For those of you who may not have heard yet, we have partnered up with “I Play Clean”. Their mission is to educate and encourage high school students to make the right choice of playing clean – that is, training hard, eating well and playing with attitude, instead of resorting to illegal and dangerous steroids and performance enhancing products.
They are a Non-Profit organization and the partnership couldn’t be more perfect. This topic is something I feel very strongly about. I was raised in a house where when you had a goal, the way you would reach it would be through hard work and dedication. I take pride in knowing that everything I achieved in my playing days was a direct result of me working my butt off to get everything I could out of my talent.
I played in a generation where the use of performance enhancing drugs was at it’s peak. I sat in locker rooms knowing that the guy next to me was using steroids. It didn’t bother me. I truly believe that it didn’t because of the mindset I was brought up with. I learned through this game that, yes it is a team sport, but for my team to be great, it took each of my teammates to know what it took for them to be good as often as possible. I couldn’t control what they did or didn’t do. Once I realized this in my career, things got better for me. I found a routine that I did daily which helped me to be the best I could be for my team every day my name was called. The best in this game are better more often. To be better more often comes from a mindset and desire to be as consistent as you can be.
These guys I played with and against that used steroids are the type of people who are looking for the easy way. Yes, many of them reached the big leagues only because they used steroids but now these guys will have to live with remorse and hopefully regret knowing that the reason they had the success they did was because they were cheaters. Now I’m not stupid, I have spent my life around guys and have a good feel for how everyone of them has different mindsets, and realize that many will never feel these emotions. Many will sit at home in their huge house and never think twice about how they got it. That’s just the way it is.
The point of all this is, live a life of integrity and honesty. Be a strong enough person to make your own choices. If your buddies are doing something that you don’t think is right, be the bigger person and follow what your heart is telling you. You WILL feel better about yourself, and have more confidence, when you live a life by these standards.
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.
Let’s talk “Tempo”. What is it and why is it so important in this game. Before we start our day, we always go over the previous nights game. This topic always seems to come up. Tempo in baseball can mean different things for each guy. Obviously there is the Tempo of the game. How quick, or slow, the game is going. This is important to help the pitcher on the mound stay in a groove, keep your fielders on their toes and keep the hitters off balance. 
A person or players success in life can be altered by the reputation that they build over time. Every decision someone makes can, and most often, will affect it. In some cases, a good or bad decision might not affect that person for a long period of time, but eventually all of our choices will directly affect us somehow. 
Every player is unique. Each batter has a different swing. Each pitcher has a different delivery. As players get older, hopefully they are being helped to learn what makes them the best they can be. 
If you are fortunate enough to play this game for a long time, you will have many firsts. The first time you walk into a clubhouse. The first time you meet your teammates. The first time you take a swing in the cage. The first time you throw a pitch off the mound in a bullpen. These are all firsts that will get the butterfly’s going a little. 
I always tell parents that if they want their kids to learn how to deal with failure, have them play baseball. Like the title says, “It’s Not An Easy Game”. Major league hitters are great players getting only 3 hits in every 10 at bats. Major league pitchers are considered good when they allow 1 run every 2 innings. Think about it, that is your opponent beating you very often!! 
The MLB Draft was held last week. The team I will be the pitching coaching for, the Orem Owlz, season will start June 20th. We play in the Pioneer League which is a short season A level. Considered rookie ball. 
My career unfortunately takes me away during my kids Little League season. My wife is great at sending me videos of their at bats and of them pitching along with inning by inning text updates. It’s not the real thing, in person experience, but it’s what we do. 
I had a parent contact me the other day asking my opinion on how he should handle his 13 year old’s pitching season. His boy is playing on a little league team and a tournament team and is wondering if it could get to the point where he should shut him down as far as pitching goes. This kid is pretty advanced for his age and has a good chance to do something in this game. As we were talking, he brought up the last game he pitched and it came out that he threw 52 pitches in the first inning. I was absolutely floored when I heard this. To be honest, it really upsets me when I think about it. I’m sure it bothers me so much because I have worked with this stud for the last two years and am emotionally attached. But like I said, this kid truly has a chance. 
It’s gotta be around 90% of ball players, HS/College/Pro players that utilize social media on a daily basis. Obviously I am active on both Facebook and Twitter myself. I rarely use my personal accounts, but am active on our Baseball Dudes business page on Facebook and our @BaseballDudes48 Twitter account. 
This is where it all starts. Little League Baseball. One of the more enjoyable times in a child’s life. The smile of their face when they get that first hit. The smile on their face when they catch that fly ball. The smile on their face when they strike out a hitter. 
The name of the game is to throw strikes. A pitchers number one goal should be this. If we throw strikes, we will get contact which is what we want. Many young pitchers think they are suppose to strike out all the hitters. Yes it’s fun, but it shouldn’t be the number one thing on a pitchers mind.
I always noticed it as a player but it is even more apparent now as a coach how different every player is. Don’t get me wrong, there are things every player has to do to be successful. For example, every single hitter has to have good balance, stay square to the ball and make sure the front foot is down and hands are separated from the body to give themselves the best chance to make solid contact. 
As a ball player, you are expected to be at the top of your game everyday. This is an expectation that the people watching the game have. But anybody who has played this game for an extended period of time knows that this just doesn’t happen. 
I was fortunate enough to watch Yu Darvish pitch from the 5th inning on during his bid for a perfect game on April 2nd. It was awesome. He mixed his pitches perfectly, no pun intended! When I was in Japan during the 2006-07 seasons, he was a rookie over there dominating as a 20 year old. 
