Pat

[Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) @BauerOutage]

Most pitchers who can't throw a curveball for strikes are making the same mistake — their hand is late and the middle finger never takes over.

Here's a drill that fixes it fast.

Bounce the ball halfway to your partner. That's it. Simple.

But watch where it kicks when it hits the ground. If you've got true 12-6 spin, the ball kicks straight forward toward your partner. Dead straight. No side movement.

If it kicks sideways, you've got sidespin. That's a sweeper, not a curveball. Your hand isn't finishing the job.

What the drill actually forces you to do: get your hand out in front early, and let the middle finger pull straight down through the pitch. That's what creates true 12-6 rotation. The ground doesn't lie — it shows you exactly what kind of spin you put on the ball.

A lot of guys think they're throwing a curveball but the ground reveals it's really a slurve or a sweeper. The ball kicking sideways is instant feedback. No guessing.

Once you can bounce it straight to your partner a few times and feel the middle finger doing the work — now shift your eyes. Look at your catcher's chest instead of the halfway point. Same feel, different target.

That's how you translate the drill into a real pitch.

If your curveball is pulling to the glove side or hanging high on the arm side, try this before anything else.

[Pat @Az1Finest]

@CoachMarcusHill Honestly it was Vargas’s own fault

[Scott Anderson @LetItEat21]

Travel baseball has one major issue. We see parents already looking for the perfect “travel program.” Those don’t exist. What you need to be looking for is who has the best coach. The name doesn’t mean anything. The instruction means everything.

[Jermaine Curtis @JermaineCurtis]

A Softball dad asked me this during Baseball Office Hours:

“My 13u daughter keeps trying to catch everything out front and pull it. How do I help her let the ball travel and drive it the other way?”

This becomes a HUGE problem as hitters get older.

Because when players:
- rush out front
- lunge early
- pull off the baseball
- and lose adjustability…

better pitching exposes it FAST.

Here are the 4 steps I take hitters through to naturally move the contact point deeper:

1. Top Hand Tennis Ball Receives

I’ll soft toss tennis balls and have hitters receive/catch the ball with their TOP hand.

Why?

Because the top hand controls the barrel and helps create the path of the swing.

This trains the barrel to work TO the baseball instead of around it.

Plus, starts teaching to let the ball travel.

2. Barry Bonds Catch Drill

Next, hitters put a glove on their top hand.

(Right hand for righties. Left hand for lefties.)

Then I move back to BP distance and throw to them.

If they lunge out front…

they can’t catch the ball cleanly.

This forces hitters to:
- let the ball travel
- stay centered
- and receive the baseball deeper.

Barry Bonds taught me this drill and he was one of the best ever at letting the ball travel deep.

3. Toddler Bat Drill

Next, we use a mini bat.

(I call it the “toddler bat.”)

It’s about half the size of a normal bat.

The smaller bat forces hitters to:

- control the barrel better
- stay through the ball
- and get comfortable hitting the ball deeper.

You can’t consistently lunge and square balls up with a tiny bat.

4. Regular Bat Transfer

Lastly, hitters go back to their normal bat.

But now:

the body naturally wants to stay deeper through contact.

Throughout this entire routine…

we’ve pushed the point of contact back NATURALLY instead of forcing it mechanically.

NOW...

Here’s a simple 10-minute routine hitters can do TODAY:

1. 10 top hand tennis ball receives

2. 10 Barry Bonds glove drill catches

3. 20 swings with a mini/light bat trying to drive balls

4. 10 normal swings keeping the SAME deeper contact point feeling

Done consistently over time…

this is how hitters stop hooking balls out front and start driving the baseball with authority to all fields.

If this was helpful;

1. Repost/share it so more hitters and parents can see it.

And...

2. if you or your player are struggling with something offensively right now…

comment below.

I want to help as many players as possible take their game to the next level.

[USA Baseball Coach @USABaseCoach]

We’ve got you covered with a hitting drill for practice today 🫡

Coach Crookes (@CrookesKyle) explains how to train both the top and bottom hand to build a more efficient swing. ⬇️

[Troy Silva @TroyPSilva]

Some hitters need to be more angry and have some fire.
Some hitters need to be more relaxed and chill.

Not everyone has to be the same, but no matter what, everyone has to compete the best way they know how!

#BaseballTruth

[Baseball IQ @BaseballIQ_App]

🚨 Clint Hurdle’s Advice to Young Hitters

• Work to keep your shoulders level or angled down at foot strike.

⭐️ Balance & body control are vital to consistent contact.

[Troy Silva @TroyPSilva]

Hitters:

✔️You can do everything perfect
✔️You can crush it as hard as you possibly can
✔️You can adjust perfectly to a nasty off-speed pitch
✔️You can win the the battle

… AND STILL GET NEGATIVE RESULTS!!!

Welcome to hitting. where you can beat the pitcher, the pitcher knows you beat him, the pitcher’s team knows you beat him…

…BUT YOU STILL GET OUT!!!

Keep your head up, keep competing and keep finding barrels, whatever happens after that is out of your control!!
#BaseballTruth

[Troy Silva @TroyPSilva]

3rd base coach:
“Let’s go! Get a good pitch to hit!”
1st base coach:
“Let the ball travel!”
Dad:
“Remember to keep your weight back!”
Grandpa:
“Get that runner over!”
Little bro:
“Hit a bomb!”
Dugout:
“Don’t lunge!”
“Stay thru the baseball!”
“Stay short to the ball!”
“Watch for the 1st pitch curveball!”
“Sit fastball!”

Hitter thoughts:
You gotta block out the noise, have extreme focus, control the pressure and anxiety, have your plan and compete.

Just writing this gave me anxiety, imagine what that young ballplayer is going through in the moment the next time you want to start barking out instructions on how to hit! 🤐
#BaseballTruth

[Pat @Az1Finest]

@truth_4_future @flowsdoc Cutter is far worse for your arm than a curveball

[Pat @Az1Finest]

@Actsout @flowsdoc Curveballs have been scientifically proven to cause less stress on your arm than a fastball.

[Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) @BauerOutage]

Your wrist never moves when throwing a curveball. Lock it in position and keep it there through the entire motion.

[Pat @Az1Finest]

@JohnnyVenerable Makes it more likely that they will take Love

[Pat @Az1Finest]

@JohnnyVenerable You guys still have draft party tickets available?

[Pat @Az1Finest]

@PHNX_Dbacks The injury is he can’t play baseball anymore