Trice&Erin Powers

✝️ Christ followers 🇺🇸 TTU alumni 🦅Teachers ⚾️ 💪

[Kevin Graber @Coach_KGraber]

Introductory momentum steals progression. Verbal stimulus w/ manageable challenge to build technique, timing, confidence. Note I place my sneakers on ground as guide for Rs’ feet at 6 and 12 (yes I’m barefoot). No equipment or field needed. Make it the best part of their day.

[Kevin Graber @Coach_KGraber]

Brief look at how we teach primary leads.

[Tom Griffin @catchblockthrow]

Some ideas on controlling the running game

[Jerry Weinstein @JWonCATCHING]

Interesting graph/study from ⁦@KickDirtBB⁩. Note the LKD stance data for blocking & receiving.

[Trice&Erin Powers @powers1802]

@Parkabba @Burgess37Greg @KyleDouglas8 💯

[Trice&Erin Powers @powers1802]

@Burgess37Greg @KyleDouglas8 @Parkabba 🔥

[Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter]

Happy Bobby Bonilla Deferral Day: Bonilla is set to collect another $1.193 million from the New York Mets today, as he will each July 1st through the year 2035.

[Next Level Baseball @nextlevelbb]

Players want opportunities.
Parents want opportunities for their kids.

The weight room is available daily.
The track is available daily.
The cages are available daily.
Long tossing is available daily.
Defensive work is available daily.
Bullpens are available daily.
Caloric intake is available daily.
Supplementation is available daily.
The availability of improvement is available daily.
The opportunity to outwork the competition is available daily.

The ability to understand how to earn and take advantage of opportunities is so elusive to many.

[Jerry Weinstein @JWonCATCHING]

Interesting article on bunting in
FanGraphs recently. POINTS:
1) 2026 74.1% of bunts have been successful(Hit/Defensive Error/Sac). Highest in DH Era.
2) A bunt down with runners on base has an 80% chance of success.
3) Historically the preferable pitch in a bunt(Especially Sac Bunt) situation is an elevated 4seam fastball because of the pop up factor.
4) Consider this: Missed or fouled bunts-48% fastballs & 64% down breaking breaking balls.
5) Bunt success rate on the 4 seamer is 35.4% & 24.1% on the curveball.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
A. Bunters RARELY practice bunting breaking balls especially in a game speed/game complexity environment.
B. 4 seam fastballs up in the zone are right into the bunters visual tunnel & they are not required to go down to make a vertical adjustment. Also a lot of those fastballs end up being up & out of the zone & hitters frequently walk in sac bunting situations(Some pitchers struggle to throw strikes when faced with a hitter in a bunting stance). If you work up & into the hitter’s nitro zone & they are not bunting, you are vulnerable.
C. The down breaking breaking ball forces the hitter to go down to the ball to bunt it. Often when they have to do that they drop their hands & lose the visual connection with the bat. Also the barrel can drop below the bunter’s hands & the chance of a popped up is greater.

[Trent Mongero @CoachMongero]

This is a must listen… players and parents…. Are you ready to hear and handle the truth? Not everyone can bat 3rd and play SS…

[Rob Friedman @PitchingNinja]

Ben McDonald with a great story on failing on the biggest stage and bouncing back.

“I never failed at anything in my life…”

Then came the College World Series, a walk-off, an opposing coach talking trash and a punch in the gut he needed.

[Line To Line @LinetoLineLLC]

Covering ALL the bases & providing solutions for them 🫡

✔️No dual anchor needed

✔️Works great w/ natural grass & synthetic turf

✔️Fully compliant with new NFHS safety bag requirements

💻 [email protected]

#CoveringAlltheBases #LinetoLine #HighSchoolBaseball #WCWS

[Jermaine Curtis @JermaineCurtis]

When I was with the St. Louis Cardinals, we had a team meeting about hitting with two strikes.

Albert Pujols was leading it.

At the time, he was hitting something ridiculous with two strikes.

I want to say it was around .265.

Naturally, everyone wanted to know how.

So somebody asked:

"What's your two-strike approach?"

Albert's answer surprised me.

He said:

"I think fastball inside and hit it back through the middle."

That was it.

No complicated mechanics.

No secret formula.

Just:

Fastball inside.

Back through the middle.

I remember sitting there thinking:

"Why would you think fastball inside with two strikes?"

So somebody asked him.

And Albert said something I'll never forget.

He said:

"If I can hit a fastball inside back through the middle..."

"I can hit the fastball away."

"I can stay on the changeup."

"I can stay on the slider."

"I can stay on the curveball."

Then he paused.

And said:

"The ball gets deeper."

That's when it clicked for me.

He wasn't trying to pull the inside fastball.

He was using one thought to cover everything.

The more I thought about it...

The more it made sense.

So I started trying it.

And it changed the way I thought about hitting with two strikes.

Instead of worrying about every pitch...

I focused on one.

Fastball inside.

Back through the middle.

See it DEEP.

If you're struggling with two strikes, here's what I'd do tonight:

Round 1: Short Box

(Set the distance somewhere between front toss and batting practice.)

Have a coach throw only fastballs inside.

Your only thought:

"Fastball inside."

Drive the ball back through the middle.

10 swings.

Round 2: Mix Speeds

Now the coach mixes:

- Fastballs
- Changeups
- Breaking balls
- Sliders

But your thought never changes.

You're still looking:

"Fastball inside."

10 swings.

Round 3: Two-Strike BP

Every pitch starts 0-2.

Compete.

Battle.

Use the same approach.

"Fastball inside."

Back through the middle.

10 swings.

That's it.

30 focused swings.

One thought.

One approach.

One goal.

Drive the baseball back through the middle.

One thing I've learned:

Most hitters get worse with two strikes because they add thoughts.

Albert got better because he removed them.

With two strikes, simplicity is a weapon.

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.)

[Trent Mongero @CoachMongero]

Well well well… I guess real baseball matters again… and it wins. Don’t strike out. Get the ball in play. Hustle, steal bases, throw strikes, compete. Yea, bombs are good… but so are doubles, singles, bunt for hits, moving runners … pressure on defense. Why has it taken this long to figure it out! That’s what pisses me off. Winning Baseball ….. well it wins! At every level.

[3 Lefts Baseball | Coach Big Mike Fuchs @3leftsbaseball]

The Sound of a Losing Culture.

I hear it in the dugout during games. A player strikes out looking on a borderline pitch. He walks back to the bench tosses his bat and starts the script:

"Blue has a flight to catch," or "The sun was right in my eyes."

The coach nods just to stop the noise. The teammates shrug because they do it too.
But the standard of the program just dropped another inch.

You think you’re just "venting." Everyone else sees a player who is too soft to own his failure.

The 3 Lefts Mental Audit:

• The Excuse Subsidy: Every time you blame the umpire, the sun, or the mound you are paying a tax on your own development. If it’s someone else’s fault you don't have to fix anything. And if you don't fix anything you stay exactly where you are Average.
• The "Main Character" Delusion: The sun is hitting the pitcher’s eyes too. The umpire is missing calls for both sides. The game isn't out to get you it just doesn't care about you. Stop acting like the world is conspiring against your batting average.
• The Respect Gap: You want your teammates to trust you in the 7th inning. Then stop acting like a victim in the 2nd. Real leaders don't look for someone to blame they look for a way to adjust.

The game doesn't reward the player with the best reason It rewards the player who makes the most adjustments.

If you want to be treated like an elite ballplayer, start acting like one when things go wrong. High-level players don't have bad luck they have short memories and a plan for the next pitch.
Average players want the world to be fair.
Ballplayers realize the dirt is dirty and they keep digging anyway.
Stop auditioning for the victim role. Nobody is buying tickets to that show.
#3LeftsBaseball #BaseballIQ

[Official Strength Debates @StrengthDebates]

Baseball/Softball Season has begun

Strength diminishes within 14 days

Speed tends to diminish around 3-5 days

This means, Lift 85% or more at least once a week 4-10 total reps per week

But never take speed out

Great advice for in season training

More below 👇🏼

[vittorio @IterIntellectus]

AI will eventually do everything you can do except the one thing that actually matters

bench press 225 for reps

[The Babylon Bee @TheBabylonBee]

Wife Wants Very Specific Gift For Christmas And Also Wants Husband To Think Of It Himself https://t.co/rHG4eF9myn