BIG Z's Baseball Blog

Bud Selig Maintains his "Perfect" Record

2009-10-31T10:54:00.000-07:00

Two questions: "Will it make us money?" or "Will it increase ticket sales?"These appear to be the only ones Bud Selig asks of himself in any situation he presides over as Commissioner of Major League Baseball (MLB). Has he ever taken a principled stand? Certainly, the St. Louis Cardinals' recent hiring of Mark McGwire as a hitting coach offered Selig and MLB such an opportunity in regards to its

Training With Rubber Tubing & Bands

2009-10-17T20:28:00.000-07:00

Tubing made of rubber or similar materials is often used by baseball and softball players for strength work, usually for “smaller” muscles such as those that are associated with the rotator cuff.While tubing and bands are generally considered to be safe for use by players of any age, they are not without potential problems. The thing people need to remember is that these are tools for resistance

Performance Enhancers, Enablers, & Supplements - Part 2

2009-08-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

So David Ortiz denies taking anything banned by Major League Baseball (MLB). Surprise, surprise. Even when the evidence overwhelmingly suggests that players are better off owning up to their "indiscretion," guys like Ortiz insist on their innocence.Yet it appears possible that Ortiz did not test positive for a banned substance. Well and fine - I do not want any player to be vilified for something

Performance Enhancers, Enablers, and Supplements: What You Need to Know

2009-08-05T21:12:00.000-07:00

So Boston’s David Ortiz is the latest drug cheat outed by Major League Baseball (MLB). Is anybody truly surprised with this latest revelation? The big names just keep falling, with another 97 or so yet to be revealed on the list of those testing positive for something banned by MLB.My guess for the next big name to come out?Ken Griffey Jr. &/or Albert Pujols. I offer these names not because I

Clemens or Maddux: Who’s the Best?

2009-02-07T15:34:00.000-08:00

2) Dick Mills has published "The Science And Art Of Baseball Pitching." Back in January, Tom House published a book, "The Art and Science of Pitching

Just For Fun: OVER-THE-LINE

2006-02-25T12:42:00.000-08:00

Note to those who think conditioning for ball players is not that important: Ask pitcher Josh Hancock. The 2/20/06 issue of USA TODAY reports that Hancock, 27, was released by the Cincinnati Reds a day into spring training after the right-hander reported to camp overweight (I didn’t think pitchers could be overweight!). He missed most of last season with a groin injury suffered in spring training

Where Throwing Velocity REALLY Comes From

2006-01-22T18:02:00.000-08:00

We'll start by asking some of the great baseball questions of all time:1) Did Babe Ruth really call his shot?2) Can you bat .375 and play error-free, as Shoeless Joe did, and still throw a series?3) Does Pete Rose deserve to be in the Hall of Fame?And, perhaps the greatest question of them all:4) Where does throwing velocity REALLY come from?In our quest to find the answer to #4, let's start with

Why Ball Players, Including Pitchers, Should Lift Weights

2005-11-13T12:19:00.000-08:00

This just in: Ball players didn’t do much, if any, weight lifting 50+ years ago.Why? Simply because the science of athletic training and sports medicine had not yet determined the value of this activity for most athletes, let alone ball players. Now, most, if not all, MLB teams have well-equipped weight rooms in their stadiums and training complexes, employing varying types of weight lifting

Insights Into the Workout Programs of Major League Players, Part 2: Nolan Ryan

2005-10-07T13:52:00.000-07:00

NOTE: New readers, please refer to my disclaimer regarding these articles from Part 1 regarding Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte. Rather than simply reviewing Nolan Ryan's well-known book, Nolan Ryan's Pitcher's Bible (part of my reference library) I thought I'd refer to this short but instructive interview Dr. Maro Di Pasquale did with Ryan, “Nolan Ryan On Conditioning,” as published on

The Physiological Basis for Conditioning Baseball and Softball Players, Part 1: Training the Body

2005-10-07T12:56:00.000-07:00

Baseball and softball players come in all shapes and sizes. From 5' 5" Freddie Patek (a 3-time All Star) to 6'11" Randy Johnson, Babe Ruth to Albert Pujols, or Crystl Bustos to Cat Osterman, you get all body types. As I've stressed repeatedly, the metabolic demands of these games are minimal. High level players do not have to be in top physical condition to perform well.

Insights Into the Workout Programs of Major League Players, Part 1: Roger Clemens & Andy Pettitte

2005-10-07T12:26:00.000-07:00

To no one's surprise, controversy abounds as to what ball players should be doing in their strength and conditioning workouts. But what are big league players actually doing, particularly the more successful ones? In this series of reports, I'll examine what some players and teams do as part of their conditioning training and give you my opinion of their programs. A note of caution - big

OVERLOAD/UNDERLOAD TRAINING: How it Works and Why Ball Players Should Use This Training Method

2005-10-07T12:20:00.001-07:00

This report is written with the intent of providing useful and accurate information for those interested in learning more about this valuable training method. Our discussion here will deal with Overload/Underload (OU) training in general, and its application to baseball and softball in particular. 1. OU Training Defined2. A Brief History of OU Research and Training3. Other Sports That Use

Straight Answers to Tough Questions about Training With Weighted Baseballs

2005-10-07T12:15:00.000-07:00

Q: I’m confused; there are so many different views on what is proper training and how to increase throwing velocity… what’s right? A: The confusion stems from the fact that some “gurus” stress either strength development at the expense of good body mechanics or good body mechanics at the expense of a well designed strength and conditioning regimen. From there, these same “gurus” attempt to

Should Baseball Pitchers Perform Pitching Drills, Flat Ground Bullpens & Throwing At Shorter Distances?

2005-10-07T12:10:00.000-07:00

This article used with permission by Steven Ellis, The Complete Pitcher, www.thecompletepitcher.com I was recently reading a blog post from a baseball pitching instructor who advises his students to “do away” with flat ground bullpens, short-distance pitching and pitching drills all together.His argument is that because baseball pitching velocity comes from a pitcher’s ability to move his

OFF-SEASON: Skills Before Drills

2005-10-07T09:39:00.000-07:00

No doubt you're well underway with your off-season strength and conditioning work. Depending on your goals, you may be pursuing improvement in one or more areas of your game. Perhaps you're full of energy and have set some really big goals for the upcoming season, and you're looking for some guidance as to how you should structure your trainingLikely you're busy, with limited time. This issue

Ball Players and the Bench Press: Yes or No?

2005-10-07T09:31:00.000-07:00

Weight lifting is appropriate for baseball and softball players, and weight lifting should have as its purposes improvement of on field performance and injury prevention. Lifting for what I call cosmetic (body building) purposes or to be the strongest guy in the gym will very likely cause problems for ball players. Performing workouts designed for other sports, such as football, also have the

OVER-TRAINING: Are We Playing TOO Much?

2005-10-06T19:31:00.000-07:00

Perhaps you have heard of a concept leadership and management guru Stephen Covey calls 'Sharpening the Saw.' While he was aiming this idea to the business world, it has applicability to those who coach and play sports as well.Basically, the concept goes like this: Don't get so busy sawing that you forget to sharpen the saw.What happens to the saw while you are sawing?It gets dull.What happens

FOUR LITTLE-KNOWN BASEBALL/SOFTBALL TRAINING SECRETS. PART 4

2005-10-06T15:52:00.000-07:00

When performing RESISTANCE TRAINING, strive for STRENGTH BALANCE ACROSS JOINTS AND MUSCLE GROUPS, as opposed to merely developing size and strength Why does this matter? Because muscle strength imbalances are among the leading causes of sports injuries. For example, pulled hamstrings (back of upper leg) are often the result of quadriceps muscles (front of upper leg) that are stronger due to

FOUR LITTLE-KNOWN BASEBALL/SOFTBALL TRAINING SECRETS, PART 3

2005-10-06T15:50:00.000-07:00

Train Your Trunk and Your Upper Body Equally Everyone knows that you use more of your body than just your arm to throw a baseball or softball. Yet, when I walk through a gym I always see ball players spending most of their time "working" their upper body. If their motivation behind training this way is that they think this will help their arm strength, well, they largely mistaken.

FOUR LITTLE-KNOWN BASEBALL/SOFTBALL TRAINING SECRETS, PART 2

2005-10-06T15:45:00.000-07:00

Train for SPEED Development Face it, on any given day there are a multitude of factors that can adversely affect your game. The biggest dynamic I see in the game is SPEED - pure running speed. It seems that no matter what else may be going on on the field, it shows up every day, on every play. In our on-going efforts of attempting to dispel the training myths of baseball, so that you can

FOUR LITTLE-KNOWN BASEBALL/SOFTBALL TRAINING SECRETS, PART 1

2005-10-06T15:21:00.000-07:00

Make the Bulk of Your Conditioning POWER-Oriented As you might guess, a lot of the training information that is widely circulated and believed to be helpful is not only wrong, but in many cases has the potential to cause injury and long-term damage. This four-part series will dispel some myths and reveal four important keys to baseball/softball training that will help you train safer and smarter