1. Pitching inside. In my 7th season, I had a pitching coach (Bob McClure) who spent a lot of time with us (his pitching staff) talking about how to use the inside part of the plate. How it affected hitters. How it opened up the outer half. How it made your other stuff better. Only a few were able to grasp the concept and execute it but for those of us that did, it was a game changer. I’m convinced it’s what gave me another 7 years, a shot at the big leagues and a contract overseas.
2. Accountability. I stopped making excuses. Stopped blaming my teammates. Stopped giving attention to the umpires “missed” calls and started paying closer attention to where I really threw the pitch, how often their “misses” actually helped me and my team and opened my eyes to how their “misses” do even out in the end. I became honest with myself about my personal performance every single time.
3. Cut down on walks. In my career I threw just under 1,600 innings and walked 540 batters. Of those, about 400 came in the first 6 years. The remaining were spread out over the last 8. Maybe a coincidence but those last 8 were by far better than the first 6. I contribute it to a few things. I went from the stretch position only (got rid of the windup), stopped trying to get swing and misses and started forcing contact if they wanted to get on base and as mentioned above, I took control of the inside part of the plate.
4. Started working quick. Less than 10 seconds between pitches. Warm up pitches done in less than 60 seconds. The goal was to complete a 9 inning game in under 2 hours. We were able to do it once. Missed it by a few minutes a handful of times. Most hitters didn’t like the quick tempo but my teammates did, my coaches did and the umpires really did! It helped me get into a rhythm, kept my teammates ready and kept the umpires in a good mood!
5. Gave it a rest. Staying healthy and strong was a must. The long seasons of professional ball can take a toll on anyones body. Over the second half of my career, whenever I was in the starting rotation I wouldn’t pick up a ball the day before or the day after my start. The other two days included a session of long toss and a bullpen each day. If I was a reliever, I would find a day to not pick up a ball. Usually after a 2-3 inning stint the night before. Though some thought I was a little crazy for doing this, it was something I tried and found to keep me healthy and strong from the beginning to the end.
We are all different and it’s up to us to find out what helps us become our best. The above are a few things that helped me reach the top. They wouldn’t work for all and some may see them as “wrong” but that’s okay. Hope some of you do find them helpful.
Founder of Baseball Dudes. Blessed with three beautiful children and an amazing wife. Baseball is my life, after my family, and I love sharing what I have learned from it. Thanks for taking the time to view what we offer here at Baseball Dudes.
