SteveThomas

[SteveThomas @SteveRealThomas]

@ChrisVannini And only 1 transfer.

[SteveThomas @SteveRealThomas]

@GowagsKyle This is awesome. Is it tied to the high school you’re at?

[SteveThomas @SteveRealThomas]

@leftcoastbsbl MLBPA should propose 4 year first contracts then. Currently signed draft picks are under control for 6 years. If they stay at the 6 years control, then free agency is extended 2 years. I don’t see MLBPA accepting this.

[SteveThomas @SteveRealThomas]

@ToeTheRubber26 @SMorrison_ Ya, no minimum signing bonus.

[SteveThomas @SteveRealThomas]

@sionet1 @DavidLogan36 @leftcoastbsbl 💯 it’s the money.

[SteveThomas @SteveRealThomas]

@GowagsKyle Add runner stealing also. See it all the time even in MLB, ball in the dirt or passed ball and a stealing runner still slides in the base because never looked in.

[SteveThomas @SteveRealThomas]

@JaredB_BSBL Absolutely go swim your asses off and come to field tomorrow ready to play with the same enthusiasm as they had swimming. Plus, it’s great physical and mental conditioning.

[SteveThomas @SteveRealThomas]

@CC20rake @JeffStanek1 In your opinions, how much does the current level of pitching in the league as a whole have on the decreased batting averages?

[SteveThomas @SteveRealThomas]

@KevinBurrellMLB @thelabbcs A lot more pitchers at the high school, college, and pro levels throw any of their pitches in any count. Hitters have to have swing patterns that allows them to have adjustability. Then can hunt velocities, pitch tunnels, or locations while having time to recognize what they want

[SteveThomas @SteveRealThomas]

@leftcoastbsbl @BaseballAmerica @JacobRudner I hope I’m wrong, but imo too big of a name for almost all west coast teams to afford. Unless he’s willing to make a lot less than he is as the hitting at Texas.

[SteveThomas @SteveRealThomas]

@leftcoastbsbl Very true. NCAA is partially trying to address it with the proposed age based eligibility 5 in 5 and only one transfer allowed.

[SteveThomas @SteveRealThomas]

@tromblybaseball Don’t forget “players” that hope for days off or rainouts. If you don’t actually want to play or practice, get out of the way for those who want to.

[BIG BOB @FSBigBob]

Paul Skenes is an awesome human in case anyone was wondering.

He was driving by the Ingomar Franklin Park Little League baseball fields last night and saw the lights on and just pulled on in.

He was there over 2 hours signing, taking pictures and playing catch with the kids.

[SteveThomas @SteveRealThomas]

@bigleagueswings More up to the individual teams/athletic director/principals to carry out the penalty. The team or teams that they play for their first game next year should keep track also and if players are playing that are supposed to sit, then they bring it to CIF. Penalty would be forfeit.

[Jermaine Curtis @JermaineCurtis]

When I was with the St. Louis Cardinals, I saw Matt Carpenter do one of the strangest things.

He always had a bat in his hand.

Before the game.
In the clubhouse.
In the tunnel.
Walking around the stadium.

And he was constantly taking swings.

No baseball.
No tee.
No pitcher.

Just swing after swing after swing.

We call them dry hacks or dry swings.

One day I finally asked him about it.

I said,

"Carp, why do you take so many dry swings?"

His answer surprised me.

He said:

"I'm visualizing success."

That was it.

I remember standing there thinking about that for a second.

Because I had always viewed dry hacks as physical work.

Matt viewed them differently.

Every swing was a confidence rep.

He wasn't just moving a bat.

He was seeing himself drive a fastball into the gap.

He was seeing himself stay on an off-speed pitch.

He was seeing himself compete and succeed before the game ever started.

That's when a light bulb went off for me.

Think about it.

Every player wants confidence.

But most players wait for a hit before they allow themselves to feel confident.

Matt was doing the opposite.

He was building confidence before he ever stepped into the batter's box.

By the time the game started...

He had already seen himself succeed hundreds of times.

So I decided to try it myself.

When nobody was around, I'd grab a bat and take dry hacks.

But this time, I wasn't just swinging.

I was visualizing.
I saw myself driving balls into the gaps.
I saw myself competing with two strikes.
I saw myself getting big hits in big situations.

And over time, I noticed something.

I felt different on the field.

More confident.
More relaxed.
More prepared.

And the results started improving too.

Not because I magically became a better hitter overnight.

But because I stopped waiting for confidence to show up.

I started building it before the game ever started.

So if youre struggling with confidence...

Here's my "Confidence Booster Plan" I'd Do Tonight:

1. Dry Hacks (10 Swings)
Visualize yourself driving a line drive into the gap.

2. Dry Hacks (10 Swings)
Visualize yourself battling with two strikes and winning the at-bat.

3. Dry Hacks (10 Swings)
Visualize your next game. See yourself stepping into the box confident, aggressive, and ready to compete.

30 swings.

30 confidence reps.

One thing I've learned from Matt Carpenter:

Most players practice their swing.

Elite players practice confidence.

Thank you for reading,
Jermaine Curtis

P.S. - If you enjoyed this and thought it was helpful, please share it.

(When you share it, it tells me you want more content like this.)

[SteveThomas @SteveRealThomas]

@flowsdoc I’m Parent/high school coach. You’re in a different place than most. You can control a lot of the development and skills. Understand that the tournaments/games are testing the skills and development, aka game reps. With a decent club it can get expensive, but it helped my kids.

[SteveThomas @SteveRealThomas]

@CoachSwit Most HS programs do not have players in the weight room nor do they follow a solid recovery and conditioning program throughout the offseason and in season.

[SteveThomas @SteveRealThomas]

@KelliBartels @NorCalU1 Don’t know the case here, but have seen a school verbally commit to player and player verbally commit, but coach doesn’t send the paperwork.

[Jermaine Curtis @JermaineCurtis]

The biggest mistake I made when learning to hit a curveball...

I treated every curveball like it was my pitch.

So every time I saw spin, I swung.

I'd swing and miss.
I'd roll over weak ground balls.
I'd get myself out on pitches I had no business swinging at.

For years, I thought I had a curveball problem.

I didn't.

I had a decision problem.

Because every curveball isn't equal.

Some are mistakes.
Some are strikes.
Some are traps.

Once I figured that out, everything changed.

The goal isn't to hit every curveball.

The goal is to identify the mistakes and attack those.

Then let the others go.

So if I were learning to hit a curveball today, here's exactly what I'd do.

First, I'd put a glove on my top hand.

Then I'd have a coach or pitching machine throw different types of curveballs.

- Hangers
- Curves below the zone
- Curves off the plate
- Curves that start as strikes and finish as balls
- Curves that stay up

My job wouldn't be to swing.

My job would be to catch the ones I'd want to hit.

And let the others go.

Why?

Because before you can hit a curveball...

You have to identify it.

This slows the game down and teaches your eyes what a hittable curveball actually looks like.

Then I'd level it up.

Now I'd grab a bat.

Still no swings.

If it's a hanger or a curveball I can damage:

"I crushed it."

If it's a bad pitch:

"I'm taking."

Now we're training the mind.

We're learning to separate good curveballs from bad curveballs.

Then I'd move to the final step.

Now we swing.

Same game.

Same thought process.

Only now we're actually hitting.

Good one?

Attack it.

Bad one?

Take it.

One thing I've learned from 25 years of playing baseball:

Most hitters don't struggle with curveballs because they can't hit them.

They struggle because they keep swinging at curveballs they should never be swinging at in the first place.

Try this tonight:

✅ 10 catches
✅ 10 call-outs
✅ 10 swings

Record a video of yourself doing it.

I'd love to see it.

Thank you for reading,
Jermaine Curtis

P.S. - If you enjoyed this, and it helped, share it. This tells me you want more content like this.