with Justbaseball!
with Justbaseball!
with Justbaseball!
That is one of the best posts I have ever read on this site. I wish all the young kids that aspire to be pitchers could read it. Thank you very much for sharing this with us.
Son who is a High School Sophomore hit a grand slam last night, hopefully there will be more to come. Doing well, hitting over 500 in district games.Grand Slam
JustBB, TPM, & Coach May, thanks for the kind words. Means a lot coming from such HSBBweb sages.
No doubt D1 is a different world. In HS he could make a pitching mistake with half the opposing lineup and still get a K. Now a fastball left up and over to any batter will likely get air-mailed no matter how hard you throw. In HS you can walk a guy then K the next two and never break a sweat. In college that BB has a high risk of turning into a run, so if you try too hard to pick away at the edges or are at all tentative about making batters swing at strikes you'll give up a bunch of free bases. A lot of those will turn into runs. You just can't make any mistakes or loose mental focus with any batter because they're all good.
Also the depth of the bullpen and level of competition for innings are just so much higher. Your prospects of getting that next inning of work are only as good as your last inning, or even your last BF, because your last mistake is someone else's opportunity. You can never take anything for granted and you can't rest on your last great outing. I'm not saying that's a bad thing ... just saying college pitchers have to work from a higher level of mental intensity than HS, knowing the bar has been raised and there's a whole bunch of guys standing in the dugout that are just as good and just as hungry to pitch, knowing every batter you face can hit. You have to stand on that hill and be totally focused on getting that next guy out every time you get the ball handed to you.
No doubt D1 is a different world. In HS he could make a pitching mistake with half the opposing lineup and still get a K. Now a fastball left up and over to any batter will likely get air-mailed no matter how hard you throw. In HS you can walk a guy then K the next two and never break a sweat. In college that BB has a high risk of turning into a run, so if you try too hard to pick away at the edges or are at all tentative about making batters swing at strikes you'll give up a bunch of free bases. A lot of those will turn into runs. You just can't make any mistakes or loose mental focus with any batter because they're all good.
Also the depth of the bullpen and level of competition for innings are just so much higher. Your prospects of getting that next inning of work are only as good as your last inning, or even your last BF, because your last mistake is someone else's opportunity. You can never take anything for granted and you can't rest on your last great outing. I'm not saying that's a bad thing ... just saying college pitchers have to work from a higher level of mental intensity than HS, knowing the bar has been raised and there's a whole bunch of guys standing in the dugout that are just as good and just as hungry to pitch, knowing every batter you face can hit. You have to stand on that hill and be totally focused on getting that next guy out every time you get the ball handed to you.
pbonesteele,
Great post!
As some of us say over and over and over, college baseball, any division, CANNOT be compared to HS ball. The higher up you go, the larger the program, the tougher the conference the more difficult it becomes, for all.
For a pitcher,they all can hit, that's why they are there, pitcher makes ONE little mistake and that just might be someone's HR and game loss. And you can't work from behind inning after inning, eventually it bites back at you. And it doesn't matter if you throw mid 80's, mid 90's, everyone is hittable in college baseball.
I heard a rumor it's even tougher at teh next level.
Great post!
As some of us say over and over and over, college baseball, any division, CANNOT be compared to HS ball. The higher up you go, the larger the program, the tougher the conference the more difficult it becomes, for all.
For a pitcher,they all can hit, that's why they are there, pitcher makes ONE little mistake and that just might be someone's HR and game loss. And you can't work from behind inning after inning, eventually it bites back at you. And it doesn't matter if you throw mid 80's, mid 90's, everyone is hittable in college baseball.
I heard a rumor it's even tougher at teh next level.
This is the best read on this site!
I look at things differently.
All hitters at all levels make mistakes. Good pitchers figure it out. If you fear giving up hits, walking batters,giving up runs and hitting batters rtc you will have a tough time.
The biggest difference is you are competing for playing time and yes these guys can make you pay for your mistakes but they ar human. Also when you get an opportunity you take advantage of it and leave it all out there. Starters don't think about going the complete game but focus on each pitch and each at bat. In HS a starter can cruise for a few innings trying to pace yourself and that can be dangerous.
All hitters at all levels make mistakes. Good pitchers figure it out. If you fear giving up hits, walking batters,giving up runs and hitting batters rtc you will have a tough time.
The biggest difference is you are competing for playing time and yes these guys can make you pay for your mistakes but they ar human. Also when you get an opportunity you take advantage of it and leave it all out there. Starters don't think about going the complete game but focus on each pitch and each at bat. In HS a starter can cruise for a few innings trying to pace yourself and that can be dangerous.
pbonesteele,
We also got to see your son pitch in the Stanford series.
Those are such great comments on the difference between and transition from high school to college. You have also provided a lot of insight into the progress and adjustments that need to be made from game to game and perhaps even inning to inning. Congratulations on his progress!!
BHD, of course hitters make mistakes. But the higher the level of hitter, the less mistakes they make and the more they make a pitcher pay for a location/pitch mistake.
I completely agree with PB here. When you get to college baseball and beyond, a pitcher has to focus on 9 hitters and every pitch to each rather than maybe one hitter in high school.
Hitters in college and professional ball are pretty darn smart. They are working counts and they usually get much better at bats the second time through against the same pitcher.
BHD, I think you and I just have a different view of the game at the college level and above. I think I will leave it at that!.
We also got to see your son pitch in the Stanford series.
Those are such great comments on the difference between and transition from high school to college. You have also provided a lot of insight into the progress and adjustments that need to be made from game to game and perhaps even inning to inning. Congratulations on his progress!!
BHD, of course hitters make mistakes. But the higher the level of hitter, the less mistakes they make and the more they make a pitcher pay for a location/pitch mistake.
I completely agree with PB here. When you get to college baseball and beyond, a pitcher has to focus on 9 hitters and every pitch to each rather than maybe one hitter in high school.
Hitters in college and professional ball are pretty darn smart. They are working counts and they usually get much better at bats the second time through against the same pitcher.
BHD, I think you and I just have a different view of the game at the college level and above. I think I will leave it at that!.
Thanks infielddad. It's been very interesting this first year, watching Sean make adjustments not only to pitching at the college level, but also the mental transition from a offensive player who also pitches to being a full time pitcher. It's almost like being in a club within a club.
My uninformed observations of where he needs to focus is simply having consistent command of all his pitches. There are times when his late breaking curve can buckle knees and others where he can spot the corners with a 89-91 FB, but hasn't had them working all at the same time enough. His change has been very consistent. Consistency has been hard to do with spot relief. There's not enough regular work and repetition to stay sharp, and often warmups are brief before facing live batters in a crunch situation. But that's the challenge for many college pitchers given the size of the staff and the distribution of IP. One thing he's done well is adapt to what's working. Last week he threw two innings vs Hawaii and struggled to throw a FB for a strike but got 3 K's in 2 IP on straight CBs. A couple weeks ago his CB wasn't breaking hard, so he painted the low corners with FBs for a rollover 4-6-3 DP and a K looking. Put that all together consistently and a lot of thing's become possible.
It's been educational watching the other pitchers on the squad. The one guy that has by far the most K's and least BB per IP with a low OppAvg is a reliever that tops out at 82-83 with average offspeed stuff, but he lives at or below the knees and just consistently hits his spots. Conversely, another guy with impressive velocity has a significantly higher OppAvg, BB, and Runs per IP. Just reinforces the message about location, location, location.
To tie my long-winded rambling back into HSBBweb ... We've all seen the discussions within HSBBWeb about the velocity levels looked for by colleges and pros. We've all seen the numerous posts by kids and parents asking how hard their son needs to throw to get to the next level or be noticed, the comments that you can't teach velocity (well, beyond fixing the obvious mechanical, sequencing, conditioning, strength, etc., issues preventing a kid from reaching his own full potential). But raw velocity ... by itself ... isn't enough to become an effective pitcher. The kid at Fresno throwing 82-83 with a .289 OppAvg, 24 Ks, and 3 BB in 21 IP is living proof. Now, if that guy has a "bad day" with control it can get ugly fast as a 82 MPH FB up and over the plate is VERY hittable and batters have LOTS of time to see and not swing at a ball out of the zone. Yes, a 90-95 fastball will get people's attention. But, without good control on that FB and without a compliment of effective offspeed pitches it's just not going to get results. In HS you can get away with just blowing a FB past a hitter. In college, a 90+ FB up and over to most hitters is a line drive or HR, so you're better off taking a little off it and hitting a spot.
BobbleheadDoll - I agree with the comment about pitchers can't be afraid of hits, walks, runs. They have to attack the strike zone, but have the ability to pitch with a purpose, i.e., control of what pitch, where, in what count, to keep a batter off balance. The most successful of the college pitchers I've seen this year have a common attribute: they all throw a high proportion of strikes. It kind of reminds me of that Sandy Koufax quote "I became a good pitcher when I stopped trying to make them miss the ball and started trying to make them hit it."
My uninformed observations of where he needs to focus is simply having consistent command of all his pitches. There are times when his late breaking curve can buckle knees and others where he can spot the corners with a 89-91 FB, but hasn't had them working all at the same time enough. His change has been very consistent. Consistency has been hard to do with spot relief. There's not enough regular work and repetition to stay sharp, and often warmups are brief before facing live batters in a crunch situation. But that's the challenge for many college pitchers given the size of the staff and the distribution of IP. One thing he's done well is adapt to what's working. Last week he threw two innings vs Hawaii and struggled to throw a FB for a strike but got 3 K's in 2 IP on straight CBs. A couple weeks ago his CB wasn't breaking hard, so he painted the low corners with FBs for a rollover 4-6-3 DP and a K looking. Put that all together consistently and a lot of thing's become possible.
It's been educational watching the other pitchers on the squad. The one guy that has by far the most K's and least BB per IP with a low OppAvg is a reliever that tops out at 82-83 with average offspeed stuff, but he lives at or below the knees and just consistently hits his spots. Conversely, another guy with impressive velocity has a significantly higher OppAvg, BB, and Runs per IP. Just reinforces the message about location, location, location.
To tie my long-winded rambling back into HSBBweb ... We've all seen the discussions within HSBBWeb about the velocity levels looked for by colleges and pros. We've all seen the numerous posts by kids and parents asking how hard their son needs to throw to get to the next level or be noticed, the comments that you can't teach velocity (well, beyond fixing the obvious mechanical, sequencing, conditioning, strength, etc., issues preventing a kid from reaching his own full potential). But raw velocity ... by itself ... isn't enough to become an effective pitcher. The kid at Fresno throwing 82-83 with a .289 OppAvg, 24 Ks, and 3 BB in 21 IP is living proof. Now, if that guy has a "bad day" with control it can get ugly fast as a 82 MPH FB up and over the plate is VERY hittable and batters have LOTS of time to see and not swing at a ball out of the zone. Yes, a 90-95 fastball will get people's attention. But, without good control on that FB and without a compliment of effective offspeed pitches it's just not going to get results. In HS you can get away with just blowing a FB past a hitter. In college, a 90+ FB up and over to most hitters is a line drive or HR, so you're better off taking a little off it and hitting a spot.
BobbleheadDoll - I agree with the comment about pitchers can't be afraid of hits, walks, runs. They have to attack the strike zone, but have the ability to pitch with a purpose, i.e., control of what pitch, where, in what count, to keep a batter off balance. The most successful of the college pitchers I've seen this year have a common attribute: they all throw a high proportion of strikes. It kind of reminds me of that Sandy Koufax quote "I became a good pitcher when I stopped trying to make them miss the ball and started trying to make them hit it."
My son's season/HS career ended this past weekend. 
But it's been 4 good years, and I couldn't be prouder. He led the team with a .420 BA this year, and most other offensive categories. And he made All-Division all 4 years.
Here he is at firstbase, not his primary position of 3B, but it's the best photo I took.
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w316/jbcdad/Edinburg...%202007/FH000003.jpg
But it's been 4 good years, and I couldn't be prouder. He led the team with a .420 BA this year, and most other offensive categories. And he made All-Division all 4 years. Here he is at firstbase, not his primary position of 3B, but it's the best photo I took.
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w316/jbcdad/Edinburg...%202007/FH000003.jpg
Nice photo Jax.
My son is wrapping up his college career, has been a rough ride for him, this is his first full season...has had lots of injuries, but stronger and healthier than ever. He had hoped to hit (at least) 20 career HR. Hit his 20th this week-end...went 4-5 a triple shy of cycle.
My son is wrapping up his college career, has been a rough ride for him, this is his first full season...has had lots of injuries, but stronger and healthier than ever. He had hoped to hit (at least) 20 career HR. Hit his 20th this week-end...went 4-5 a triple shy of cycle.
Jax:
That is a good photo. I see he likes to wear his war paint similar to the way my son likes to wear his...all over the place!
CatSureMom:
Congratulations on your son finishing up healthy and reaching his goal of 20 homers. Sounds as though he had a terrific weekend...good for him!
That is a good photo. I see he likes to wear his war paint similar to the way my son likes to wear his...all over the place!
CatSureMom:
Congratulations on your son finishing up healthy and reaching his goal of 20 homers. Sounds as though he had a terrific weekend...good for him!
Catsuremom.... 
CASon's team finished up their season today. CASon came in to pitch in the bottom of the 5th with his team down a run, 2 outs and a runner on 2nd. He was facing the top of the order and got the hitter to pop out to shallow left on the 10th pitch. The next inning he got their #2 hitter to bunt back to him, walked the #3 hitter on 8 pitches, got the cleanup hitter to ground to short and got the #5 hitter to fly out to shallow left. His team came back and scored 4 in the top of the seventh and went on to win.
CASon didn't pitch until the season was half over after he hadn't pitched in almost a year and a half due to injuries. He ended up throwing a total of 9 innings, gave up 1r, 0er, 5h, 2bb, 1hbp, 4k. The shocker for me was only 2bb in 9 innings after not pitching for that long.
CASon didn't pitch until the season was half over after he hadn't pitched in almost a year and a half due to injuries. He ended up throwing a total of 9 innings, gave up 1r, 0er, 5h, 2bb, 1hbp, 4k. The shocker for me was only 2bb in 9 innings after not pitching for that long.
Hey that's awesome CADad. Sounds like he sparked something there, and I'll bet he's ready for a big summer o fun.
I know "ITS" is not on here to often anymore but I thought you would like to know about his son "D"
www.usi.edu/sports/sports_press.asp?num=3914
I have had the pleasure, "D" is like my adopted son, of knowing "D" since he was a freshman in HS,and he played for us during that time as well,and it great to see the success he is having
Way to go "D" !!!!
www.usi.edu/sports/sports_press.asp?num=3914
I have had the pleasure, "D" is like my adopted son, of knowing "D" since he was a freshman in HS,and he played for us during that time as well,and it great to see the success he is having
Way to go "D" !!!!
Thank you TR...I've been wondering how he was doing.
Inspite of a not-so-great ( win-wise ) season so far, one of our players hit a huge homer the other night,...hit the light behind the scoreboard, up up upppp it went and then a big loud smash!!! WOW!
Next day ol'shortstopmom's kid hit one that bounced off a tree out behind left center,..as if it isnt enough to just get one over the fence,...seems we havta' crack something too! ha!
Doesn't take the pain away from losing,...but homers sure can make a nice moment for a big smile!
Next day ol'shortstopmom's kid hit one that bounced off a tree out behind left center,..as if it isnt enough to just get one over the fence,...seems we havta' crack something too! ha!
Doesn't take the pain away from losing,...but homers sure can make a nice moment for a big smile!
well i'm on my own in here but i'll toot my own horn .
3 hr ,4 triples 8 dbl. 10singles 35 rbi's and 14 putouts from behind my dish! the bad part 3 e's and 4 s/o and one lost ball in the weeds behind me that the pitcher bounced off the lip and just stood screaming at me "it's right there, it's right there" as the guy scored from 2nd. dummy should have came off the mound to help!!!argh!!!
3 hr ,4 triples 8 dbl. 10singles 35 rbi's and 14 putouts from behind my dish! the bad part 3 e's and 4 s/o and one lost ball in the weeds behind me that the pitcher bounced off the lip and just stood screaming at me "it's right there, it's right there" as the guy scored from 2nd. dummy should have came off the mound to help!!!argh!!!
quote:Originally posted by JimSmith#15:
... and just stood screaming at me "it's right there, it's right there" as the guy scored from 2nd. dummy should have came off the mound to help!!!argh!!!
Thanks for the report, JimSmith. Sounds like it was a great season for you.
quote:Originally posted by CatSureMom:
Nice photo Jax.
Thanks, CSM, and a big ol' ATTABOY to your son meeting his goal.
quote:Originally posted by gotwood4sale:
That is a good photo. I see he likes to wear his war paint similar to the way my son likes to wear his...all over the place!
Yeah, I liked that look too. You should have seen some of his teammates. One looked like he had Mike Tyson's tatoo replicated BELOW his eye...and he only did it on one side. Good grief.
Our son Eric had a great Senior season (10-2) to follow-up a 9-1 Junior year. No signings as of yet. Here is the link to a nice write up he had in the New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper a few weeks ago:
http://www.nola.com/sports/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-3...255322490.xml&coll=1
He has accomplished a lot, and we are VERY proud of him.
http://www.nola.com/sports/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-3...255322490.xml&coll=1
He has accomplished a lot, and we are VERY proud of him.
0)My 11 yo son has always been in his older brother's shadow. Going all kinds of places to watch him play. This year he is doing some traveling of his own and just recently was asked to play on a local rec team that needed a player. Today they played the only undefeated team in the district which they had lost to previously 17-0 (ouch!) Last inning we are down by 2. 1 out, 2 runners on. My son gets up and gets his first walk off homerun. Of course, kids come out and jump on him, announcers announcing his name over the speaker. He finally had his big day in the spotlight. Kind of brought a tear to my eye
Krak Jr's final trip to the hill for the high school season:
5-inning (mercy rule ending), 1 hit, 3 walks, 14 K's (14 of the 15 outs needed were by K).
Hope that means he's ready for summer ball!
Good luck everyone who is still in State championship mode for high school and for the rest in their summer programs!! Go get 'em!!
5-inning (mercy rule ending), 1 hit, 3 walks, 14 K's (14 of the 15 outs needed were by K).
Hope that means he's ready for summer ball!
Good luck everyone who is still in State championship mode for high school and for the rest in their summer programs!! Go get 'em!!
OK, some of you ask me to keep you up dated about Marcos doing. Well here are his stats for his first 16 games in Hagerstown Suns of the Washington Nationals organization:
AB 55 - R 12 - H 21 - 2B 2 - HR 2 - RBI 7
SB 1 - AVG 382 - OBP 426 - SLG 527 - OPS 954
The best thing about marcos is that he is running faster than ever, nonbody may suspect he had so serious injury. GOD is great!...Glory to Him.
God gave him other opportunity, and Marcos is taking advantage of it, by sure.
AB 55 - R 12 - H 21 - 2B 2 - HR 2 - RBI 7
SB 1 - AVG 382 - OBP 426 - SLG 527 - OPS 954
The best thing about marcos is that he is running faster than ever, nonbody may suspect he had so serious injury. GOD is great!...Glory to Him.
God gave him other opportunity, and Marcos is taking advantage of it, by sure.
Hooray, Marcus --- that's all good news!
quote:God gave him other opportunity, and Marcos is taking advantage of it, by sure.
That's all any of us can ask for and aim for, isn't it. Congratulations to your son... may he continue to make the most out of his opportunities!
Way to go Marcos! Thanks for the update dad.
Congrats to Marcos!!! And Dad too!
Title this post "Our All-Star"
I've refrained from posting about our younger son's season for fear of the "HSBBW Curse." Everytime I've posted an accomplishment in the past, I've sent one son or the other into a slump!
Today the HS regular season ended so I think I'm safe.
Going into this season, "Little Bins" was considered the number 3 at second base and a longshot to start. In game one he pinch hit and walked. Then he was sent down to JV as an injury replacement at SS. He went 4 for 4 in those games with two doubles and a triple. He had been promised alternating starts with another junior 2b thereafter. Instead, he started game 3 and went 2 for 2 with two doubles, got the start in game 4 and went 2 for 2 with a double off of last season's league MVP. He never sat again. Today was his 18th start in a row and he finished in style, going 3 for 5 with a double and 2 RBIs. That brought his season average up to a nice, round .400. In the field, he made a total of three errors--two of them in the next to last game of the season.
This is an example of what hard work and dedication can do. Unfortunately, despite the average and fielding percentage, he did not make the league All-Star team. But as I said above, he is our All-Star and we're darn proud of him!!!
I've refrained from posting about our younger son's season for fear of the "HSBBW Curse." Everytime I've posted an accomplishment in the past, I've sent one son or the other into a slump!
Today the HS regular season ended so I think I'm safe.
Going into this season, "Little Bins" was considered the number 3 at second base and a longshot to start. In game one he pinch hit and walked. Then he was sent down to JV as an injury replacement at SS. He went 4 for 4 in those games with two doubles and a triple. He had been promised alternating starts with another junior 2b thereafter. Instead, he started game 3 and went 2 for 2 with two doubles, got the start in game 4 and went 2 for 2 with a double off of last season's league MVP. He never sat again. Today was his 18th start in a row and he finished in style, going 3 for 5 with a double and 2 RBIs. That brought his season average up to a nice, round .400. In the field, he made a total of three errors--two of them in the next to last game of the season.
This is an example of what hard work and dedication can do. Unfortunately, despite the average and fielding percentage, he did not make the league All-Star team. But as I said above, he is our All-Star and we're darn proud of him!!!
We can HANDLE the truth! And the truth is that "Little Bins" is a darn good baseball player!
"Little Bins?" There's got to be a story behind that name.
"Little Bins?" There's got to be a story behind that name.
Woody,
Our last name is Robins. When my older son was playing HS ball, they called him "Bins." Actually, they still do. He is three inches taller and, at the time, was about 60 pounds heavier than "Little Bins." Somewhere over the course of this season, however, "little" disappeared. I think you can guess why!
Our last name is Robins. When my older son was playing HS ball, they called him "Bins." Actually, they still do. He is three inches taller and, at the time, was about 60 pounds heavier than "Little Bins." Somewhere over the course of this season, however, "little" disappeared. I think you can guess why!
HC
We are looking forward to seeing him in Norwich
We are looking forward to seeing him in Norwich
Holden:
That makes perfect sense..."Little Bins"!
Much better than "Dust Bins" or "Has Beens".
Thanks for letting me know.
That makes perfect sense..."Little Bins"!
Much better than "Dust Bins" or "Has Beens".
Thanks for letting me know.
Woody,
You just opened a can of worms that will give us a bit of fun around the house for the next few days.
Thanks!
HC
You just opened a can of worms that will give us a bit of fun around the house for the next few days.
Thanks!
HC
Well others here before me I waited untill after his HS season to post anything. I didnt want that jinx either.
My son was voted POY player of the year in his conference for the second straight year. And made All State for the second straight year. He ended up tying the single season HR record for our HS with 11 on the year. He hit .438 with 11 hr's 9 dbls 38 rbi's and 22 walks. In 109 abs he only had 8 k's. That gives him over 100 hits and over 100 rbi's in his HS career with 24 HR's. I cant believe he will be a senior already next year. Man oh man does it fly by. Were looking forward to a busy summer schedule and a college decision pretty soon. I hate to post too much because it sounds like Im bragging. Im just very proud of my son Jeff May for working so hard to be a good baseball player.
My son was voted POY player of the year in his conference for the second straight year. And made All State for the second straight year. He ended up tying the single season HR record for our HS with 11 on the year. He hit .438 with 11 hr's 9 dbls 38 rbi's and 22 walks. In 109 abs he only had 8 k's. That gives him over 100 hits and over 100 rbi's in his HS career with 24 HR's. I cant believe he will be a senior already next year. Man oh man does it fly by. Were looking forward to a busy summer schedule and a college decision pretty soon. I hate to post too much because it sounds like Im bragging. Im just very proud of my son Jeff May for working so hard to be a good baseball player.
Seems to me...you're not bragging...just telling the truth to alot of people who care, and appreciate the value and effort that resulted in this good baseball player.
I'm right with you CatSureMom...Congratulations to Jeff May and Coach May as well.
At 8th grade "Honors Night," my daughter BB received the Presidential Fitness and Presidential Scholar's Awards. I'm very proud of her on the field and even more proud of her in the classroom.