Thank you to UMD for a great 2 years representing my home state. However, I will be entering the transfer portal with 2 years of eligibility remaining.
FB- 90-93 T95
CU- 85-87
CH- 84-87
SL-80-84
I signed to UCLA my junior year of high school and was told I was going to start Day 1.
Opening Day at UCLA?
I was sitting the bench. 😭
I had 2 choices:
1. Complain, pout, and blame the coaches
OR
2. Find the holes on the team and become valuable.
So for 3 weeks, I sat the bench.
I showed up early.
Stayed late.
Cheered for my teammates.
Dragged the field every 3rd inning.
Meanwhile, I studied the team.
The middle infielders were doing well.
Third base wasn’t.
So I told the coaches:
“I can play third.”
Then I noticed something else:
Offensively, we were either hitting home runs or getting out.
I saw the gap.
If I could become a tough out, get on base, and bring energy to the team…
I could create value.
Then we played Miami.
The starting third baseman was hitting .115.
They gave me a shot.
I went 2 for 3 with a walk.
Played solid defense.
Brought energy.
I never sat the bench again.
Eventually, I became team captain…
and we were ranked #1 in the country.
One thing baseball taught me:
Opportunities don’t always go to the most talented player.
Sometimes they go to the player who becomes the most valuable.
Middle America families stuck in the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time that is travel baseball.
Baseball needs Legion Ball played at high school fields in t-shirts and gray pants more than ever right now.
It's not analytical baseball or old school baseball. If you can only understand one side, that's a big problem. This age of baseball is about blending the two together. Analytics are a tool to help maximize a roster, identify strengths and weaknesses in a player without bias or emotion. If used correctly, it's a tool to help player performance. Once the game begins, it's about “old school" baseball. Preventing runs defensively/pitching and scoring runs on offense. It's that simple. It's about the fundamentals of the game. Finding a way as a player that day to win every at-bat I take or pitch I throw. Days when I free great, days when I feel terrible. Understanding what it takes physically and mentally to do that is just as important as understanding spin rate, launch angle, wOBA, OPS+, etc.
A pitcher can “feel fine” while forearm force production and neuromuscular output are already greatly reduced. That’s the challenge w/ UCL injury risk. Fatigue is often measurable before it’s obvious, which is why objective forearm testing is so important for pitcher health.
“They lifted in college” is one step above “they watched someone lift in college.”
Being an athlete teaches you what training felt like from the inside.
It does not teach you how to design, supervise, and progress a program for students with varied training ages, injury histories, and development timelines.
Those are different skills.
If your performance facility promotes “drop in anytime,” you’re not running a strength and conditioning program. You’re running a daycare for some quick cash.
There’s no serious long term development without structure.
James Gladden
University of Maryland Graduate Transfer RHP | Bachelors Degree in Kinesiology
Thank you to the University of Maryland for the past 3 years, but I will be entering the Transfer Portal for my 5th year.
More info available upon request.
A lot of people who work in baseball want to be the next Billy Beane by figuring out some new way to cobble together a winning roster with undervalued players, but they forget that team also had some REALLY good players. https://t.co/HZmPtERQtR via @YouTube
A study by Dr. Peter Kriz showed that 42 percent or so on average of the pitches that are thrown on a game day by pitcher are not done in live games. It’s easy to get caught up in pitch counts, but there are a lot of throws that go unmonitored during the season. Workload is more than in-game throws.
Everyone is trying to fix this guy, and many think his low Launch Angle (2.8) is to blame…Is it really?
Well, the MLB leader in Launch Angle is TB’s Cedric Mullins (32.7) — who also has MLB’s worst OPS (.436) among qualified players. ⚾️