Developing baseball "tools"

Sunday morning and Fungo is alewady thinkin . Good question.

Knute Rockne had two quotes that stick in my head. The first is...

"Build up your weaknesses until they become your strong points"

and the second which has yet to be verified is.....

"Notre Dame is never overrated, it is an icon, that will always be BCS bowl eligible regardless of the girly schedule"

While the authenticity of the second quote is in question, the first holds very true. I feel that regardless of what you do in life that you can never rely on a single tool in order to be be successful. While in baseball it is important to showcase a strength it is even more important to set goals that stress working on weaknesses. If nothing else it is a mentality that should be carried through life.

Oh my goodnesss,..it is indeed Sunday morning and I will need a few more cups of coffee before my brain wakes up. ( unlike Fungo,..who's sharp as a tack 24-7! )

My first thought goes straight to being a well rounded player,...one who works to get all 5 points as strong as possible.
Maintain the strong points, while continuing to develope and mature,... then work triple time as hard to improve the steps that may be lagging. (?)
Yes,..I think this is what I think.
(???) Did that make sense?

I'll come back and revise opinion if need be when I'm more awake and alert!
Coffee, sausage, gravy and biscuits on the stove if anyone is hungry!
Perhaps I should apply my own advice from above,..my coffee is excelllent,... a smooth but potent Hawaiian kona blend,..but the gravy,..well, honestly speaking, it has its fair share of lumps.
I know I can improve!

I think it depends a little on the tool that is the strength.

If the arm is the strongest, pitching is always an option, and not to many pitchers are 5 tool players.

If hitting for contact or power is the strongest, it would seem that the other tools can be below par and opportunities will still arise.

If the glove or speed are the strong ones, very few players make it with just those attributes. Yes there are exceptions to this rule, but most of the examples I can think of have worked very hard to improve another area.

Therefore, my advice would be you should always work to improve all aspects of your game but certain tools are more desirable work the ones that are most desirable.

rz1, I have never been accused of thinking . ssmom, Breakfast sounds great! Your gravy and biscuits sound good to me! I always thought that gravy was supposed to have lumps! I'm not so sure about that exotic herbal coffee from some foreign country though. What ever happened to that good ole American coffee that was grown by Juan Valdez in Columbia?

Wow, good topic and I have to go with Deldad.

I think it depends on the player. For example, for pitchers, they can't rely on velocity alone. They need to also develop the other tools needed for pitchers to get to the next level.
Same with position players, let's say if the player hits for power, but doesn't field his position well, he has to work on that tool, etc.

You have to work hard to try to develop all areas, for your position, for the next level. You do not have to be the best at everything.

As players get older and mature, their strengths and weakness become more apparant. In our case, son's arm was his strength, he could hit but not for power, and was slower than a turtle trying to get on base. So it was apparant he would become a pitcher, so he focused on what needed to be done to develop for that position. He was not happy about this at first, but he had to go with what apparantly were his stronger tools.
I know of a player who could hit just about anything you gave him. He had been a very good pitcher before he needed arm surgery and had to give up pitching. When he went into a slump in HS(long one), he became less attractive because he had fair speed and did not field his position very well. Parents had spent lots of money on hitting lessons after the arm surgery, but I am not sure if anyone paid attention to what was going on in the field.

JMO.

quote:

You have to work hard to try to develop all areas, for your position, for the next level. You do not have to be the best at everything.

Good point!! Being the best at everything would = perfection,..and I dont believe there is such a thing in the human world.

Two thumbs up TPMom!!!

I think it depends on the age of the athlete.
Younger ones (8-12)amplify apptitudes and work the weaknesses.
Older ones; polish the gems and shore up the short-commings.
Rollerman

I think alot depends on the tools. A kid with plus arm may want to concentrate on pitching and can probably do so at the expense of other things. A kid with plus speed has to be able to hit a little bit and better be able to field some as well or he's destined to pinch run.

From my experience, at the end of the day if you can hit, they will find someplace for you to play regardless of your other shortcomings.

If you're going to be a position player, you have to be able to hit. Period.

If your hitting is inconsistent, better have a plus arm and the ability to pitch.

As far as what to work on? If the player truly wants to make it to the next level as a position player, he better find time to work on everything.