HG llc Baseball

Here is some High Confidence

NY Times reports Kelley Hired to Coach Miami

Miami athletic Director is quoted as saying Kelley was the only candidate offered the job. That speaks to some pretty high confidence in Kelley. Best of luck living up to that.

Player Wage spread

It truls is amazing the spread on contracts each player has, even within teams

Cot's Baseball contracts has a list worth viewing, I've linked this to the mariners page, but all the teams are represented.

$2.6 Million

Umpire Resouce Center reports that an Essex County Judge James S. Rothschild Jr. has approved a $2.6 million settlement in a trust for Krishan Thomas, a former student at Clifford Scott High School in East Orange who was severely injured when struck by lightning while playing center field in a baseball game against West Orange High School in 1999

Full Story Here

On one side it does not seem enough for what the player will likely go through for the rest of their life on the other was it preventable?

Gloves for Left Hand Throwers

This is a tough one. The rule of thumb is no larger than 11-1/2" for any player under 14 yrs old. But say you have an excelling player and want a better glove like a Wilson A2000 or a Rawlings Pro Preferred. Here you are hard pressed to find a smaller size model as it appears that the major makers feel all lefties are first base or outfield and do not offer smaller sizes in left hand.

Online you will find the same problems. Even special order gloves of higher quality limit pockets & lengths for lefties.

The only solution I have found so far is Kelley Baseball gloves. With them you can special order any model in their Pro, Elevation and  Black series gloves for the size and pocket desired for lefties.

If you come across another solution, please let me know.

Domin Baseball Gloves

2 NEW GLOVES INTRODUCED BY DOMIN!!!

Baseball people please welcome our catcher's and first baseman's gloves to our Domin Line!

This was posted in March 2007, I have not had the opportunity to see one in person, anyone have any comments on these?

Baseball Terms and the origin

Kind of a neat little reference to have, wordorigins has a post on some baseball terms and where they came from. Did you know that to "muff" a play, make an Error, was taken from Cricket back in 1846. Don't know how accurate it is, but fun just the same.

FIND THE LIST HERE

Batting Slumps

For what ever the reason, nearly every person who has played baseball runs into a slump. The prospect of buying a base hit is all that seems left for the player to get past the desperation of hitting anything.

Pressure placed upon ourselves for letting the team down, pressure from out statistics going in the toilet and pressure from teammates; while nothing is said, the looks and actions tell the real story of what they are holding back. It can be a spiral that places doubt in all your abilities, creating hesitation and second guessing what you already know what to do.

Batting slumps can do far more that merely divot the batting averages. It is important for Players and Coaches to recognize these slumps and do all they can to get their player, teammate back on track. Any chain is only as strong as its weakest link. All links get fatigued and need the time and attention of restoring the temper.

Baseball Players in batting slumps have great difficulty in observing their actions objectively. The best meaning parent can have this same trouble of objective detachment. Even they Players coach can loose the objective focus it takes to figure out what the real trouble is.

Younger Players have the most difficulty developing a consistent swing throughout the season. Constantly changing bodies is the number one culprit. Growth spurts, hormone changes, broader interests, emotions; you name it, everything a healthy growing body goes through affects their swing to some degree.

Intensity changes in activity is largely overlooked as contributors to swing changes. If your Player was dynamite during spring ball but seemed to unwind in summer ball, look to the off diamond activity. It is likely you will find the during spring ball and the school year the Player was on a good regiment. The freedom of summer and no school the structured day to day is gone.

Enterprising Players take the summer time to earn the dollars necessary to support their dreams. Jobs available to these people are usually heavy on the labor. Its simple physics to deduce that heavier work plus longer work hours will invariably build strength. Now that 31 they had been swinging like a pro is coming around too fast and at all sorts of wood chopping angles.

Now that we have covered the detrimental affects of a batting slump, the never ending array of reasons why the slump started and that the inner circle of the Players world may not be able to identify the issue, is there a fix?

Back to the basics, first up, put the bat on the ball. Do the T work under the Coaches eye. Use video to slow things down to take a bit by bit look. If the corrections are not working, seek a once over from a different coach. One of the wonderful things about baseball is the willingness of all Coaches to see all Players succeed. Be it League, Division or School, there is someone closer than you think that would be more than happy to spend and hour to two getting your swing back on track.

Time spent at the batting cage can be useful too. Particularly good is bunting in the cage, yes bunting. The batting slump is a simple result, the bat is not being put on the ball. So, when you can go to the cage and drop a tokens worth of pitches dead, you are now putting the bat on the ball. Start by being square to the machine and catch each pitch with the bat. Once that is done, take your normal stance and go through the whole motion. Drop another token and drop those pitches.

Even if your batting slump is mid season, developing your bunting skills are practical training. If your not ready to swing away, bunting yourself on base is still a base. While your out there, go ahead a steal one too. Plus when you are at the plate, and the pitcher hangs a cure ball, well, smashing that one is going to be a confidence builder.

No access to a baseball batting cage, no problem. Toss yourself the baseball and hit it into the backstop or other net that is not likely to break or get you into trouble. Again, the object is to put the bat on the ball. Even a bad toss you have to chase a little bit to hit is ok. Hitting from different locations, walking to retrieve the ball and hit again; drills like this add variation you will not find at stationary  batting Ts or cages.

Inner city Players have options too. Grab your buddies and go play some stick ball. When your buddies are not available, do the toss drill above with a stick bat and golf ball size whiffle ball.

The solution to a baseball batting slump is to discover what has changed and make the corrections to bring back your success. Get back to the basics of putting the bat on the ball in varying situations not all customary and usual.

Above all, the most significant thing you can do to end your slump is to be patient with yourself.

Report on Kelley Gloves

J Noot reports

Kelley Athletic Co. makes an extremely good glove…

Wild Card Weekend

Ahh winter in Seattle, 36 degrees and raining.

I much prefer to participate in sports than merely watch them. Kids will attest that most games viewed in our house come with significant nap periods.

Yesterday, after dropping off Kelley Athletic door prizes for the 2008 Baseball Convention in Portland Oregon, and completeing the very loud listenting to Sherly Crow's wildflower album and greatest hits; it occured to me that the Seattle Seahawks wild card game against the Washington Redskins was well underway.

A quick switch of the components, and yes, this deck does have AM and I can dial in the stations, and there is was, 14 minutes left in the game, Hawks leading 13 to 7, Seattle has the ball.Seemed the Hawks were in pretty good shape.

As a Hawks fan, I have the uncanny ability to view only the games they loose. For the past 2 seasons, the only regular schedule games I watched turned out to be losses for Seattle. The next 2 minutes were about to set it in that I should not be watching or listening to Seahawks. The very next play after I tuned in the channel, Hasselbeck was intercepted. Three plays later, Redskins score and take the lead with the point after.

30 seconds later (game clock) and the Hawks give the ball back again on a botched kick off return, and again the Redskins walk into scoring position. At this moment I am deciding if I should turn off the radio in hopes of Seattle making a comeback; I decide to listen on.

That was when the wild came into the game. The Hawks mounted their takeaway defense with inteception and 78 yard TD runback by Trufant. Redskins yeilded a similar result with a mere 27 seconds left in the game.

Although the score looks like a sound defeat for the Redskins, it does not make the full impression of the game which was very close and nearly a reversal of fortune early in the fourth quarter. Should you find opportunity to view the 4th quarter, it will be time well spent. Even knowing the outcome, to watch the events as they unfold will still run the emotion gambit.

NW Baseball Coaches Convention

• 2008 NWBC - January 11-13 at Embassy Suites Hotel at PDX, Portland Oregon
• Speakers to Include Pat Casey, Bud Black, Pat Bailey, George Horton, and More
• Youth Coaches Clinic, Sponsored by Friends of Baseball, Sunday January 13th
• Speaker Schedule                             - click HERE for more information

• Friday January 11th
  2:30-7:00pm	Registration in Lobby
  5:15-6:00pm	Pitching Mentality & Instilling Confidence Chris Frith - Mt. View HS, ID
  6:00-6:45pm	Defining the Player Today Marty Hunter - George Fox Universit
  6:45-7:30pm	Catching From the Ground Up Tom Lampkin - Union HS, WA
  7:30-8:15pm	Game Speed & Drills Donnie Marbut - Washington State University
  8:15-9:00pm	HS & Summer Baseball Protocal Panel Moderator - Don Freeman, Heritage HS
  9:00-10:30pm	Opening Night Vendor Social Hosted by Embassy Suites
  Saturday January 12th
  7:30-10:45	Registration in Lobby
  8:30-9:15am	What I Know About Baseball is What I Know About Life Pete Doumit - Moses Lake HS Hall of Fame Coach
  9:15-10:00am	Common Sense Pitching Approach Levi Lacey - Everett CC
  10:00-10:45am	Situational Offense Dave Gasser - Astoria HS, OR
  10:45-11:05am	Break to Visit Vendors
  11:05-11:50am	The Correct Approach to Outfield Play Kelly Smith - Lower Columbia College
  11:50-12:15pm	Pitcher Development Bud Black - San Diego Padres Manager
  12:15-1:20pm	Walk of Champions Luncheon
  1:25-2:00pm	Team Organization & Baseball in the Northwest Pat Casey - Oregon State University
  2:00-2:50pm	Hitting Instincts Pat Bailey - Oregon State University
  2:50-3:40pm	Fundamentals to Infield Play Geoff Loomis - Pacific Lutheran University
  3:40-4:20pm	Pressure Offense & Defensive Counters Tom Trebelhorn - San Francisco Giants
  4:20-5:00pm	Making Your Catcher a Coach on the Field Marty Hunter & Randy Rutschman - George Fox University
  5:00-5:30pm	Speaker Panel Q & A Moderator - Don Freeman, Heritage HS
  5:30-6:30pm	WA, OR, ID State HS Meetings
  6:30-7:30pm	Hosted Dinner
  7:30-9:30pm	Hotstove Drill Exchange
  Sunday January 13th
  7:30-8:30am	Hosted Breakfast & Panel Discussion Fellowship of Christian Athletes
  8:30-9:20am	Practice Organization Dave Gasser - Astoria HS, OR
  9:20-10:30am	Player Development & Motivational Tips George Horton - University of Oregon
  10:30-11:15am	Position Defense & Drills Rob Vance - Concordia University
  11:15-12:00pm	Fundraising Ideas Q & A Moderators - Korey Kier & Don Freeman