Hi, I’ve just joined this community for I found it very complete and helpful. So this is my story. I am 19 years old, I am from Mexico and I am currently playing NCAA Div I baseball for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. This post may be quite long so I would really thank anyone who takes the time to read it help in anyone you can.
I have played baseball for 16 years and I have been a pitcher for 12 years. I have played countless tournaments for Mexico’s National team (including 2 World Championships).
Here is the problem, when I was 16 years old I was clocked 87 MPH, I was seen by 3 Major League scouts (Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Yankees), and the comment from the three of them was exactly the same: “You are very very strong, but too small.”
Now I am 19 years old and on a good day I can hit 88-89 MPH… but I am only 5´7 and 170 pounds. I am starting to get frustrated because I master the difficult part of pitching (mechanics, control, mental) and the only thing that stands in my way to the pros is throwing velocity!! 3 years ago I was a freak, now I am just an average pitcher.
I know throwing velocity isn’t everything Major League teams are looking for, but it certainly helps and probably determines whether you are drafted or not. To be honest with you, I do not know what to do now. I left my home to come to the States for the sole reason of pursuing a baseball career here, and I know Div I baseball is the best place where I could be now.
I was initially going to join the Miami Hurricanes (you know what that means) but due to some problems with the application deadlines and other dates I was not able to join them and so I had to make a last minute choice so I didn’t lose an Eligibility year. Here at UMES we are working very hard and I’m pushing myself to the limit but I just don’t feel the program we have will help me achieve my ultimate goal.
For example, here they love to lift weight, we have 3 or 4 weight sessions every week, I mean that’s good because it helps us build muscle and strenght and such, but I will not gain a single MPH from that. The rest of the pitchers can lift as much as double than I can, they have been doing it for years, for me, it is the first time I set foot on a weight room (seriously), and still, I have the fastest fastball of them all, so clearly, that’s not the path I want to take.
What I am trying to say is this, I am not likely to grow that much (any tips for that would be appreciated), the program I am doing is not focused on what I need and my 4 Elegibility years began running last month. I seriously thought of buying a program focused on pitchers, just like TuffCuff or JaegerSports, but I am not quite sure if I could mix them up with what I am currently doing.
If there is someone out there that could help me, I would greatly appreciate it, any comments, suggestions, tips, anything I could use, I am really getting frustrated. I know I have the talent, and the only thing that is holding me back is that I don’t have a concrete program focused on what I want to follow, trust me, I am up to the challenge, no matter what it is, I just need to find such challenge. PLEASE HELP!! Thank you.