What skills do you need to have be a good second baseman?
A good second baseman is usually a quick agile athlete who lacks some of the athleticism and arm strength of a traditional shortstop. The second baseman needs to have good agility, good balance, and a very accurate thrower.
Second, a good second baseman needs to be able to read the swing of the batter to determine where the batter is most likely to hit the ball on a certain type of pitch.
Finally, a good second baseman should be an above average fielder, have “soft hands”, and be able to make strong and accurate throws to first, second, third, and home whenever necessary.
A second baseman needs to be a right handed thrower at the advanced levels to easily make throws to the other bases. A accurate and strong arm is always an advantage in baseball and it is an absolute necessity for a second baseman to be an accurate thrower.
Six Tool Players provides 24/7 interactive access to professonal baseball instructors to assist youth league coaches, high school coaches, and parents with improving his or her player’s baseball skills by implementing effective baseball drills and baseball instruction that stress the fundamentals of baseball no matter the age or skill level of the player. www.sixtoolplayers.com
What skills do you need to be a good shortstop?
A good shortstop is usually the team’s best athlete because statistically speaking, the shortstop handles the baseball more than any position player other than the catcher. The shortstop needs to have good agility, good balance and a very strong throwing arm.
Second, a good shortstop needs to be able to read the swing of the batter to determine where the batter is most likely to hit the ball on a certain type of pitch.
Finally, a good shortstop should be an above average fielder, have ”soft hands”, and be able to make strong and accurate throws to first, second, third, and home whenever necessary.
A shortstop needs to be a right handed thrower at the advanced levels to easily make throws to the other bases. A strong arm is always an advantage in baseball and it is an absolute necessity for a shortstop.
Six Tool Players provides 24/7 interactive access to professonal baseball instructors to assist youth league coaches, high school coaches, and parents with improving his or her player’s baseball skills by implementing effective baseball drills and baseball instruction that stress the fundamentals of baseball no matter the age or skill level of the player. www.sixtoolplayers.com
What skills do you need to be a good first baseman?
A good first baseman needs to be a leader because many times he directs traffic and serves as the eyes for the middle infielders when they move out to receive relay throws from the outfielders. He needs to be able to calm down a pitcher when he gets in trouble.
Second, a good first baseman needs to be able to read throws from the other infielders to determine whether to remain on the bag to receive errant throws, scoop short hops out of the dirt, and stretch out on close plays at first base.
Finally, a good first baseman should be a good fielder and be able to make strong and accurate throws to second, third, and home whenever necessary.
A first baseman can be either right handed or left handed and it is generally better if the first baseman is tall to receive high throws. A strong arm is always an advantage in baseball, but it is not an absolute necessity for a first baseman.
Six Tool Players provides 24/7 interactive access to professonal baseball instructors to assist youth league coaches, high school coaches, and parents with improving his or her player’s baseball skills by implementing effective baseball drills and baseball instruction that stress the fundamentals of baseball no matter the age or skill level of the player. www.sixtoolplayers.com
One of the primary keys to hit with two strikes is patience. Once the pitcher has two strikes, his goal is to try to get you
out by chasing pitches outside of the strike zone. If you are not patient, you will be an easy target to strike out because the pitcher is unlikely to throw a predictable fastball in a location that you can handle.
To be patient, you will need to “trust your hands” meaning that you have confidence that your bat speed is sufficient to catch up with the fastball and adjust to off speed pitches such as curve balls and change-ups even though you will be waiting longer to recognize the pitch.
The saying that a pitch is “too close to take” holds true and you do not want to depend on a umpire to make a call in your favor if the pitch could go either way. A good tip is to inch forward on the plate so that you reach and still hit with authority that may be a little bit off of the plate.
It is not the ideal situation to have two strikes against you but it is important to battle and not give in to the situation.
Six Tool Players provides 24/7 interactive access to professonal baseball instructors to assist youth league coaches, high school coaches, and parents with improving his or her player’s baseball skills by implementing effective baseball drills and baseball instruction that stress the fundamentals of baseball no matter the age or skill level of the player. www.sixtoolplayers.com
You are on deck and the lead off hitter hits a triple down the line in the early part of the game. It is your turn to bat. Do you have a plan to get the runner in and help your team win? Many players do not and simply swing at whatever pitch the player can reach, swing to hard, or start taking pitches.
Well, to get the runner in from third, it is important to think about where the infielders are playing and what the pitcher is trying to get you to do in this situation.
If it is early in the game, the corner infielders will probably be playing in and the middle infielders will be back and the pitcher will be trying to either strike you out or induce you to hit a ground ball to avoid a big inning.
Your goal is look for a ball up that you can handle and aim to hit the bottom half of the ball so that you can plate the teammate can score on a sacrifice fly.
If it is late in the game and all the infielders are in, you can still look for a ball up for the sacrifice fly, but with the infielders in and their range limited, a hard hit line drive or ground ball can also score your teammate.
The key point to remember is that it is the pitcher that is in trouble and it is important to have the confidence and plan to get the run in to help your team win.
Growing up a Braves fan in Mississippi, I remember one player on the Phillies who seemed to always to hurt the Braves in clutch situations. The player’s name was Mike Schmidt.
After reading Mike Schmidt’s hitting book, The Mike Schmidt Study: Hitting Theory, Skills and Techniques, as a college baseball player, I was very suprised to find out that he actually struggled with strikeouts during his first season as a professional baseball player in the minor leagues.
His solution was to stop trying to pull the ball. His thought was to try to hit the ball through the middle of the diamond.
This essentially allowed the hitter to cover the outside corner and allow his instincts to handle the inside pitch.
This strategy absolutely works and allows the baseball player to effectively cut down on strikeouts.
Wilt Person is a baseball instructor with Six Tool Players which provides interactive access to professonal baseball instructors to assist youth league coaches, high school coaches, and parents with improving his or her player’s baseball skills by implementing effective baseball drills and baseball instruction that stress the fundamentals of baseball no matter the age or skill level of the player. www.sixtoolplayers.com
IV. Mental Preparation Hitting
A. Have only one key! Wallace Johnson’s “Left-Center to Right-Center”, “Through the Box”, “Look fastball away and adjust in”, are a few examples. With having less than a second to decide whether to swing or not, hitting is based upon muscle memory and a player does not have time to think about his head, his hands, shoulders, etc when he is in the box.
B. Have your plan before you go into the box and make adjustments on a pitch by pitch basis.
Wilt Person is a baseball instructor with Six Tool Players which provides interactive access to professonal baseball instructors to assist youth league coaches, high school coaches, and parents with improving his or her player’s baseball skills by implementing effective baseball drills and baseball instruction that stress the fundamentals of baseball no matter the age or skill level of the player. www.sixtoolplayers.com
III. Season
A. Very Simple, Have fun! Play “loosey goosey” as my first minor league manager, Max Venable, would proclaim before a game. You have worked hard and are physically and mentally prepared so enjoy the game.
B. In baseball, never get too high or too low. Focus on approach not results. In baseball, a hitter who gets a hit 3 out of 10 is very good, although he technically fails seven times. The season is long and the mentally tough player can sustain himself through “slumps” by not allowing his confidence to waver.
C. If your player has a solid approach, he has a great chance to be successful over time.
D. The players who are prepared mentally can separate the game into very distinct components. How many times have you seen a pitcher throw a pitch that he believes should have been called a strike and he gives up a key hit or homerun on the very next pitch or a batter who takes a pitch that he believes to be a ball and ends up striking out on the next pitch which is very hittable. If you watch a major league game closely, you are will see that the homerun was given up and the batter struck out because the player could not separate a “bad call” from the next pitch. It is critical that players regroup quickly when a call does not go their way.
E. When there is a bad call, your player must regroup. The umpire may be agitated but as there is no stop clock in baseball, have your pitcher walk around the mound or your hitter clean some dirt out of his spikes to regroup mentally. This mental adjustment is what separates the average player from the top level player.
F. If they strike out or get out their first two at-bats, some hitters will accept a 0-4 or a 0-5 for that day. However, a mentally tough hitter is greedy, has forgotten the first two at-bats, and believes that he will end the day at 3-5 with his team winning.
Wilt Person is a baseball instructor with Six Tool Players which provides interactive access to professonal baseball instructors to assist youth league coaches, high school coaches, and parents with improving his or her player’s baseball skills by implementing effective baseball drills and baseball instruction that stress the fundamentals of baseball no matter the age or skill level of the player. www.sixtoolplayers.com
II. Pre Season/Practice
A. Make practice fun by scheduling scrimmaging and having mini-series between players because game situations are the best environment for a player to gain confidence and sharpen his mental edge. It is unrealistic for coaches to expect players to execute in game situations if practices do not incorporate actual game scenarios with a pitcher who is really trying to get you out instead of helping you work on moving the runner over. Players should always practice at 100% because the games are played at 100%.
B. Take batting practice on the field as much as possible because success in baseball is based on effective visualization. On the field, you see the diamond, the mound, the “batter’s eye”, the dugouts, the bleachers, the ball, the pitcher, the infielder’s shifting to cover on a “hit and run”. It is impossible to simulate this visually in a batting cage. You want your players to see the difference when they hook the ball down the line, slice the ball down the line for a triple, or fly out to the warning track. In the batting cage, your spray hitting speedy second baseball may think his is a power hitter but the field will tell the truth about his homerun prowess.
Wilt Person is a baseball instructor with Six Tool Players which provides interactive access to professonal baseball instructors to assist youth league coaches, high school coaches, and parents with improving his or her player’s baseball skills by implementing effective baseball drills and baseball instruction that stress the fundamentals of baseball no matter the age or skill level of the player. www.sixtoolplayers.com
How to Prepare Mentally for a Season?
I. Off Season
A. Prepare your players physically
1. Physical Preparation has a direct correlation to Mental Preparation
2. Keep it Simple! Simple Philosophy for Baseball, Strong Core, Strong Legs, Strong Hands, and Flexibility are the foundation for any Baseball Training Program.
3. Leave Body building for the Body Builders.
B. Set Team Goals
1. The best players are team players. Stats will take care of themselves.
2. Ask each player to think about his role on the team and how he can help the team accomplish each goal to win the championship.
C. Be a Student of the Game
1. Provide your players with information to review over the off season regarding the fundamentals of the game.
2. Encourage your players to watch as many baseball games as they can over the off season and during the season.
Wilt Person is a baseball instructor with Six Tool Players which provides interactive access to professonal baseball instructors to assist youth league coaches, high school coaches, and parents with improving his or her player’s baseball skills by implementing effective baseball drills and baseball instruction that stress the fundamentals of baseball no matter the age or skill level of the player. www.sixtoolplayers.com
