David Cone’s biography “The Evolution of a Pitcher” is a book many of our pitchers read this last year Cone pitched for 17 MLB seasons, won 5 World Series titles, won 20 games twice, led the league in K’s for 3 straight seasons, and was a 5x All Star. His book has good insights into pitching, as well as several interesting stories in his journey to success in MLB One of the stories that stands out in particular is the clashes he had in his early years with his Royals pitching

The number one rule to throw hard? THROW HARD. Many guys are stuck because of what’s going on psychologically 🧠: they’ve often internalized “slow it down and just throw strikes”, they’re scared they “might get hurt”, they overthink their arm slot, they overthink their mechanics, they worry if they spray a ball Dad will yell at them It all adds up to babying the ball Versus letting it RIP So they lack accelerative strength specific to throwing, and they’re stuck in the no sch

I recently saw a former MLB pitcher talking about when he was young He said that as a high schooler he gained 16 mph in just 16 months, rocketing him from 78 mph to 94 mph He noted that in this time frame he didn’t have a growth spurt, rather he “simply threw” and it “just happened” He went on to have an MLB career, and averaged 93.8 mph, just shy of the MLB average What was uncanny to me is that when he described his throwing, it was almost IDENTICAL to what I did in high sc

I was like every baseball kid out there: I dreamed about MLB, and I thought that’s where I was going But I had the same problem most young athletes have: I didn’t have any idea what it would ACTUALLY TAKE to get there I didn’t realize because I was comparing myself to my high school teammates, and my high school competition. And because I was winning high school awards, I thought I must be doing everything correctly But if I would have objectively compared myself to the MLB l

Everyone has fallen so in love with the concept of “data” and “technology” that we’ve forgotten “data” doesn’t actually improve performance Even if the correct things are being measured and tracked, it only INFORMS what needs to be done Actual adaptation still comes down to people The individual athlete has to actually DO-consistently-what will cause change Now, finally, you’re getting into what actually takes guys from stuck, to successful: Consistent, daily habits So many b

Unless you truly understand periodization and how to correctly combine means and methods, most programs will look good to you on paper But even many programs that are actually good often fail The reason is many times they’re being performed in a lackluster environment Training to the brain is sympathetic: fight or flight So if you place an athlete in an environment that’s aggressive, where the music is loud, you’re slamming weights, and your training partners are pushing you

1️⃣ You’re not gaining size F=MxA. Throwing a baseball is not like sprinting in soccer or jumping in basketball: you don’t have to overcome your own body weight, necessitating mass specific force. Rather, you’re throwing a 5oz object. Therefore a bigger version of YOU will throw 5oz harder than YOU used to throw it! This is of course reflected at the elite level of the sport, where the average MLB pitcher this past season was 6’3” 225. 2️⃣ You don’t have a throwing progra

A 10 yr longitudinal study (Reinold, Wilk 2009) looking at over 1400 MLB pitchers found that on average GH total ROM exceeded 190 +/- 5 degrees; Bigliani et al found that most MLB pitchers have a positive sulcus sign in their shoulder, and 89% also had it in their NON dominant shoulder (so the traits weren’t “acquired”, they were hereditary). These are just some of the genetic factors that cause velo to “just happen”-for the talent. For that reason guys with the REAL talent c

It only makes sense looking back When you look back you’ll see how all the dots connected and how God put it all together for you But in The Process, you can’t see the conclusion. So there WILL be frustrations. And sometimes it will feel like it’ll never happen If you get lazy; if you complain; if you quit; then you forfeit the blessing But if you stay faithful, God has ordered STEPS for you This is why PERSEVERANCE is such an aspect of maturity (James 1:2-4) because you have