We’re excited to welcome Vanderbilt University head baseball coach Tim Corbin to this week’s podcast for a discussion on transforming cultures in a team environment, and what key standards must be present to provide for sustainable success. Tim also speaks to college recruiting, long-term player development strategies, and the evolution of the student athlete.
This episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens. It’s an all-in-one superfood supplement with 75 whole-food sourced ingredients designed to support your body’s nutrition needs across 5 critical areas of health: 1) energy, 2) immunity, 3) gut health, 4) hormonal support, and 5) healthy aging. Head to www.AthleticGreens.com/cressey and claim my special offer today - 20 FREE travel packs (valued at $79) - with your first purchase. I use this product daily myself and highly recommend it to our athletes as well. I'd encourage you to give it a shot, too - especially with this great offer.
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I'm flying solo for this week's podcast, as I wanted to tackle what I believe to be among the most important considerations in player development in baseball. Many training approaches over-value "averages" and undervalue outlier qualities - and, in doing so, really interfere with some athletes' development.
Before we get to the show, though, a special thanks to this episode's sponsor, Athletic Greens. Head to http://www.athleticgreens.com/cressey and you'll receive a free 10-pack of Athletic Greens travel packets with your first order.
Sponsor Reminder
This episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens. It’s an all-in-one superfood supplement with 75 whole-food sourced ingredients designed to support your body’s nutrition needs across 5 critical areas of health: 1) energy, 2) immunity, 3) gut health, 4) hormonal support, and 5) healthy aging. Head to www.AthleticGreens.com/cressey and claim my special offer today - 20 FREE travel packs (valued at $79) - with your first purchase. I use this product daily myself and highly recommend it to our athletes as well. I'd encourage you to give it a shot, too - especially with this great offer.
Podcast Feedback
If you like what you hear, we'd be thrilled if you'd consider subscribing to the podcast and leaving us an iTunes review. You can do so HERE.
And, we welcome your suggestions for future guests and questions. Just email elitebaseballpodcast@gmail.com.
Thank you for your continued support!
Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes!
2022 marked year 4 of the Elite Baseball Development Podcast. In all, we released 36 episodes in 2022 - and I learned a ton from some great guests. That said, here are our top five episodes from the year:
1. Navigating Youth Baseball Development and College Recruiting with Walter Beede - Baseball dad, coach, author, and consultant Walter Beede joined us for a multifaceted conversation on a wide variety of topics that are essential for baseball families to understand. I’ve known Walter for over 15 years, and in addition to having more passion for baseball than anyone I’ve ever met, he’s also helped a ton of families navigate the travel ball and college recruiting landscapes.
2.College Baseball Strength and Conditioning Considerations with Zach Dechant - Texas Christian University Assistant Athletic Director of Human Performance Zach Dechant oversees baseball development at TCU. In this discussion with guest host John O’Neil, Zach shared insights on long-term development of college athletes, discussed his offseason work with alumni that have moved on to professional baseball, and outlined the key competencies he looks to develop in the coaches he mentors.
3. Principles of Power Development - I flew solo for this podcast, as I took on a whopper of a topic: power development. My goal here was to take a large, seemingly complex topic and break it down into digestible constituent parts.
4. Multifaceted Pitching Development with Matt Hinkley - Matt Hinkley joined the Cressey Sports Performance - FL staff in late 2021 and has done a phenomenal job with our pitching department. In this podcast, we covered a wide range of pitching topics, including:
How to connect the dots between pitching mechanics and strength and conditioning
How to employ high-speed cameras for pitch design
Why it’s so important to plan the yearly competitive calendar
When to use subtle adjustments vs. broad overhauls
Why he’s more of a “pitching manager” than a “pitching coach”
Why the mental side of pitching can never be overlooked
5. Understanding Anterior Shoulder Pain with Dr. David Altchek - Dr. David Altchek of the Hospital for Special Surgery and New York Mets shared some outstanding clinical insights on the diagnosis and treatment of anterior shoulder pain in overhead throwing athletes.
Finally, while I've got your attention, be sure to check out our foremost sponsor from the past year, Athletic Greens. It’s an all-in-one superfood supplement with 75 whole-food sourced ingredients designed to support your body’s nutrition needs across 5 critical areas of health: 1) energy, 2) immunity, 3) gut health, 4) hormonal support, and 5) healthy aging. Head to www.AthleticGreens.com/cressey and claim my special offer today – 10 FREE travel packs – with your first purchase. I use this product daily myself and highly recommend it to our athletes as well. I’d encourage you to give it a shot, too – especially with this great offer.
We're back to the regular EricCressey.com content this upcoming week. Thanks for all your support in 2022! We've got some great stuff planned for 2023.
Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes!
We welcome Oakland A's pitcher Jake Fishman to the latest podcast. Jake's rise to the big leagues is a tremendous example of persistence; his story touches on just how hard it is to make it to "the show," and how players have to be openminded to reinventing themselves and adjusting as the competition level increases. Jake also holds the distinction of being the only former Cressey Sports Performance intern to make it to the Major Leagues. CSP-MA Director of Performance John O’Neil takes the lead as a guest host as well.
This episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens. It’s a NSF-certified all-in-one superfood supplement with 75 whole-food sourced ingredients designed to support your body’s nutrition needs across 5 critical areas of health: 1) energy, 2) immunity, 3) gut health, 4) hormonal support, and 5) healthy aging. Head to www.AthleticGreens.com/cressey and claim my special offer today - 10 FREE travel packs - with your first purchase. I use this product daily myself and highly recommend it to our athletes as well. I'd encourage you to give it a shot, too - especially with this great offer.
Podcast Feedback
If you like what you hear, we'd be thrilled if you'd consider subscribing to the podcast and leaving us an iTunes review. You can do so HERE.
And, we welcome your suggestions for future guests and questions. Just email elitebaseballpodcast@gmail.com.
Thank you for your continued support!
Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes!
We welcome Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Peter Strzelecki to this week’s podcast. Peter shares his journey from junior college, to undrafted free agent sign, to the minor leagues and onto a big league roster. He offers insights on overcoming Tommy John surgery, and also key strategies for embracing a unique delivery and pitch mix.
A special thanks to this show's sponsor, Proteus Motion. They're changing the way we assess and train athletes with their 3D Resistance. Head to www.ProteusMotion.com/elite to learn more about this cutting-edge technology.
Proteus Motion has a patented technology that allows us to measure power for the overwhelming majority of human movements. Proteus software guides users through 4-minute physical assessments to arm trainers with unprecedented performance data and insights, creating an entirely new standard for personalized fitness and physical rehabilitation. All of this is enabled by a total reinvention of resistance training called 3D Resistance. Training power and acceleration with Proteus’ patented 3D Resistance can be safer, more efficient, and more effective than traditional resistance training tools in many cases. I’ve been a big fan of Proteus for the past few years. We have a unit in both Cressey Sports Performance facilities, and actually helped to develop the Cressey Power test for rotational athletes. The information we’ve gathered from this testing has been an absolute game-changer in helping us to more optimally program for our athletes. Additionally, as a training initiative, work on the Proteus has allowed us to train different points on the force-velocity curve in rotational patterns in ways that medicine ball work never could.
If you like what you hear, we'd be thrilled if you'd consider subscribing to the podcast and leaving us an iTunes review. You can do so HERE.
And, we welcome your suggestions for future guests and questions. Just email elitebaseballpodcast@gmail.com.
Thank you for your continued support!
Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes!
We welcome New York Mets pitcher David Peterson to this week’s podcast. David trained at Cressey Sports Performance - FL this past offseason and really impressed me as not only a hard worker, but a pitcher who really understands his identity and what makes him successful. He had a breakout year in 2022, but as you'll learn in this podcast, it was actually the culmination of a good long-term strategy and a willingness to be openminded to new ways of attacking his development.
A special thanks to this show's sponsor, Proteus Motion. They're changing the way we assess and train athletes with their 3D Resistance. Head to www.ProteusMotion.com/elite to learn more about this cutting-edge technology.
Proteus Motion has a patented technology that allows us to measure power for the overwhelming majority of human movements. Proteus software guides users through 4-minute physical assessments to arm trainers with unprecedented performance data and insights, creating an entirely new standard for personalized fitness and physical rehabilitation. All of this is enabled by a total reinvention of resistance training called 3D Resistance. Training power and acceleration with Proteus’ patented 3D Resistance can be safer, more efficient, and more effective than traditional resistance training tools in many cases. I’ve been a big fan of Proteus for the past few years. We have a unit in both Cressey Sports Performance facilities, and actually helped to develop the Cressey Power test for rotational athletes. The information we’ve gathered from this testing has been an absolute game-changer in helping us to more optimally program for our athletes. Additionally, as a training initiative, work on the Proteus has allowed us to train different points on the force-velocity curve in rotational patterns in ways that medicine ball work never could.
If you like what you hear, we'd be thrilled if you'd consider subscribing to the podcast and leaving us an iTunes review. You can do so HERE.
And, we welcome your suggestions for future guests and questions. Just email elitebaseballpodcast@gmail.com.
Thank you for your continued support!
Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes!
Today's guest post comes from Cressey Sports Performance - Florida coach, Eduardo Valle.
Coaches and athletes often get fixated on power production and forget about force absorption, or deceleration. Deceleration is an important quality for athletes to possess, as it will help them stay within themselves when performing a task and lessen injury risk. A pitcher or a hitter that can't decelerate may spin wildly out of control. A rotator cuff that can't slow your arm action down is a recipe for an arm injury. A hitter that can't decelerate sufficiently can't check his swing. There are countless other examples - and this is why we take deceleration training quite seriously. With that in mind, here are five non-traditional drills to implement dynamic trunk deceleration into your training.
1. Anti-Rotation Landmine Windmill: With this drill, you are trying to control the weight on the way down without rotating through your hip, as this will promote trunk deceleration without hip involvement. This is also a good strengthening exercise as you have to then rotate back to the center and repeat to the other side. Choose your weight carefully, as this is an easy one to cheat.
2. Split Stance High to Low Aquabag Chop (over Front Leg): This is a more dynamic exercise overall and one that has immediate transfer to the field, as every baseball player throws and needs to be able to decelerate properly to avoid spinning out of control or missing their target. This will also help athletes to learn how to absorb force into that lead hip.
3. Pallof Press with Deceleration: This exercise is reactive in nature. You're going to set-up like a normal Pallof Press, and then you're going to let go and rapidly catch the handle again. This will challenge your core to quickly stop your trunk from going into excess rotation.
4. Proteus Straight Arm Anti-Rotations: This is a more dynamic progression from the landmine anti-rotation drill I demonstrated earlier. Here, we're rotating our upper body as fast as possible and coming to an immediate stop at end-range. This is extremely challenging because if you are unable to stop properly, you simply lose your balance and fall off to the side. We want to ensure that our trunk can stop itself independently from our hips so as to not put too much stress or rely too much on our hips when everything is working together.
5. Proteus Split Stance High to Low Chop (over Front Leg): Similar to the Aquabag chop, we are going through a modified throwing motion, trying to exert as much force as possible. If we are able to properly absorb our high output here, then we should be able to have more success on the mound maintaining good posture after a pitch instead of spinning uncontrollably.
The lighter/faster drills here typically work well as part of "pre-work." In other words, we'll integrate them after warm-ups and before we get to our lifting for the day. They pair well as fillers between medicine ball drills, too. Conversely, if the loads are heavier, they're best integrated as assistance exercises during strength training sessions.
About the Author
Eduardo Valle is a strength and conditioning coach at Cressey Sports Performance - Florida. He graduated from the University of Virginia with a BS.Ed in Kinesiology. A Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the NSCA, Eduardo also works as part of the UVA Sports Medicine Staff as an Athletic Training Student; this experience helped shape his view of exercise as medicine being an integral part of both mitigating injury and maximizing performance. He's currently in a Master's program at Florida Atlantic University for Exercise Science and Health Promotion. You can follow him on Instagram at @edu_valle2.
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Today's guest post comes from Cressey Sports Performance - Florida associate hitting coordinator, Tyler Wolfe.
In the 8th inning of a recent NLDS game between the Dodgers and the Padres, the Padres went to their left handed closer, Josh Hader, who possesses one of the better fastballs in the game. The second batter he was set to face was a left-handed hitter, Cody Bellinger, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts chose to pinch hit for Bellinger. His two most likely options he was deciding between were right handed batters Chris Taylor and Austin Barnes. Taylor would be the obvious choice to most because he is more of an offensive threat than Barnes. Roberts decided to go with Barnes, but unfortunately the move didn’t work out as Barnes flew out to center field to end the inning. Roberts was questioned about the unusual decision after the game and had this to say: “Hader’s tough on anyone but I felt that Austin’s short swing, flat path…Hader throws the 4-seam rise fastball, CT swings uphill, and Austin has had success against Hader.”
The old school approach when playing matchups from an offensive perspective is to put in a hitter who hits from the opposite side from the pitcher's throwing arm. This has been the standard go-to matchup maker in baseball for a long time and makes complete sense because it is a much more comfortable at bat for most because the breaking balls will move into them instead of starting at or behind them and moving away. Today, I want to get a little more in depth on playing matchups to play to the hitters strengths instead of just putting in a righty hitter because it’s a lefty pitcher.
So back to the Dodgers story, what exactly is Roberts referring to when he says this? My guess is that he was referencing Vertical Bat Angle (VBA). It could also have to do with Attack Angle, but VBA is what I want to discuss today. What exactly is Vertical Bat angle you might be wondering if you haven’t heard of it before? The bat sensor company Blast Motion gives a good definition of what VBA is:
“Vertical Bat Angle is the angle of the bat with respect to horizontal at the moment of impact. Vertical Bat Angle is measured in degrees and provides the location of the barrel of the bat relative to the knob of the bat at impact. Vertical Bat Angle will be zero when the barrel of the bat and the knob are parallel to the ground. Vertical Bat Angle will be negative when the barrel of the bat is below the knob of the bat at impact.”
Here's an example of two very good hitters with very different VBA’s to the exact same pitch: High School hitter Whitey Ossenfort on the left (Average -47.1 degrees of VBA) and Blue Jays minor leaguer Karl Ellison on the right (Average of -28.7 degrees of VBA).
Chris Taylor has a very steep average vertical bat angle of -39 degrees. Austin Barnes has an average vertical bat angle of -27.6 degrees. These two are drastically different in their swing paths and it leads to very different results. In my opinion, neither one is right or wrong, but as Dave Roberts’ quote implies, they can help to understand a hitter and what pitches and locations each guy might hit better than others.
I wanted to do a deeper dive into VBA to see if it could be an even better predictor of what kind of pitches and locations certain hitters could handle better than others. This could go for both the college and pro level because VBA is something that is very simple to measure. You could do so with just a camera if needed, but a Blast Motion or Diamond Kinetics sensor are probably easiest and both a relatively inexpensive option that gives you the data real time in both training and game.
The two examples I want to look at are two of the best hitters in baseball: Mike Trout and Juan Soto. They are the perfect examples for looking at VBA because they are at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to VBA, but both are very successful hitters. The Average VBA in Major League Baseball over the last 4 years (2019-2022) is -32.2 degrees according to SwingGraphs (subscription required, but $5 gets you full VBA’s from the last 4-5 seasons).
• Trout has had an average VBA of -37.1 degrees over that four year period
• Soto has had an average VBA of -27.4 degrees over that same four year period
With that in mind, let’s look at some of the Baseball Savant illustrations for both Soto and Trout so we can get a better idea of what parts of the zone they handle best and what their approach might be.
-The first row of charts below is K% for each guy in each section of the zone
-The second is Launch Angle for each guy in each section
-The third row is wOBA
-The last chart is Batting Average, for the old school folks in the crowd
These four charts all show very different results for both of these two elite hitters. Trout does much better in the lower 2/3 of the zone than he does in the top 1/3 in all four of the charts. Soto, on the other hand, is best in the top 2/3 of the zone. Not to say they can’t handle that section of the zone but they have much less success in that one section of the plate and it’s likely due to the path their bat takes to get to pitches at that height/location.
So, let’s go into a hypothetical game example. Let’s say it’s that same 8th inning situation in that Dodgers/Padres game with runners on first and second, with two outs and Josh Hader on the mound – and the Dodgers trailing 5-3. You have the Josh Hader scouting report and know that he throws nearly 70 percent fastballs and lives primarily glove side upper half of the zone with it (heatmap of his fastball over the last four years below).
You’re in Dave Roberts shoes and you have Soto and Trout on the bench (for some insane reason they’re on your team and not playing) and you need to send one of them up. Who would you think would have a better chance of success in this situation? The old school theory is to send up Trout because he’s a right handed batter. If I’m in the manager's shoes and these are my options, I’m sending up Soto every time in that situation because of the type, percentage, and location of fastballs Josh Hader throws. For reference, Trout has never faced Hader and Soto has faced him three times and is 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs off of him.
Let’s look at one final example. We will go with almost the same situation, where we’re down 5-3 with runners on first and second, but let’s say only one out now in the 8th inning. You have the same two options for pinch hitters off the bench. This time, though, we’re facing Seattle and Luis Castillo is still throwing. Castillo has had a 51% ground ball rate over the last four years and does throw both a 4-seam and a sinker. His heatmap of all pitches over the last four years is below. Trout has three plate appearances against Castillo. He has a walk, a homer, and a single against him in those three plate appearances. Soto has had 10 plate appearances against Castillo and has also had some success, as he has two hits – including a homer and three walks. However, he does have a 67% ground ball rate against him.
Once again, the old school approach would say to send up Soto in this situation because he is a left handed batter against a right handed arm. With what we have looked at so far, which guy are you going with if you’re managing? For me, it’s Trout every time because he is going to be able to get the ball in the air more, especially off a guy who strength is to throw more pitches down in the zone. From an offensive perspective, the worst thing that could happen in this situation is a double play, and Soto has a much tougher time elevating balls at the bottom of the zone, as you can see by his launch angle chart (above). This is why I would send up Trout in this situation.
As I close out this article, I want to emphasize that VBA is not a perfect stat for measuring what pitches and locations guys handle best because there is so much more that goes into hitting, most notably timing and approach. It is, however, a great measurement for getting a better understanding of what your players swing path looks like and how this may affect their ball flight and contact rates. VBA changes for each hitter based on height and location. For pitches up in the zone (especially with fastballs), hitters need a flatter bat path (VBA closer to 0), and for pitches lower in the zone, they need a much steeper bat path. Like I said, it doesn’t mean that they can’t handle the opposite pitch of what their average bat angle is, but it does make it harder to square it up because of the direction of their bat path to the pitch. Soto has a tough time getting the low pitch off the ground and Trout is susceptible to hitting the high pitch too high in the air.
There are many factors that go into VBA, but we will have to save that for another article. Some of those factors include:
Height/Location of the pitch
Height/Posture of the hitter
Timing: If a hitter is either on time, early, or late this will make a difference
A hitter’s mobility, strength, and stability all the way up the chain
Conclusion
In my opinion the best thing that understanding a player's VBA can help with is creating a better approach for each hitter. Mike Trout probably isn't going to look to swing up in the zone until he has to with two strikes or if a situation allows for it. Juan Soto probably is going to look for a pith up in the zone. This isn’t to say that they don’t train to work on these locations they struggle with; my guess is that they actually spend a lot of time working on these weaknesses. There are videos of Trout talking doing about some high tee work trying to stay on top and flat and hit ground balls up the middle. This seems like a great drill to help him feel what he needs to do in order to get to these balls up in the zone when he has to hit them. As any great hitter would agree, having a good approach is likely the most important thing to being a good hitter but it’s hard to individualize that approach if you don’t know what pitches/locations a hitter can handle best.
*A big thanks to CSP Associate Pitching Coach Matt Ellmyer for the idea to put this into a blog, and for helping with some of the research as well.
About the Author
Tyler Wolfe serves as Associate Hitting Coordinator at CSP-FL. Prior to joining the CSP staff, he worked as a minor league hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals. Tyler played baseball at Des Moines Area CC and Kansas State University as an infielder and pitcher before being drafted as an infielder by the Houston Astros in 2016. He went on to play four years of professional baseball before starting his coaching career. His first coaching role was as the assistant hitting coordinator for the Minnesota Blizzard, a premier Midwest youth and high school travel organization. Tyler holds a B.S in Psychology from Kansas State and a M.S in Sports Management from Indiana State University.
Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes!
This episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens. It’s an all-in-one superfood supplement with 75 whole-food sourced ingredients designed to support your body’s nutrition needs across 5 critical areas of health: 1) energy, 2) immunity, 3) gut health, 4) hormonal support, and 5) healthy aging. Head to www.AthleticGreens.com/cressey and claim my special offer today – 10 FREE travel packs – with your first purchase. I use this product daily myself and highly recommend it to our athletes as well. I’d encourage you to give it a shot, too – especially with this great offer.
Podcast Feedback
If you like what you hear, we'd be thrilled if you'd consider subscribing to the podcast and leaving us an iTunes review. You can do so HERE.
And, we welcome your suggestions for future guests and questions. Just email elitebaseballpodcast@gmail.com.
Thank you for your continued support!
Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes!
Today's guest post comes from Cressey Sports Performance - Florida coach Dan Rosen.
In a recent episode on the Elite Baseball Development Podcast, Eric spoke with Coach Jerry Weinstein about his lengthy coaching career and the lessons he has learned throughout that time. On top of being a successful coach at the collegiate, professional, and Olympic level, Jerry is also well-known for his work that he has done with catchers. In the podcast, he discussed the importance of catchers being defensive minded, having the ability to get themselves into and out of positions behind the plate, and more. In today’s article, I aim to address these qualities and others that can help catchers become more successful.
Training Consideration #1: Healthy Feet
Foot health can be its own blog, but I specifically want to cover big toe extensibility and maintaining the ability to both pronate and supinate the foot.
Having an adequate amount of big toe dorsiflexion (roughly 60-70 degrees) is important for a number of reasons including plantar fascia health, Achilles tendon health, the ability to complete a gait cycle (a step). Without this mobility, compensations may arise up the chain. Before every pitch, catchers give their signals in a stance that requires them to access their big toe extensibility. In a nine inning game, one team will throw roughly 150 pitches; multiply that across a whole season and you have a catcher who has spent a considerable amount of time in big toe dorsiflexion. Without an adequate amount, what can end up happening is catchers may roll onto the other four toes for support, causing the big toe not to do its job in this stance. Ways in which we can train big toe ROM include isolating the toe itself through toe CARs/toe yoga, performing spring ankle sets while ensuring the big toe is the main weight bearing toe, spending time in the gym barefoot, and becoming more mindful of what our big toe is doing in exercises that would typically force it into extension such as in hops, pogos, and in exercises that utilize staggered or split stance positions. Dr. James Spencer also outlined a few good exercises in a previous article here: Big Toe, Big Problems.
Although catchers are not walking much while they catch, they do move throughout phases of gait. The signal stance we just discussed would mirror the late phase of gait, as the toes are the last point of contact with the ground. The later phase of gait is associated with propulsion, which will be important for catchers as they come out of their stance to move their body weight toward a base for a throw. After the pitch calling stance comes the primary stance. Traditionally this would look like the picture below.
Some catchers, however, find dropping one knee down is a more comfortable and more efficient way to receive the pitch.
In the first picture, we can see heavy pronation and eversion (feet rolling inwards) of both feet. Catchers often have to shift or sway their bodyweight from one foot to the other in their stance, which is why access to pronation will be important. It is worth noting, however, that the athlete needs the ability to access supination to create a more rigid foundation for force production. If the athlete is constantly in pronation (as the catcher is in the first picture), he'll be stuck in "deceleration mode." In the second picture, we see the left foot that is more biased towards supination.
One strategy I like to employ in this regard is to bias the various phases of gait with different exercises in a training program.. For example, you can adjust a split-squat to train each of them. Elevate the front foot to bias early supination, keep the shin over the mid-foot throughout the movement to bias pronation, or elevate the back foot and/or float the front heel to emphasize the re-supination in the later phase of gait.
Where you place the weight loading implement can also have an impact on which phase is being biased on the working foot; contralateral (opposite side) holds emphasize pronation and ipsilateral (same side) holds emphasize more supination. Determine what the athlete needs and then position/load them accordingly.
Training Consideration #2 – Hip Mobility
It’s important to assess hip range of motion in all three planes to determine where an athlete may be limited. Hip flexion range-of-motion is particularly important, as a catcher certainly spends a lot of time in a position of deep hip flexion. If this motion is lacking, a catcher may find compensatory motion at a joint above (the lumbar spine) or below (the knee).
Knee health is another important consideration for catchers, as they spend just as much time in deep knee flexion as they do in toe dorsiflexion and hip flexion. With respect to knee health, it’s my belief that adequate leg strength, proper foot mechanics, and access to a sufficient amount of usable hip mobility will put the knee in a better position to be durable throughout the year (provided there are no contact or traumatic injuries).
To be an effective catcher, one must have sufficient hip mobility to “explore” in a small window. Some catchers will rely on more internal rotation strategies, while others will rely on more external rotation strategies to maneuver behind the plate. Therefore, it’s important for a strength and conditioning coach and athlete to discuss what specific limitations arise when the catcher is attempting to play their position.
It is also worth noting that with the amount of time catchers spend in a squat or in awkward positions, bony adaptations of the head of the femur (ball) or acetabular rim (socket) may develop, leading to a loss of hip ROM. Accessible hip mobility will help catchers to play their position effectively by allowing them to work in the frontal plane so as to shift their weight in attempt to receive or block a ball. One movement that trains this quality is the Half-Kneeling Adductor Dip.
It will also be important to have the ability to internally rotate one hip while the other hip externally rotates. We can see this occurring in both pictures above. This ability can be trained using both the always-popular seated 90/90 ER/IR hip switches as well as a new favorite of mind, the Cable Assisted Lateral Cross Connect.
Lastly, catchers should have the ability to come out of the hips in their stance through hip extension. One medicine ball movement in particular that we like to use on this front is the split-stance stand-up stomp:
Training Consideration #3 – Acceleration
Acceleration is the ability to gain speed as fast as possible, and athletes need it to overcome a static position (as in catching). Catchers naturally adopt a lower center of mass due to the stances they find themselves in. Having the ability to accelerate will support them in the ability to get out of their stance and get their body weight moving either towards the base they are throwing to or to field a ball.
Training acceleration for this population can be done similarly to that of other athletes. This will include things like med ball throws, sled pushes, chain sprints, jumps for distance, and lifts that emphasize horizontal force production. To make acceleration training slightly more specific for catchers, provide them with the ability to rotate their body as they accelerate or start their sprints in positions that require them to overcome a lower center of mass; examples would be half-kneeling and push-up positions.
Training Consideration #4 – Arm Care
While the intensity of every throw does not match that of a pitcher, catchers do rack up a substantial throw total throughout a season. Reps are reps. Catchers need just as much focus on their arm care training as pitchers do. One thing to note with catcher throwing mechanics is that the arm action is typically shorter, and they may not be able to use as much of their lower half due to the lack of momentum they have going forward when making throws. This is closely related to the quick transition time they need to have with their hands. Because of this shorter deceleration path (and, in turn, less assistance from the lower half), it stands to reason that catchers will need to have extra strength in the upper extremity decelerators than you'd expect.
Footwork is also important to consider when thinking about arm care. If a catcher cannot properly switch their feet and get momentum going towards their target in an efficient manner, it will require the shoulder and elbow to work harder to get layback, align the release point with the target, and gain velocity on the throw.
Conclusion
There is a lot that goes into being a great catcher, but as with any athlete, availability is the best ability. Keeping catchers healthy is the name of the game for long-term success at this position. Foot health, hip mobility, acceleration, and arm care are four training considerations that – combined with constant communication between the catcher and coach – can help the athlete feel good and perform well throughout the year and a career. I highly recommend you go listen to the episode of the Elite Baseball Development Podcast with Eric and Coach Weinstein if you haven’t already:
About the Author
Dan Rosen serves as a Strength and Conditioning Coach. Dan graduated from the University of Maryland with a B.S. in Kinesiology. He then completed his internship with CSP-MA in the Spring of 2021. Dan also completed an internship with Elon University Sports Performance and a graduate fellowship at Merrimack College, where he earned his Master’s degree in Exercise and Sport Science. As a graduate fellow, Dan served as the strength and conditioning coach for the Baseball, Field Hockey, and Swim teams while assisting with Football and Men’s Ice Hockey. After graduate school, Dan served as the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Brewster Whitecaps in the Cape Cod Collegiate Summer Baseball League. He is also Precision Nutrition certified.
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