Stu Cohen

☀️

[cam ! @aokstott]

i love when he does this.

[That Guy Rocked MLB @MLBGuyRocked]

R.A. Dickey

That guy rocked.

[Micah Beutell @Micah_CBC]

Grounding 🤝 Visualization

Sam Cozart of @TexasBaseball simulating reps on the bound barefoot.

[Nick Sanzeri @SanzeriBaseball]

Peel your back foot off the mound like Velcro

[Stu Cohen @stucohen26]

🤯

[Danny @dannybarrand_]

Mason Miller this season:

Balls: 20
Strikeouts: 19

[sure is a hot one @playpigeonss]

Walt Weiss willing to die to not lose another starter 😭

[Stu Cohen @stucohen26]

@kylecorwintakes lol

[Jacob @AndThatsBB]

How do you explain this to a non-baseball fan?

“This guy makes $20m per year to throw the baseball. But if he has to throw the baseball slightly differently, he forgets how to throw the baseball”

[Stu Cohen @stucohen26]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[Jarvis @jarvis_best]

How the MLB robot umpire looks at C.B. Bucknor following his 500th consecutive overturned call

[Stu Cohen @stucohen26]

@Marlins we still call it Joe Robbie

[Stu Cohen @stucohen26]

@Marlins @MarkEllenbogen max meyer day

[Jonah Birenbaum @birenball]

They do it in the sun. They do it under the stars. They do it in biting April chill and punishing August heat. Baseball is enmeshed with – and an expression of – the season. And they play every day. The game is part of the daily routine. It is life, from April through October.

[Alex Fast @AlexFast8]

I'd pay a ... shocking amount of money to hear that conversation Logan Webb and Paul Skenes are having about pitch grips.

[Stu Cohen @stucohen26]

truth lol

[𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐊𝐈𝐄 @FrankiesTwoLoud]

Mason Miller coming in to send team USA to the finals 🇺🇸

[Stu Cohen @stucohen26]

fastball
down and away
so good

[Jerry Weinstein @JWonCATCHING]

PITCHING APPROACH THOUGHT
If you are an east west pitcher with a sinker/slider-sweeper approach, the goal is to widen the plate for the hitter which forces him in to lesser swing decisions. You are constantly forcing the hitter to work from his heels or his toes.

[Stu Cohen @stucohen26]

@coachpaeznmbsb 🫡

[Stephen Paez @paezbsbll]

🤌🏼 yes yes yes. Pitchers and catcher PLEASE read

[Stu Cohen @stucohen26]

@MiserableMet @SaladinoWRLD 😂

[Stu Cohen @stucohen26]

High School Baseball has begun...

College Baseball has begun...

Major League Baseball is a few weeks away...

Pitchers: WIN THE 0-0 COUNT!

0-0

Competition begins…Pitcher vs. Hitter

Statistically, if a hitter succeeds in winning the 0-0 count and thus begins with a 1-0 count, hitter will see his batting average rise compared to a hitter who falls behind in the count 0-1 and as a result will adversely see his batting average drop.

Pitcher must understand the importance of gaining the advantage over the hitter in this 0-0 matchup…

An above-average hitter will focus on process over outcome and the 0-0 count is a prime example…

Rather than focusing on getting a hit, an above-average hitter will focus on getting ahead, or better put, not falling behind in the count. Therefore, an above-average hitter will not allow, under any circumstances, the pitcher to achieve his goal of winning the 0-0 count.

With this in mind, an above-average pitcher should take advantage of a “risk-averse” hitter.

Risk-aversion: avoiding risk

Swinging in an 0-0 count is risky strategy for a hitter.

Swing and miss = 0-1

Foul ball = 0-1

Hitters are human and as humans tend to be, are naturally risk-averse.

Understanding this basic psychology should lead a pitcher to believe that most hitters are not first pitch swingers.

Sure, there will be hitters in a lineup who are more aggressive in an 0-0 count and in most cases these hitters will be featured early in a lineup. As the game of baseball advances to higher levels, an average scouting report will reveal more often than not who the first pitch hackers in the lineup are and these hitters shall be approached differently.

Armed with this knowledge, a pitcher who can execute on the goal of winning the 0-0 count shall be rewarded with the “pitchers count” of 0-1.

Having a dominant inning begins with an 0-1 count..

Controlling a lineup and achieving a quality start begins with an 0-1 count…

Becoming an elite pitcher begins with an 0-1 count...

Achieving the 0-1 count is as much mental as it is physical.

Physically, a pitcher must be mechanically sound enough to deliver a 5 ounce ball of leather while utilizing the linear and rotational action of the hips and shoulders in sync with the kinetic force and whipping action of the arm to drive the ball towards its intended target.

Mentality is where an above-average pitcher wins.

Mentally, the pitcher must have the mindset on an 0-0 count that he will win this count and be rewarded with an 0-1 count.

With all this in mind, how does the pitcher take advantage of a risk-averse hitter?

By being the more aggressive competitor…

Rather than trying to be “perfect” and locate the 0-0 pitch to a specific spot, an above-average pitcher will have the mindset and goal of attacking the strike zone, no matter what.

Baseball is a physical game played by humans who have minds and therefore baseball is as much of a mental game as it is a physical game.

Psychology: the study of the human mind

Applying psychology to the poetic game of baseball, more specifically to the Pitcher vs. Hitter matchup:

Aggressive pitcher vs. Risk-averse hitter in an 0-0 count will lead to an 0-1 count

Aggressive pitcher + Risk-average hitter = 0-1 COUNT = ADVANTAGE PITCHER

Armed with an 0-1 count, a pitcher can now focus on his craft of “making pitches”.

Get ahead and stay ahead.

Staying ahead begets staying ahead.

A pitcher who has the advantage of an 0-1 count will naturally be facing a weaker opponent at this specific point of the matchup. The opponent has now become a weaker hitter, a defensive hitter.

Facing an 0-1 count, the last thing a hitter wants is an 0-2 count.

An 0-1 count will transform an average hitter into a defensive hitter.

An aggressive pitcher continues to stay in command of the count.

The reason why an 0-1 count leads to a drop off in a hitters batting average is simply due to this defensive approach by a hitter when behind in the early count.

Every baseball game that has ever been played in the history of the game has had one common feature: an 0-1 count will lead to one of two results from a winning pitchers perspective...

Result One: 0-1 leads to 0-2 and eventually a strikeout at some point in the count.

Result Two: a defensive hitter when facing an 0-1 count will have a weaker swing which will lead to a weak ground ball or fly ball.

Winning pitching is winning the 0-0 count