Baseball Tips - Catchers - Just Let 'Er Rip!
Did you ever get to a game and as you're watching the players warm up you notice that the catcher seems to have a pretty good gun? He's snapping throws off to other players and throwing ropes in long toss. He just looks good. Then the game starts. Well, inevitably, a guy with half descent speed gets on first and gets the steal sign and takes off on a following pitch. The catcher pops out of his crouch and throws an absolute rocket towards second base. However, it's too high and sails into centerfield. The next thing you hear is the coach yapping away with things like: - "Hey! Get it down! No one can do anything with that throw!"
- "Hey! Follow through!"
- "Hey! Throw down, not up!"
- "Hey! Get it down! I'd rather have it in the dirt instead of out there!"
All of the above is true, for the most part. If you've ever caught, you've probably heard good advice during a game and many times heard bizarre things that leaves you shaking your head. This is very true if you have a coach that doesn't know that much about catching and has never caught before either. Later in the game, another guy gets on and steals. The catcher pops out of his crouch and fires off a…well, not a rocket, but a medium fast, arcing throw towards second. Safe. It got there, but there was nothing on it. It didn't, however, end up in centerfield did it? But, how good is that throw anyway? And that's how the rest of his throws go. The catcher has been reduced from a kid throwing rockets before the game to a catcher who is taken a great deal of velocity off his throw and is now "aiming" his throws. It looks like he's throwing darts at times. Here are a few baseball tips for you catchers, especially the young ones. Also, coaches should be thinking about these also. First, catching is an explosive position. There are no big wind ups, long strides, and so on. Watch the pros. When someone steals the catcher fires up and just puts everything into a short, fast motion. The mask is usually flopping all over the place and the chest guard is flopping around. It has to be this way. That's how momentum is built up and released. What can stop this explosiveness and produce crappy arcing throws? Fear. Fear of what? Well, - There is a fear of failure.
- There is a fear of looking bad or stupid.
- There is a fear of getting yelled at during the game by a coach.
If you are a catcher and you have a fear of throwing , you better fix it and get over it because when the time comes, you "gotta let 'er rip"! Don't worry about overthrowing because of your velocity. Always, always, always throw hard! What you need to do is focus on your footwork and your release and try not to aim or "throw darts", which will kill your velocity. You need to understand correct throwing mechanics and footwork. Learn them. Find someone knowledgeable who can teach you these things. The best thing is to get your hands on catching videos and DVDs showing proper throwing techniques. These are produced by college coaches and pros who know what they're talking about. You only need one or two. Watch them and then watch some major league games on TV and you'll see that the pros are doing exactly what you've watched on your tapes and DVDs. So, learn and practice…over and over. You can never practice footwork too much. Once your footwork is correct and your release is correct you won't worry about overthrowing. Your velocity will still be there, probably better now. And as a catcher there are times when you do overthrow. Big deal! But, you have to feel what you just did, feel that your feet were too fast or too slow or feel that you were too far in front too fast, and so on. This comes only with knowledge and practice. Don't blame yourself for throwing too hard! Overthrowing second base has nothing to do with throwing hard. You must know that as a young catcher. As a coach you should always encourage hard throws. Don't yell about the overthrow…make the catcher think about his feet and delivery. Go over it after the inning is over. If you've trained the catcher with proper footwork and delivery he should be able to tell you what went wrong with that throw. And it should never be, "I threw it too hard." So keep your catchers throwing hard. You can prevent full potential by yelling about overthrowing. Remember, you overthrow second base by having bad mechanics for that particular throw, not throwing hard. That's as silly as telling a traffic cop that the reason you drifted through the stop sign was because you were going too slow. On rare occasions, excessive thinking or fear of throwing can lead to the most devastating throwing "afflictions" you can ever witness or go through. This is the Steve Blass Disease or Sasser Syndrome. Sasser was a catcher for the Dodgers. There are other names for this but the most notable case in recent years was young pitcher Rick Ankiel of the St. Louis Cardinals. So catchers and coaches, consider the baseball tips above for a little bit. Learn proper footwork and delivery and practice it over and over and over. Then you'll be very confident and not afraid to "just let 'er rip!" when you know someone just got the steal sign and is taking off on the very next pitch.
Chico Reese has been closely involved in youth baseball, softball and High School Baseball over the last twelve years and enjoys working with young catchers.
For excellent Catching instruction, drills, training and other valuable baseball tips, consider the following sources: Catcher Instruction, Training and Tips To Make You A Better Catcher |
Other Betting Tips Articles
Colorado Rockies Betting Preview This is part 2 of Fargo’s 30 part baseball preview. Today’s Preview:Colorado Rockies2004 68W 94L -8.7 Units Over/Under 73-82-7 2005 67W 95L -11.1 Units Over/Under 74-81-7The Rockies have been consistent the last two seasons with just one game separating the two records. The problem is that those records were well under . ...Why Online Poker Websites are a Safe Way to Play Poker Frequently, whenever anybody thinks about the idea of making a purchase online or transmitting their credit card information via the internet, they may tend to wonder about the safety aspect surrounding these types of internet transactions. The same kind of worry rings true for those individuals that are interested in entertaining themselves by ...Mazu Sports Arbitrage Trading Program Are you looking for a REAL work at home business? Tired of those stupid scams, and rip offs that claim your going to be rich and living the high life? Well I know for one I am sick and tired of hearing their crap. So I did a little research for REAL work at home business programs and I have found the perfect program for you. ...Choosing a Reputable Online Casino People who have played in casinos think that one establishment is the same as another. This kind of thinking is wrong even if the government regulates it. When it comes to the rules, the casino dictates it.The same is true for those who decide to play online casino. Some of these sites have rules that are favorable to the player while so ...Developing a Roulette Strategy Since its humble beginnings in the 17th century, the game of roulette has become a popular activity in casinos, company-sponsored events and even fundraisers. If you were to watch the habits of gamblers either at casinos or other events, you will find that a large number of people will gather at the table. Although it can be a slow paced game co ...Winning At Blackjack – 9 Steps To Playing Like a Pro Blackjack is the one casino game where you can play with a positive edge against the casino and win money over the longer term.Winning at blackjack can be done by those players willing to put in the time and effort to do so.The only trait you need to get started for winning at blackjack and expanding your bankroll is a desire to le ...Useful Gambling Tips, Tricks & Secrets The general idea of both land-based gambling as well as online casino gambling is, naturally, to make a profit, as would any profit-seeking business. The trick casinos play, however, is to give odds and games that at the very least seem fair so as to entice the player to come back time and time again.This may sound as though the scales ar ...Poker Tournament Tips - For Experienced Players Only Here are some poker tournament tips (for flop games) that should help your game and results; In the early stages of a tournament plan on being on the table for awhile, you might not get moved at all if it is the “final” table. Get comfortable with your cushions, drinks or whatever you need. I get cold when I play, even on a hot day, so I always ...Inside NBA Offensive and Defensive Numbers As we approach the stretch run of the NBA season, let's take a look at some overall season stats. What is a more important team statistic: a good offense or good defense? Well, let's take a look at the highest scoring teams in the NBA: They are, in order, the Suns, Sonics, Wizards, Heat, Nuggets, Raptors and 76ers. What stands out is that there ...Inside the Boxscores Week 3 Part 2 Inside the Boxscores is a weekly feature from Matt Fargo that has been widely recognized as the best summation in college football. He takes an in-depth look at each game and pulls out the most pertinent information that will help you handicap games in the future. College football is filled with quirky plays, misleading scores and surprise endin ...How Poker Sites Progressed Into the Most Lucrative Deal? Less than a decade ago, gambling is seen in casinos, sports betting, horse races, scratch cards, and other types which require betting money or goods in some cases. And just a few years ago, online gambling has started to sprout everywhere internet arena is located. Today, online gambling sites are rampant and becoming an entity to whichever web ...Traits of Successful Online Poker Players Discipline is a must if you are hoping for a streak of consecutive winnings. You must never let yourself get carried away by a game even if you feel lucky. A disciplined player knows when to stop, what hands to play and what hands not to play and what types of games are for him.Take challenges only when and if you know for sure that you s ...What Bobby and Whitney Can Teach Us About Football This past week, people across the country had to deal with one of the most shocking and upsetting social developments we’ve seen in recent years. No, I’m not referring to anything related to the September 11th memorials. I’m talking about the break-up of Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston.Bobby and Whitney were a modern Romeo and Juliet – st ...Casino Career Casino gambling continues to expand around the World. Every year there are new casinos opening in existing markets and new venues around the World.When most people think about employment in the gaming industry they naturally think of the dealers and casino personnel. It’s only natural to think this way because those people are the ones ou ...Slot Machines for Casino Gambling People There's a lot of available games to play inside a casino whenever somebody wants to go Casino Gambling. A gambler could pick to play card games, roulettes, and other games that have evolved over time. But among these, slot machines remain to be one of the favorites of people who love Casino Gambling.Slot machines have been around almost i ...Roulette Strategy – 10 Simple Tips To Win and Win Big You will see a lot of vendors selling their roulette strategy on the net and most of them frankly are a waste of money and you can easily do it for yourselfThe roulette strategy below gives you as much chance of winning as any other player and are totally FREE.It’s proven mathematically this roulette strategy cannot be bettered, so ...A Look At Roulette Gambling For the novice gambler, roulette gambling seems like a very difficult task to learn. It is true that learning the strategies used by pros can take years of experience to master, but you can find many sources online that outline the basics of roulette gambling. Just keep in mind that it takes a while to become a master gambler and to pace yoursel ...Basketball Lessons - Fouls Part 1 The term “foul” can refer to many different things, depending on which sport you are discussing. In basketball, it is defined as an attempt to cause disadvantage to the opposing team in an unfair manner through personal contact. Though most often committed by a member of the defensive team, an offensive player can be called on a foul as well. ...Baseball Tips - Catchers - Just Let 'Er Rip! Did you ever get to a game and as you're watching the players warm up you notice that the catcher seems to have a pretty good gun? He's snapping throws off to other players and throwing ropes in long toss. He just looks good.Then the game starts. Well, inevitably, a guy with half descent speed gets on first and gets the steal sign and ...Texas Hold'em Poker – A Novices Guide Part 1 Texas holdem is the poker player’s game of choice and where the big prize money is to be made. Many players want to play Texas Holdem to win and win big.Here we will cover the basics to get you started on your route to playing Texas Holdem and hopefully winning some big pots.In its no limit form, it is used now in world class poker ...Blackjack – Play Like a Pro Quickly! Blackjack is the ones casino game you can gain an edge over the house and if you gain an edge you will make big money longer term.Many players who have not played before think blackjack is complicated that means they have to have a degree in finance to succeed, but the game is essentially simple and basic strategy and card counting are fa ...Best Online Poker Every internet casino in operation today claims to offer the best online poker. So, who is telling the truth and who is lying? That answer isn’t quite so cut and dried. What is the best poker to you might not be the best poker to your friend. Two of the biggest selling points of the online casinos are the security of the site and the bonuses the ...Try New and Exciting Badugi Poker! Badugi is a poker variant that has grown increasingly popular during the last few years. It originates from Asia, but has not spread to the rest of the world until recently. It is today played online as well as offline by poker enthusiasts all over the world. Learning Badugi is very easy if you already master other poker games, such as Hold’em P ...Why Conventional Ads Suck... If you're in concurrence with over 90% of all business owners—Ads don't work! They're expensive, a low ROI, and all they do is fuel ad agencies to churn out more ridiculous rubbish.So why do most ads fail to bring in sales?Simple. If you browse the ads in your local paper, just about all of them talk about themselves:This is ...NBA Basketball Betting 2/3/06 - Timberwolves Looking to Get Better After Trade Best: Pistons @ 76ers: Willie Greene missed 1 of 2 free-throws in playoff game vs. Detroit last year that could have given them the win. In return Phili gave him a mondo contract. And since Greene hasn’t played since with a season-ending injury. There’s some irony there in a cosmic way, since Philadelphia hasn’t improved on their #7 seed ...Poker Bluffing – Do You Know How To Use It Correctly? Even if a person doesn’t know all the rules to poker they know what poker bluffing is.They have seen it in films and on TV and see the hero deceive his opponent and win a huge jackpot,this means they think bluffing works all the time and use it to frequently and lose!To bluff correctly and make it effective, it should only be done ...NFL Preseason Betting It's that time of the year again—finally. Preseason football has started, and we are gearing up for the NFL season. Football is one of them most bet on sports in sports betting. Basketball is the other major sport. Each preseason many sports fans go to the sportsbook to lay down hard earned money on the games to make them more interesting. Is th ...Spread Betting for Profit Lets face it the main reason we bet on the spread market is for profit, in fact the main reason why we bet and gamble is for profit, yes we bet for the thrill of betting, the excitement it brings and how insignificant sporting events all of a sudden become extremely significant.There are many theories, guides and strategies on the Interne ...
|
