We’re excited to welcome Cleveland Indians pitcher Brad Hand to this week’s podcast. A special thanks to this show’s sponsor, Rawlings. We’ve got an awesome new partnership in place between Rawlings and Cressey Sports Performance, and they’ve set up a 20% off discount code on select products for our listeners. Just head to www.Rawlings.com and enter coupon code CRESSEY20 and you’ll receive 20% off on your order. Certain items are excluded, but there’s still a ton of great baseball training gear to make you a better player and coach.

Show Outline

• How Brad grew up as a multi-sport athlete in Minnesota and why he chose to prioritize baseball despite being from a hockey state
• How Brad navigated the challenges of the long Minnesota winters as he prepared for the season and gaining exposure as a young ball player
• How Brad was surprisingly unaware of how coveted a prospect he was
• What differentiated Brad as a pitcher and made him such a high draft pick in 2008
• How Brad’s skills evolved as he progressed through MiLB and into the big leaguer he is today
• How finding a simple approach to his mechanics on the mound allowed him to find a more repeatable delivery and develop more consistency as professional
• Why Brad moved away from throwing curveballs as his secondary pitch and transitioned to throwing a slider
• How Brad learned to throw his slider, and what his mindset is when throwing this pitch to make it consistently effective
• Why Brad’s seemingly apathetic delivery makes him so hard to hit
• How Brad specifically exploits tempo to facilitate late arm speed and create a delivery that hitters dread to face
• How Brad transitioned from a starter to a reliever in 2015 and what adjustments he had to make to his throwing protocols to properly manage this new workload
• How Brad approaches attacking hitters as a reliever
• How Brad plans and performs his in season training to account for the fact he needs to be ready to throw on any given day
• What Brad’s game day routine is
• How Brad deals with the pressure of being a big league closer

Sponsor Reminder

This episode is brought to you by Rawlings. If you want to develop faster, and train better, you need the best gear. Well, we have some good news for you. The #1 baseball brand in the world, Rawlings, has partnered with Cressey Sports Performance to make getting the best training gear for you more affordable. Simply head to www.Rawlings.com and use the code, CRESSEY20, at checkout and you’ll save 20% off your order! This offer is only valid on select items, but there’s a ton of great gear you’ll save 20% on that will help you become a better player, so shop now!

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