build with and call from the top down. And and
you know, so again I'm gonna go back to my
trip down effect, you know, like in the circumstances of
twenty twenty five, like you know, because then because then
(39:05):
that adds a whole nother element to the trickle down. Okay,
something that we haven't even addressed at all either is
the budget and the stuff for these schools. You know,
like with the scholarships you can give out like all
full rides. Now, you know, like very few schools are
going to do that because it's all going to be
self funded, but they can you know how much they
want a fundraise for how.
Speaker 2 (39:26):
Do you get the boosters?
Speaker 4 (39:27):
Right?
Speaker 1 (39:28):
Yeah, all all of these things you know that like
they have to consider that, you know, they have to
consider so many different things that there's just so many
things at play in this that that that's why my
advice was, like, you've got to be patient. And I
understand the anxiety that's around it, and I feel bad
for the players these days that this is like what
they have to deal with. But but I mean this
(39:49):
in the you know, most positive way possible, Like this
is what you signed up for. You didn't know it
when you entered the portal. You know, like you probably
didn't have a real good idea, but like this was
always going to happen, you know, for this, you know,
so be patient, understand the the you know, big picture
workings at play. You know, go at every single opportunity
(40:12):
that their phone call that you get with an open mind,
and look, focus on getting better. Keep your focus on
getting better, because regardless of the opportunity that you get
or you feel like you're getting today, your hope and
your dream and your goal is for the next opportunity
only no matter what school you go to, no matter
how much N I L money they gave you, if
(40:34):
you chose to go to the school because of the
nil money. Look, look, I was just having a conversation
with a college coach about this yesterday at our at
our game. If you go somewhere based off of the
money and not the opportunity, your career really really could
be over after that year. Okay, Because in professional baseball,
(40:54):
you're in free agency. You have to go to the
team of the club organization where you're going to get
the best opportunity to put your best foot forward to
build your track record to get the next contract. If
you go into a place you took a hundred k
to go there and you throw fourteen innings, it's a
very high likelihood that that that might have just ruined
(41:16):
your career. You know, people don't. Yeah, and look, it's hard.
It's hard to see past the hunter k when they're
floating it out to you. It's like, it's a lot
of money. Yeah, one hundred percent, you know, one hundred percent,
especially especially like not knowing if you're going to get
drafted to even get an opportunity to play or like whatever.
And and look, I'm also like would also say like
don't don't be scared, you know, don't be scared. Don't
(41:36):
don't look at a place and be like, oh, that's
a really you know, uh tough place to play. They're
going to bring in a lot of other, like really
good players. Like, man, you're if you're getting that offer,
you're good enough to go play there. You just better
make sure it's the right fit for you lifestyle wise, Uh,
relationships with the coaches wise, you know, in all these
extra curriculars and that it's not just about the money.
(41:58):
It's got to be about this is the right fit
and opportunity for me because especially with this portal. Look,
I'm going to say this too, say a very direct
and bluntly that this is very unfortunate. But of those
six milesand players, a very healthy percentage of them won't
find places to play this year. That's things that's true.
Speaker 2 (42:21):
It's just reality.
Speaker 1 (42:21):
It is, you know, it is. All of them went
into the portal, hopefully not with the grass is greener
like mentality. You know, all of them.
Speaker 2 (42:29):
I think sometimes that happens more than I would say
more than not for this simple fact and the last
thing that's on my brain when we're looking at twenty
twenty five, because I see high school kids and I
see collegiate especially on the pitching side. The hitting side
doesn't really matter. But you're you're looking at this thought process.
(42:52):
You've got a kid on the mound in high school
that's throwing eighty two to eighty five. You got a
kid in college that's throwing a eighty seven, and he's like,
where do I fit? Do am I going? And what
is your mindset? And how are you getting better?
Speaker 1 (43:09):
And whatnot?
Speaker 2 (43:10):
If you're taking that structure, because the only thing you
can control the only thing you have is your own ability.
Speaker 1 (43:17):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (43:19):
Nothing else. When you when you put yourself in this
space over here, all those people around you are dictating
what goes on. So the only thing that you have
is your own mentality, your own person, what you have
to give, that's it.
Speaker 1 (43:41):
So that's the only.
Speaker 2 (43:42):
Thing you can control. So if you know that you're
this person that throws in the mid to upper eighties,
where do you fit and where is my success? And
then how am I setting myself in motion training wise
to put that in the best spot and maybe I
can gain a couple of months an hour and whatnot?
Speaker 1 (44:01):
Right, Yeah, Look, because because you know, the the baseball
exposure world that we've lived in, yah is there's gonna
be some ripple effects through that because because recruiting's totally changed,
it's going to change a lot of the recruiting services.
You know that uh, you know, spending your money to
(44:22):
go all over the place for a certain population of people.
You you you were because of who you are and
where you fit in and and and I mean who
you are physically as a baseball player. Less about like
you know, there's a ton of like really good people
that just are going to play at a lower level
(44:43):
that that because of that, you were never going to
get an opportunity from the people who were Look. Look,
look there's like certain tournaments and stuff. There's like not
even coaches there. There's like four coaches out at this tournament,
you know, like yeah, and and people are noticing, you know,
so so why are we going Why are we spending
(45:06):
all this money? Right? Like, why are we spending our time?
Why we spend our money? If the result, well, yeah,
and you.
Speaker 2 (45:12):
Know, I mean, honestly, I think we have to rethink
what we're doing.
Speaker 1 (45:16):
A little bit. Yeah that at the end of the day.
Speaker 2 (45:18):
And I'm not just saying that because you're sitting here.
I I would say that if it was some other group.
Speaker 1 (45:24):
Well, look, I mean the I I really don't mean
it from a business standpoint, you know, Like I think
that I've said in earlier episodes, go look for him.
That that my only way I could figure out how
to deal with adversity, which that's off the field adversity certainly,
is just to focus on get one percent better today,
(45:47):
you know, get better today? How how can I get
better the fastest? You know, what's my fastest way to improve?
And and you know, I don't mean necessarily looking for
like quick fixes. Is there anything like that? So don't
take that like out of context.
Speaker 2 (46:02):
There is no thing.
Speaker 1 (46:03):
Yes, there's how do we get the snowball rolling down
the hill faster? What I mean? Right? And and that's
the only way to deal with adversity, to be honest
with you, success or adversity is that if you can
stay so routine oriented and like, no matter what happens today,
I'm going to show up tomorrow and do the exact
same thing regardless if I gave up one or gave
(46:24):
up ten. Uh and and you know, just focus on
getting one percent better today with as much of the
you know, context and information and data and coaching support
and everything that I can do to get it. You know,
the ball rolling down the hill, you know, so and
and and whether that's on field a diversity, whether that's
off the field adversity. I think that people are going
(46:46):
to really start to notice, like the the changes that
are in this dynamic you know, of this recruiting, recruiting,
life and baseball in twenty twenty five. That yeah, I
do think people are going to reevaluate where to spend
their time and money to ultimately accomplish their goals. That
it's going to be very different than the last ten years.
Speaker 2 (47:08):
I agree, and I think it should be because I
think we have to balance this back. And I think
because what has happened, the weight on when in a
tournament has become the thought process in from youth through
high school into the summer ball, and I think that's
(47:32):
got a counterbalance. That doesn't mean and I think this
is again balance. It's not a matter. Those are important too,
going out and competing and learning how to compete, but
then not chucking your helmet, which I see. You know,
people say, well, the major leaguer did it. He's playing
for his next contract, and sometimes the frustrate should he
(47:54):
do it? I don't think so. But I'm not gonna
that guy made That's that guy's making ten million dollars.
You know, you make ten million dollars, you chuck your
hammet once. All right, I'm gonna let it go. But
you're out there in a game. It's learning what those
things are and dealing with adversity and understanding. I saw
it at the high school level this past season, watching
(48:15):
teams in the final four not clapping for their opponent,
not respecting their opponent, turning their back on their opponent
while they're receiving their award. I was shocked. I thought
it was a lot of bad form. And I think
(48:38):
that's the that's what's filtering into these things, and we've
got to get this balance back learning how to get
better and learning how to compete the right way.
Speaker 1 (48:50):
That's great advice. All right, guys, thank you for checking
out this episode through that thing. That's good. I love it.
I love it. If you guys like anything here we
talked about, give us the thumb thumbs up, like comments,
subscribe If you guys got any future topics or things
you want to discuss through them in the comments.
Speaker 2 (49:09):
Make sure you're watching the pc d L League. We're
live streaming that every Monday and Tuesday. You can watch
these kids.
Speaker 1 (49:16):
It's a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (49:17):
It's interesting you're seeing Watch if you if you can't
get out to the ballpark, watch the games. If you're
a high school player, these are what.
Speaker 1 (49:24):
You rep against, right, see what you're up against. Yeah,
it's a great it's a great first like intro to
college baseball for the players that are that are playing
in it. You know, the younger players, you know, so, yeah,
you could really take advantage of what that scenario is
gonna look like for you, you know. So. All right, guys,
thank you, see you guys next time, and keep climbing.
What's going on everybody. Welcome back, Thank you for checking
out this episode of the Keep Finding Podcast. Back today
with my man Brian, and we're going to talk about
a blog topic that we've put out somewhat recently February
twenty six, not really that recently, but right this year,
just about getting started with pitching training in the year
(00:27):
of twenty twenty five specifically, you know, and you know,
the blog kind of cites a lot of, you know,
personal things through my experience that you know, some things
kind of like I wish I could go back and
maybe tell fifteen year old version of me, you know,
things that you know, I maybe I learned a little
(00:50):
bit on the way, you know, and things that I
might do a little bit differently now in twenty twenty
five than I did in you know, two thousand and
eight or whatever that was. So you know, there's a
lot of different things. And obviously, you know, like for
me personally, I look back on that that journey in
that career and and you know, I'm I worked hard
through all those circumstances, you know, and I feel like
(01:12):
I made the most of what I did. But but
we always should like kind of keep growing and learning
and going on from there, you know. And you know,
I look back and think about things that I did,
and while in the moment, you know, I really felt
like I was working hard and you know, working towards
achieving you know, my goals. But but now, you know,
fifteen or so years on down the road, I can
(01:33):
look back at it, and hindsight's always twenty twenty and
you know, poke some holes and well, you know, might
have done this different, might have done that different, and
and and you know that's just a constant for us
and our business of just trying to always be learning
and trying to figure out better ways and strategies to
continue to grow and develops as people, as coaches, as
(01:54):
you know, for our players, for our for you know,
everybody in there. You know. So that's a little bit
of an over view of the blog.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
There's one thing that I think is interesting when you
start talking about things and we all get you know,
retrospective by they what could I go back and tell
thirty year old me, Now that's how old I am.
But nonetheless, I think it's interesting. You know the old adage,
(02:22):
you know, youth is wasted on the young, and I
mean it's it's an adage for a reason, and I
would just I would hope and you know, in talking
with a lot of young athletes now as we do,
and just even at the PCDL League and listening to
these young men, what are you working to accomplish? The
(02:47):
seriousness in which you take something doesn't mean you have
to not enjoy your youth or enjoy what you're doing.
But the first part of that, I think sometimes and
it's a difficult thing, and I think we've done this
to ourselves in society, is who are we listening to.
(03:11):
We've kind of pushed away the parental guidance, you know,
and there's coaches and mentors and things like that, but
parents and understanding that they're there to help you and
guide you through that understanding if you're working to do
something at a high level, it takes a certain amount
(03:32):
of commitment to achieve those things. And at fifteen and sixteen,
that's very difficult for us to register. It just is
you can say what you want you'd like to. I mean,
there's very few kids that really understand that, and you
do see them from time time, I'm sure, but I
think and this is where blogs like this and information
(03:54):
if you're a fifteen sixteen year old kid, you should
go what is it? What's the website?
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Our website, yampitching dot com.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Premiere pitching dot com. There's a whole level of blogs there.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Guys.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Reading is good. Reading is still good, and it makes
you slow down I think a little bit, which I
think is a good thing. Sometimes we're so fast paced
with the video, which is great, there's nothing wrong with
the tools we have, but sometimes sitting down and just
reading through that, taking a moment, be introspective a little
(04:29):
bit and take some of the things that are said
there and look at yourself. Where am I at? Do
I think this way?
Speaker 1 (04:39):
You know? What's as you said?
Speaker 2 (04:41):
You know? Could I tell younger Brett? And so when
you're reading that, understand this is what he's doing here.
And it's a lesson for us sometimes to as a
young person to take a moment and listen to those things.
Don't always just speed through every thing just to get
to the next your next opportunity. Take the moment to
(05:07):
engage in all of the things around you, within what
you're doing.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Amen, that's such great advice, like slow down, be intentional
with your work, Like I put this out all the
time on social media. It was something that resonated so
much for me that the difference is in the details
and all of all of those details. You know that
that you know, maybe not during high school, I think
(05:32):
during high school timeframe when I look back over the
course of that entire time frame, you know, the entire journey.
For me in high school, I felt like you you
won or or you know, stood out just by like
showing up, if that makes sense, just by like showing up,
you know, showing up to practice, showing up to work out,
(05:53):
showing up to whatever. Because the game's gonna whatever game
you're playing, gonna weed out everybody that doesn't show up right.
But then once everybody shows up, what separates you, you know,
it's the very very fine details that that you know,
once everybody's doing the same sort of exercises that you're doing,
once everybody's doing, you know, the same type of assessments
that you're doing, once everybody's starting to you know, do
(06:13):
whatever you're doing right, Like whether that whether that is
because you know, the knowledge information resources are getting more
readily readily available, you know, throughout Saint Louis, throughout the
country or whatever, or if that's at a higher level
of competition, of which you know the players. You know,
the games weeded out all the players that didn't want
(06:35):
to show up. The games weeded out all the players
that didn't do the right type of training. The games
we did all those people out. Now everybody's doing that.
What separates you, there's still really really fine details and
basically your encouragement right there. Uh, you know, you were
speaking more about like learning about what you need to do.
I'd even take that a step further and say, even
(06:55):
within your workout and your routine or you're throwing program,
slow down, be intentional, be thoughtful, you know, like your
energy and your focus and your execution or all things
that you can that you can practice on October fifteenth
during an upper body workout that involves no throwing for
(07:18):
that day, you know, because focus in all those things
is such a learned skill that, especially these days with
all the distractions and social media and quick hitter content,
we lose, we lose the perception or the idea of
how to how to do those things right. So slow down,
be intentional, Read some things, teach yourself some things. Now
(07:40):
consume content that helps you, you know, learn better. And
deeper about who you are, what you need to do,
and in those details, but even in your physical activities,
those are the details that are going to separate you
from like competition, because at the end of the day,
you know, whatever type of player you are, you know,
(08:03):
the player that doesn't show up to the practice, if
you're if you're an aspiring you know, baseball player, the
player that doesn't show up to the practice. Maybe when
you're sixteen, you feel like that's your competition because that's
the guy that you're trying to beat out for the
position or the you know, the guy on the other
team whatever. That's not your competition. You know, that's not
(08:23):
your competition. Your competition is the other guy just like
you doing exactly what you were doing, if not better
on the other team or on your team. You know,
that's your competition. So cast those guys aside. I don't
even care about those guys. You know, the game's going
to weed them out. You shouldn't either, you know, but
you should be thinking about and and you know this
is what your This is what your eyes get open
(08:44):
to every level that you go through, right like like
I went from being you know in Saint Louis fighting,
you know, scrapping, trying to trying to you know, earn
my spot and and win games here, right, And was
able to do that with some great teammates and coaches,
and we went and did that, and then and then
I went to college, and holy cow, was just a
whole other level, you know, like like, you know, not
(09:07):
necessarily that I was like some big fisher by any means,
but the analogy of like big fish, little pond, holy cow.
When you start to realize where your talent fits in
and this grand picture of what baseball actually is not
just what you've been exposed to, your mind's like, holy cow,
I better step it up. You know. It's not that good.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Yeah, I'm not good, right, that should be what the
first thing you think, you know, like, or at least like, man,
I've got a lot of ground to cover, because the
reality is, Look, there's people that just woke up.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
There's just people that were born better at this game
than you. And that's just the reality. And the more
you get exposed to that, the more you realize how
thoughtful and intentional and everything you need to be in
your practice plan to help beat and separate yourself from
that person because ultimately that's your competition. You don't get
exposed to it until higher levels, and then it's too late,
(10:01):
you know, and then it's too late that you look
back and you say, man, if I would have been
doing that for about seven years, I'd had a way
better chance of meeting that dude that you know, came
from overseas that throws one hundred and something, and you know,
it doesn't work out anything like what we do, you
know what I mean, like or whatever the case may be,
the you know, kid from a different state or like whatever.
You know, like all of that's coming. You know, all
(10:23):
of that's coming, you know, whether it's college recruiting for you,
whether it's professional scouting, whatever, it's like whatever, like if
you want to continue to advance in our game, you know,
and that that that truthfully could just be you know,
on the freshman or JV squad for you too. All
all of that is it's all relative. Whatever whatever you're doing,
it could be you know, it could be a kid
you know coming on you know, in in into your team.
(10:45):
It could be you know, you you trying to make
the JV team at your high school, you know what
I mean, Like all of it's just relative. So yeah,
be thoughtful and detailed and all those things, and those
are the separating factors.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
I don't want to get too field because I want
to make sure. But there it just what you said.
There it just had a conversation with Diego Silaris on
baseball talk about athleticism. You know that guy's a better
athlete than me, but that doesn't mean that he's a
(11:19):
better baseball player.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
Than I am.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Okay, how do you enhance and maximize your athleticism and
can you play the game better than him so that you,
you know, and that's where the intentional part you minimize
you you outshow his athleticism by what your athleticism is.
(11:44):
He may just I mean genetics. As you said, you
know that that person is just a better athlete than you,
But that doesn't mean that your athleticism can't be enhanced
by your baseball IQ the intentional because maybe he not
working as.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Hard exactly, you know, the building athleticism and and that
pursuit of that. Even if you are a good athlete,
building athleticism is the is the number one thing that
will take you the furthest in your baseball journey. You know,
and and we always say, like, build the engine, you
know what I mean, you know, you build the engine
(12:21):
and you bring the skill along, you know, because we
can't neglect either side of that, you know. But until
the engine is at a certain capacity, you know, you're
kind of wasting time building the skill, you know, because
if the if the force output and the you know what.
I We've talked about this before, like you know, it's
it's foolish to think that it's just one or the other.
(12:43):
But the focus I think is really on the engine
first and then into the skill. You know. So, so if.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
You're at six hundred horse power, can you get to
eight hundred?
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Yeah, exactly exactly. You know. So, so as far as
getting started with pitching training, you know, I think I think, uh,
there's a lot of you know, this time of year
where where we're knee deep in the summer, we've got
probably a solid month or two of everybody still playing baseball,
and you know, I think there I think there's a
(13:16):
lot of people that are looking at the fruits of
their labor, really happy with it or really displeased with
it at the moment, you know. And uh, you know,
either either side of the fence that you're on there,
you know, and the big picture of things doesn't matter.
And what I mean by that is that you still
(13:39):
show up tomorrow try to get one percent better. Now,
that's the only way to deal with adversity. That's really
the only way to deal with success too, because if
you let the success go to your head and that's
still not your goal tomorrow, then you'll get off track,
you know. So, you know, getting getting into some of
those things I think, uh, you know, from a development standpoint,
development journey opens our eyes, opens our eyes to like,
(14:02):
what what I need to do? Where? What do I
need to improve on? You know, our our assessment process
obviously is meant to identify things for that. You obviously
have your own personal experiences and and and goals and
and you know input in all of that that that's
super critical too, you know. But it's this time of
(14:22):
year that everybody's kind of kind of looking at their
year and and you know, they're they're you're you're either
happy and different or you know, sad.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Do you look at this in this situation?
Speaker 1 (14:35):
Now?
Speaker 2 (14:35):
I understand major League Baseball, it's his own entity.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
It does what it does.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
But when I look at youth baseball into the collegiate side.
You see this pattern, and this is kind of how
we've kind of set ourselves in motion, because I always
think when September one kind of rolls around, football season started,
it's getting big labor days there, you got some fall ball,
but for the most part, guys are resetting themselves. You
(15:01):
have college playing some fallball, and it just kind of
I look at that September one as basically the new
year as it rolls through with youth and collegiate baseball,
because I think guys are starting to think about, you know,
what's my program and all that kind of.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
Sure, yeah, would you agree, Yeah, one hundred percent. I
would say that that's about when the clock rolls over
for for you know, baseball players. Mine's mine's kind of
start to shift into off season mode and and you know,
what do I want to accomplish this offseason to put
me in a stock when in the next you know,
the next spring. That's an awesome place to be. You know,
(15:40):
I think around that time of year, you look look
after your season, this this year, whatever age you are,
whenever it ends, you know that that next like week
should just be like a very deep reflection, self assessment period,
very honest, you know, re reshift or structure your goals
if needed. Understand really like.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
What what you want to improve, how how your season went,
and if those things you know how those things need to.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Be addressed moving forward. I guess you know, and we've
talked about this in future or in past episode. Sorry,
where you know, find find something that that is a problem,
you know, to solve that problem, keep asking how until
you get down to the root of the problem, right right,
and then it'll be very very clear, very honest on like, well,
what do I need to improve to ultimately get this
(16:35):
improvement on the field that I you know, want that
I'm seeking. You know that that self assessment process is
extremely important for all the players, so that that week
after your season ends should be a really deep reflection
time period.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
I think it's interesting too because if you're a collegiate
picture or high school picture, I definitely think you know okay,
because I think sometimes kids don't know how to get
started with that. How do I reflect on that? Where
do you start? Well, let's let's look at this. Free bases.
That's a big topic in baseball. Free bases more times
(17:11):
than not will beat you. Yep. So you've got thirty
innings of baseball and thirty walks. I think that's a
place to start because I can look at thirty walks, well,
how was I walking all these guys? What was it?
And is it a matter of pitch count getting too high?
(17:31):
Could am I not throwing my secondary pitch for a strike?
Is that the process that you think kind of helps
them get and whittled down?
Speaker 1 (17:41):
You always work from the field backwards, and so you'd find,
you know, game objectives like that that are obviously critical
to end game success. And I'm going to piggyback off
that example right there. You keep asking yourself why that
happened or how that happened, you know, and you're going
to get down to a root. So let me give
you an example, right walks in thirty innings? Why do
(18:01):
I walk thirty guys? Okay? There's a couple of different scenarios,
And I think that this is where, like being honest
in it is super critical. Okay, because because your answer
to some of these questions sends you down a different
course of action that if the answer is not true,
then the action that follows won't be appropriate. Okay, So
(18:23):
thirty walks third innings. If the answer is I didn't
attack the strike zone good enough, or I was nibbling
at the corners, or I, you know, kept trying to
throw a certain pitch that I didn't have good command of,
right Like say, you know, for some reason, my slider
was a better command pitch than my fastball, you know,
and I kept trying to throw fastballs then you know
(18:45):
in those counts, like in a count, you know, then
you probably should have thrown whatever you felt like. You know,
So those are all very game management approach space things
that when I go into my bullpen or in my
you know, whatever else the next week or the next
off season or whatever, a little heightened sense of awareness
that like, okay, here's some here's some things that we
need to improve now. If it's if it's I'm trying
(19:09):
to throw the ball down the middle and I don't
have the command basically to repeat my delivery enough to
get the baseball where it needs to be, whether that's
you know, to the glove or or just to the
strike zone in general, well why why? And you know,
(19:31):
you could look at that as a very physical thing,
you know, like I don't have the body control, body awareness,
the stability to do that. And I would say a
lot of times with your younger pitchers sixteen, you know, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen,
basically they're growing so much better, you know, like like right,
they're not in good control of their body yet. And
I tell I tell people and players this all the time.
You want to control the ball, you got to first
(19:51):
control your body. If I can't control my body, I'd
never expect you to be able to control the ball. Right,
So if you keep asking, yeah, if you keep asking,
well why you know, like if if I was just
trying to throw the ball and hit the dead gun
box and I couldn't do that, it's it's most likely
not a mental thing. It's a physical thing, okay. And
if the physical thing was when, then then we could
(20:13):
spur into a lot of different things. And that's kind
of what we do at Premiere, right, Like, it could
spur into what am I strong enough? Am I mobile enough?
You know? Like do I repeat my delivery in my armslot?
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Like?
Speaker 1 (20:23):
Well enough? Is it a physical thing? Is it a
strength thing? Is it a mobility thing? Is it a
timing and sequencing thing? Right? Like? There there could be
a lot of different things, And that's ultimately on the
physical side of things. What we try to break down
and do to help find KPIs to then develop a
plan and and you know, build the stability or build
the mobility or build you know, build the engine to
(20:44):
ultimately do that. Now, now that's fantastic, And I also
don't want that to get misconstrued. Is that's that's fantastic.
That like, you're gonna build your engine that's not only
gonna help you with your command and your repeatability, but
it's also gonna help you with your velocity. And you
want both of those things, right Like most of the time,
you know, especially from personal experience, you know. And and
(21:06):
when I when I tell you stories like this, I
hope it just sounds I hope. I'm coming from such
a humble place, I promise. Okay, I believe. But the
I know what it feels like to throw ninety five
and I'm telling you my best games I've ever had.
My delivery was flowing so smooth, the feeling, the feeling
(21:27):
that I had was so smooth. I attribute it. I
tell people all the time, it's like the ball coming
off the middle of the barrel. You feel less Actually
when the ball comes off right right and it just flies,
it's perfect. That's what you're pitching. Delivery should feel like
your best velocity and stuff and command and health and
(21:50):
recovery all comes from the exact same place of a
very efficient, smooth, flowing delivery. So if you're seeking velocity
and you feel a ton of effort to do it,
you're not going to have your best philocity. It might
be to up like what you were doing before, just
because you're trying harder. But a not sustainable be not
(22:14):
good not good command. And see, if we could get
all of our muscles flowing and sequencing better, the velocity
could be higher. Right. So I mean I have conversations
like this all the time, and I mean this could
get really into like some deep spools site, okay, And
I don't mean for it to get to like off
the wall here, you know, but like as pictures. And
(22:35):
I've done this, I did this wrong way more than
I did it right. You know. I've did it wrong
a thousand times and I've done it right a few times,
you know, But some valuable experience I guess in knowing
what it feels like when I do it right. But
like you know sustaining is a challenge, but you know,
we as pitchers and pitching coaches are very quick to
(22:57):
teach movement timings and feelings. And what I tell people
all the time is that, like, man, that what I
just told you. When I was doing it my best,
I didn't, I felt less. So we sit there and
we chase feelings, you know. And actually, when I got
to the my like older and I and I could
wrap my head around that. Every time I threw, I
(23:18):
was just trying to feel that loose, effortless and the
ball just jump out of my hands. If I did
that right, I knew everything was where it was supposed
to be an all time. So the only feeling I
was chasing, Sorry if this sounds abstract, The only feeling
I was chasing was a non feeling was like a
smooth flow, you know, Like I tell people all the time,
I try to give them these analogies make it make sense.
(23:40):
Like you're pouring the gas and the mower and it's
like bump bump, bump bump. Soon as you pull the plug,
it goes smooth. Like that's the feeling we're looking for,
that smooth transfer of energy. I love it.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
I agree completely. Coaching wise, we'd talk to infielders. I
would talk to infielders, look, because we're so caught up
in give me max effort, and so in our minds,
effort is straining, is stress moving like no no, no, no no,
and flowy smoother, And I would always say this smoother
(24:15):
is faster when you see somebody come through boom, smooth
boom all of a sudden, like oh wow, because it's smoother,
is quicker because you are flowing, it's a flow.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
What I would tell you in that moment is that
like I felt like my body was moving so slow
through the air, and then I had so much time,
you know, like I wasn't I was actually moving faster.
I was rotating faster, I was throwing faster. But it
feels like you're just floating so so so yeah, if
you're if you know that same feeling. I had a
(24:49):
coach tell me one time exactly what you just said.
Slow as smooth and smooth as fast, and that like
stuck with me. It's like okay, you know, like now
could that be taken a little too far? Sure? Everything
can do, you know, like we want to we want
to like have some good you know, assertive aggressive, like
energy towards the plate when we're pitching or when we're
throwing the first or like it's got to be like
(25:11):
movements with conviction. Right, yes, but but like that that
concept for sure, you know is UH is extremely beneficial
I think for for players as early of an age
to wrap their head around, because again that's a that's
a fantastic thing I wish I could tell to you.
You know.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
Yeah, it's always uh, it's always some of those things
like that. And you know, when you're talking about we
come back to looking at points, you know, and this
is what I think kids stumble on, you know, go
back to the thirty innings, thirty walks. Yeah, but my
ra was two point three. Well okay, let's let's talk
about high school baseball in these respects. So if you're
(25:52):
starting your if you're assessing yourself as you're starting into
your program, yeah, my walks were a little high, but
man I had to I got out of it. Okay,
But that's a false sense of of understanding the issue
because could you have been sub one and what level
of competition are you playing in high school baseball? We
(26:16):
can say what we want to. There are teams that
you know, if I get through the first three guys,
you can say, I'm sorry, I'm not belittling anyone or what.
That's just the nature of competition. How deep is that
lineup and how what do you have to do as
(26:40):
a pitcher to get through that lineup? And so if
you're walking thirty guys but you got a two three,
what's your level of competition? And then what are you doing?
And you can't let yourself get caught up in some
of these other numbers. You know, my you know this,
but what was your whip? What was your opponent batting
average against? You know, what were you doing that way?
What was the slugging against? Some of these things that
(27:03):
help you start digging into some of the things the
areas in which you need to concentrate and focus and
set yourself in motion for the upcoming season, for.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Sure, yeah, you know, and and especially these days with
how crazy the portal and recruiting and everything's gotten that
that that if if you're if you're listening to this
and you think that, to be honest with you, even
some very like grossly young ages that I'm not going
(27:34):
to try to put an age on it. You know.
But like, if you're a baseball player or parent of
one that thinks, uh, the transfer portal doesn't or hasn't
affected you, you were wrong. Absolutely, you are wrong. Okay.
If you think all it is is you're looking up
at ESPN or you know, your Twitter, you know, timeline
or whatever to see how many people are in the
(27:55):
portal these days, and that's all it is to you,
You're wrong. Like it's really a fact. Did everything? You know?
The landscape is totally changed. The criteria to make it
to certain schools has changed, The route to make it,
you know, to certain schools has changed. You know. Look,
(28:16):
and and the reason I bring this up in this
type of conversation or this there, there's never been a
better time to really hunker down and control your controllables
and and really focus on getting better, because at the
end of the day, it just became way harder to
(28:38):
be a college baseball player in general, be way harder.
It was already really really difficult, and it just became
way harder. And you know, this dynamic is going to
have such a trickle on effect that in this given
year that the colleges don't have to submit their final
(29:00):
roster for the upcoming season until December first. Okay, so
this entire year of what's happening right now, players are
committing to the school. The coaches are realizing that now
they don't, you know, they got a better opportunity to
get a better player, So they got to cut somebody.
So somebody gets cut, and then he's back into portal
and now he's got to find a new home, and
then that happens again, and that happens again, and then
(29:22):
there's this huge like trickle down effect, you know, all
the way across baseball. That again, it's not just college players.
You've got twenty six and twenty seven's right now, twenty
eight's maybe even two that that five years ago would
have been getting great looks from colleges and getting recruiting
phone calls and scholarship offers and whatever that aren't getting
(29:45):
any of those. Because there's six thousand players still in
the in the transfer portal right now, you know, and
a lot of them have committed already. There's probably been
a thousand commitments, you know, they're they're they're As of yesterday,
I think there was like six thousand plus players in it. So,
so how are you gonna go. Yeah, they're gonna go
and get some of these players that now are gonna
(30:06):
affect you know, those So so let me let me
keep going. The twenty six and twenty sevens aren't gonna
get a home yet, and their recruiting is gonna get delayed.
And now these twenty eight twenty nine's that come up,
uh their expectations on their recruiting year, well, these coaches
are looking at them. And sure, I mean, look, if
you're one of the top players in any class, like
(30:28):
you haven't got nothing to worry about. Okay, the one percent,
the five point five percent, Yeah, yeah, right, like the
one the one percent of those guys who like they're
they're no brainers, they're gonna go somewhere. That's fine, you know,
Like that's just that's the way it works, you know.
But everybody else, it's all gonna get delayed and affected.
And and I tell you this long story only just
(30:49):
to say that my two cents, my personal opinion is
it's never been a better time to really focus inward
on yourself and becoming the best baseball player, focus your
time and your money on being the best you can be,
because the opportunities just got way slimmer. It just became
way harder. You're competing not only with these other sixteen
(31:11):
year old kids that are at your sixteen year old
tournament for these recruiting you're competing against a twenty one
year old college portal player for that you know, roster
spot that you're seeking. And at the end of the day,
you could do everything possible. I already there's players that
come to my mind right off the top of my
head that have had a fantastic year and they just
(31:32):
got bumped for whatever reason. Not it's circumstantial, it's nothing
that they've done or done wrong, but like the coach
decided to go with a different guy, a different you know,
structure of the roster or age demographic or whatever. That's
like nothing to do you know with me as the
player so to developed, you know, So that that's one
very big thing, like we're going to talking about, you know,
(31:55):
getting started with pitching training in twenty twenty five, huge
caveat just to say, you really need to understand the
dynamics of baseball these days in context of all of
these you know, suggestions, are you yeah in February, Yeah,
because because the game and the evaluation of the players
within the game has totally changed. And then also just
(32:17):
the circumstances that we're used to from a recruiting standpoint,
you know, just very simply, you know, like I got
guys right now that are you know twenty six is
that you know, throw ninety am giving you a super
hypothetical you know, you know circumstance here, but like throw
nineteen ninety three and they've had a really really good spring,
(32:38):
and three years ago when they were an eighth grader
and they watched that kid do that, he was going
to you know, big old Division one school, you name it, right,
and now he's there and going, hey, what the heck?
I just did the same thing. Why am I not
getting that? Just because the landscape is totally changed.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
In and it looks like that, you know, the guy goes, oh,
he's going to big time you, and I'm going to
podunk you. No, relax because what do you consider po
dunk you.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
I've had SEC coaches call me and tell me the
route to get to our school is go to a
junior college, red shirt a year. A little bit of
this is you know, depending yeah joking, but yeah, but
hear me out right, This was straight from their mouth.
Go to a junior college red shirt, play your second
(33:27):
year crush it. You're a red shirt freshman, go to
a mid major crush it, and then we'll get you
after that. They want to see, Yes, three years into
college and two years on the field of playing well, right,
and you've got two years of eligibility left when you
come there. So you're how old are you after that?
Put you're twenty one at that month.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
Yeah, you're twenty one with and that's what they want.
Speaker 1 (33:49):
Three years, Yes, that's what they want. That's why they're
trying to get there, right. And then you also have
to understand that like other coaches understand that that's how
they're building their rosters. And if I'm the coach anywhere,
I have to consider, am I going to bring this
class of this team in with a bunch of eighteen
(34:09):
year olds? Or am I going to try to go
get these other guys? Because you know me running me
running the best you know, nine eighteen year olds I
can get my hands on out against a group of
twenty one year olds is just going to have an
uphill battle. I don't care, I don't care how talented
they are. There's so many other game management things and
(34:32):
lifestyle and you know whatever. Like those twenty one year
olds have been exposed to so much more life in
baseball that is going to be very difficult to compete.
Speaker 2 (34:41):
The SEC has an whether you like it or not,
Big twelve to a degree, I think the ACC to
a degree, they've become minor League Baseball. And that's the route.
They've structured it. They've done it. It's it's if you're
paying attention, that's why they The MLB did an overhaul
(35:04):
on their sprint, on their infrastructure and their lower levels,
and it's it's brought all this, all this has been
you could. I know that we're not maybe privy to
some of this, but I think a lot of it's
been planned because of money and things like that. How
it's processed exactly. So it's restructuring and setting it resetting
(35:27):
itself because I think it was it was. I think
Baseball's looked at themselves, how do we do this?
Speaker 1 (35:32):
What's the next?
Speaker 2 (35:33):
Because they're not getting those young stars up like the
kid from Kansas.
Speaker 1 (35:37):
City, Mazowski.
Speaker 2 (35:40):
He just came up, you know, and fastest kid to
come up since Bo Jackson, And I think that's what
they're looking for. They're looking for that infusion of young
talent and things a little quicker, and this is really
the only way you can do it, because if you're
drafting an eighteen year old.
Speaker 1 (35:54):
There's a lot of things that play. There's a lot
of things that play. I think, you know, the unionization
and the lawsuit minor league players lawsuit had a lot
to do with it. Yep, they have to play. They
have to pay minor league players about three times, but
they used to do. They weren't going to take up
(36:15):
their budget three times for that. They were gonna cut
it by a third, and it was very obvious, you know.
I think there was a lot of changes that with
the shutdown of COVID, there was a lot of changes
that they always wanted to make that with the shutdown
of COVID, the shrinking of the draft, this is a
lot of maybe taking advantage of that dynamic of what
(36:36):
happened that like, Okay, it's it's the best time, best
chance we're going to get for a restructure because stuff's
like kind of turned up on its head. Anyways. You know,
with the draft being when it is now and the
amount of rounds that it is now it's all coincides
with the you know, minor league players and the affiliates
and and and ultimately the goals of the major leagues.
That's what it's all. You know what it's all about.
(36:59):
You know, but but but but to echo your point,
the professional baseball atmosphere, meaning the business side of the
game has now crept down into these levels that were
not ever used to like really seeing it at in
the history of our game. That you know, I had
(37:20):
a conversation I've had multiple conversations actually within the last
two weeks with players specifically that I was like, man,
like I just I don't mean this in a harsh way,
but like, this is what you signed up for. You
didn't know it at the moment, you know, but you signed.
This is free agency and you've never been exposed to
it yet. And this is free agency. Okay, let me explain.
(37:42):
Ten teams go after Bryce Harper or whoever, right, like
like free agent star X. Ten teams go after them,
and one team's going to get them. But they all
got four hundred million on the line. You know, they
can't go sign their second guy. So they know if
I got to pay this guy four hundred Mili. Okay,
and that's what's happening six thousand guys in the transfer portal. Okay.
(38:02):
You have to understand big picture where your talent stacks
up and all that, and you have to be honest
with yourself. You're not in the top ten, you know
you're not, Okay, most likely Okay, you're not. If you were,
If you were, you'd know already. Okay, So you have
to understand how it works. Okay. I had a kid
tell me, brend I've gotten thirty phone calls and not
(38:22):
one offer. I go, that's fantastic, I go, I go,
You're gonna get one because they're all calling you right
now knowing that there's a very good likelihood that they
like you, and they you know, they do like you.
That's why they're calling you. It's very high likelihood that
they're going to offer you. But they've got to see
what their outfielder ahead of you, yeah, is going to do.
And they know that he's got ten schools calling him
(38:45):
that he could go to and and he can only
go to one. Okay, So you know, they're trying to
build the best roster that they can. So they have
to call all the players that they think they can
build with and call from the top down. And and
you know, so again I'm gonna go back to my
trip down effect, you know, like in the circumstances of
twenty twenty five, like you know, because then because then
(39:05):
that adds a whole nother element to the trickle down. Okay,
something that we haven't even addressed at all either is
the budget and the stuff for these schools. You know,
like with the scholarships you can give out like all
full rides. Now, you know, like very few schools are
going to do that because it's all going to be
self funded, but they can you know how much they
want a fundraise for how.
Speaker 2 (39:26):
Do you get the boosters?
Speaker 4 (39:27):
Right?
Speaker 1 (39:28):
Yeah, all all of these things you know that like
they have to consider that, you know, they have to
consider so many different things that there's just so many
things at play in this that that that's why my
advice was, like, you've got to be patient. And I
understand the anxiety that's around it, and I feel bad
for the players these days that this is like what
they have to deal with. But but I mean this
(39:49):
in the you know, most positive way possible, Like this
is what you signed up for. You didn't know it
when you entered the portal. You know, like you probably
didn't have a real good idea, but like this was
always going to happen, you know, for this, you know,
so be patient, understand the the you know, big picture
workings at play. You know, go at every single opportunity
(40:12):
that their phone call that you get with an open mind,
and look, focus on getting better. Keep your focus on
getting better, because regardless of the opportunity that you get
or you feel like you're getting today, your hope and
your dream and your goal is for the next opportunity
only no matter what school you go to, no matter
how much N I L money they gave you, if
(40:34):
you chose to go to the school because of the
nil money. Look, look, I was just having a conversation
with a college coach about this yesterday at our at
our game. If you go somewhere based off of the
money and not the opportunity, your career really really could
be over after that year. Okay, Because in professional baseball,
(40:54):
you're in free agency. You have to go to the
team of the club organization where you're going to get
the best opportunity to put your best foot forward to
build your track record to get the next contract. If
you go into a place you took a hundred k
to go there and you throw fourteen innings, it's a
very high likelihood that that that might have just ruined
(41:16):
your career. You know, people don't. Yeah, and look, it's hard.
It's hard to see past the hunter k when they're
floating it out to you. It's like, it's a lot
of money. Yeah, one hundred percent, you know, one hundred percent,
especially especially like not knowing if you're going to get
drafted to even get an opportunity to play or like whatever.
And and look, I'm also like would also say like
don't don't be scared, you know, don't be scared. Don't
(41:36):
don't look at a place and be like, oh, that's
a really you know, uh tough place to play. They're
going to bring in a lot of other, like really
good players. Like, man, you're if you're getting that offer,
you're good enough to go play there. You just better
make sure it's the right fit for you lifestyle wise, Uh,
relationships with the coaches wise, you know, in all these
extra curriculars and that it's not just about the money.
(41:58):
It's got to be about this is the right fit
and opportunity for me because especially with this portal. Look,
I'm going to say this too, say a very direct
and bluntly that this is very unfortunate. But of those
six milesand players, a very healthy percentage of them won't
find places to play this year. That's things that's true.
Speaker 2 (42:21):
It's just reality.
Speaker 1 (42:21):
It is, you know, it is. All of them went
into the portal, hopefully not with the grass is greener
like mentality. You know, all of them.
Speaker 2 (42:29):
I think sometimes that happens more than I would say
more than not for this simple fact and the last
thing that's on my brain when we're looking at twenty
twenty five, because I see high school kids and I
see collegiate especially on the pitching side. The hitting side
doesn't really matter. But you're you're looking at this thought process.
(42:52):
You've got a kid on the mound in high school
that's throwing eighty two to eighty five. You got a
kid in college that's throwing a eighty seven, and he's like,
where do I fit? Do am I going? And what
is your mindset? And how are you getting better?
Speaker 1 (43:09):
And whatnot?
Speaker 2 (43:10):
If you're taking that structure, because the only thing you
can control the only thing you have is your own ability.
Speaker 1 (43:17):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (43:19):
Nothing else. When you when you put yourself in this
space over here, all those people around you are dictating
what goes on. So the only thing that you have
is your own mentality, your own person, what you have
to give, that's it.
Speaker 1 (43:41):
So that's the only.
Speaker 2 (43:42):
Thing you can control. So if you know that you're
this person that throws in the mid to upper eighties,
where do you fit and where is my success? And
then how am I setting myself in motion training wise
to put that in the best spot and maybe I
can gain a couple of months an hour and whatnot?
Speaker 1 (44:01):
Right, Yeah, Look, because because you know, the the baseball
exposure world that we've lived in, yah is there's gonna
be some ripple effects through that because because recruiting's totally changed,
it's going to change a lot of the recruiting services.
You know that uh, you know, spending your money to
(44:22):
go all over the place for a certain population of people.
You you you were because of who you are and
where you fit in and and and I mean who
you are physically as a baseball player. Less about like
you know, there's a ton of like really good people
that just are going to play at a lower level
(44:43):
that that because of that, you were never going to
get an opportunity from the people who were Look. Look,
look there's like certain tournaments and stuff. There's like not
even coaches there. There's like four coaches out at this tournament,
you know, like yeah, and and people are noticing, you know,
so so why are we going Why are we spending
(45:06):
all this money? Right? Like, why are we spending our time?
Why we spend our money? If the result, well, yeah,
and you.
Speaker 2 (45:12):
Know, I mean, honestly, I think we have to rethink
what we're doing.
Speaker 1 (45:16):
A little bit. Yeah that at the end of the day.
Speaker 2 (45:18):
And I'm not just saying that because you're sitting here.
I I would say that if it was some other group.
Speaker 1 (45:24):
Well, look, I mean the I I really don't mean
it from a business standpoint, you know, Like I think
that I've said in earlier episodes, go look for him.
That that my only way I could figure out how
to deal with adversity, which that's off the field adversity certainly,
is just to focus on get one percent better today,
(45:47):
you know, get better today? How how can I get
better the fastest? You know, what's my fastest way to improve?
And and you know, I don't mean necessarily looking for
like quick fixes. Is there anything like that? So don't
take that like out of context.
Speaker 2 (46:02):
There is no thing.
Speaker 1 (46:03):
Yes, there's how do we get the snowball rolling down
the hill faster? What I mean? Right? And and that's
the only way to deal with adversity, to be honest
with you, success or adversity is that if you can
stay so routine oriented and like, no matter what happens today,
I'm going to show up tomorrow and do the exact
same thing regardless if I gave up one or gave
(46:24):
up ten. Uh and and you know, just focus on
getting one percent better today with as much of the
you know, context and information and data and coaching support
and everything that I can do to get it. You know,
the ball rolling down the hill, you know, so and
and and whether that's on field a diversity, whether that's
off the field adversity. I think that people are going
(46:46):
to really start to notice, like the the changes that
are in this dynamic you know, of this recruiting, recruiting,
life and baseball in twenty twenty five. That yeah, I
do think people are going to reevaluate where to spend
their time and money to ultimately accomplish their goals. That
it's going to be very different than the last ten years.
Speaker 2 (47:08):
I agree, and I think it should be because I
think we have to balance this back. And I think
because what has happened, the weight on when in a
tournament has become the thought process in from youth through
high school into the summer ball, and I think that's
(47:32):
got a counterbalance. That doesn't mean and I think this
is again balance. It's not a matter. Those are important too,
going out and competing and learning how to compete, but
then not chucking your helmet, which I see. You know,
people say, well, the major leaguer did it. He's playing
for his next contract, and sometimes the frustrate should he
(47:54):
do it? I don't think so. But I'm not gonna
that guy made That's that guy's making ten million dollars.
You know, you make ten million dollars, you chuck your
hammet once. All right, I'm gonna let it go. But
you're out there in a game. It's learning what those
things are and dealing with adversity and understanding. I saw
it at the high school level this past season, watching
(48:15):
teams in the final four not clapping for their opponent,
not respecting their opponent, turning their back on their opponent
while they're receiving their award. I was shocked. I thought
it was a lot of bad form. And I think
(48:38):
that's the that's what's filtering into these things, and we've
got to get this balance back learning how to get
better and learning how to compete the right way.
Speaker 1 (48:50):
That's great advice. All right, guys, thank you for checking
out this episode through that thing. That's good. I love it.
I love it. If you guys like anything here we
talked about, give us the thumb thumbs up, like comments,
subscribe If you guys got any future topics or things
you want to discuss through them in the comments.
Speaker 2 (49:09):
Make sure you're watching the pc d L League. We're
live streaming that every Monday and Tuesday. You can watch
these kids.
Speaker 1 (49:16):
It's a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (49:17):
It's interesting you're seeing Watch if you if you can't
get out to the ballpark, watch the games. If you're
a high school player, these are what.
Speaker 1 (49:24):
You rep against, right, see what you're up against. Yeah,
it's a great it's a great first like intro to
college baseball for the players that are that are playing
in it. You know, the younger players, you know, so, yeah,
you could really take advantage of what that scenario is
gonna look like for you, you know. So. All right, guys,
thank you, see you guys next time, and keep climbing.
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