Under the Lights: My baseball Journey

#1

I have decided to start a pitching log because I wanted to become a better pitcher and improve my game. Here is some info about me:

Age:15
Height: About 5’10
Weight 150-155 lbs
Freshman in high school
My Pitches: 4-Seam, 2-Seam, 12-6 curve, changeup

Some goals of mine:
Lose fat and put on muscle
Increase body weight to 175-180 lbs in muscle
Improve my command
Increase my overall athleticism
Increase my pitching velocity (I plan to buy a pitching program so if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. Right now I am looking at the complete pitcher or maybe TopVelocity)
With that Velocity goal I wanted my velocity to be at least…
75 mph Freshman year
82-84mph Sophomore year
86-88 mph Junior year
90+ Senior year
If I can improve all this I would love to possibly even play college ball after high school.

I will update this log as much as possible and let you guys know what is going. I would love for this to be a very interactive log so please give me advice, recommendations, and any concerns you might have. I plan to post a video of my mechanics when I have the chance so I can get more advice and be critiqued.
Also like I said, I really want to increase my velocity so if you guys have programs to recommend, please do.:slight_smile:
Thanks guys

#2

I made this post a while back under a titled heading “All he does is sit.” Just take a moment and read, then be very patient during your freshman year. I wish you the very best with your baseball experience.

All he does is sit.-
I’ve heard this complaint a lot from neighbors whose kid moves up in an age group, new on the club, and so forth. They wonder why he doesn’t play as much as his other age classification, and why others get more playing time then him. I also hear how competitive and talented he is for his new advancement, and no better or worse than his teammates.

“So why park the kid on a bench and let him take the field once out of five games or so?”.I listen to a parent ask me.

As sympathetic as I’d like to be, I simply nod, acknowledge how the kid must feel, and then I look for a speedy exit stage right.

Well, beyond the seemingly unfairness of it all, there are solid reasons why a youngster, new to a club, will sit, and sit, and sit. Here are some of those reasons:

  1. As coaching persuasions go, working with a known playing roster is hard to ignore. After all, as much as the intent of “everyone’s plays”, this can be a hard sell when stacked up against wins and losses.
  2. Adult coaches can be judged unfairly by their adult counterparts, especially in close-knit communities, religious organizations, social and fraternal settings, and even worse with coaches are compared to their predecessors.
  3. Parents and others can be very influential sometimes. Those that are perennial fixtures with a league or sponsor and impact who plays and who sits, a lot.
  4. School baseball carryovers into summer leagues can be shoe in’s for just about any spot, not to mention whether those players have abilities or not.

Aside from all that’s been posted here, a new guy has to earn his stripes, make new friends, and put up with those that were there first. That’s just the pecking order of things a lot of times. And as discouraging as this is, usually after the first season, being a familiar face does have it’s benefits. So, be patient, be mindful of your chances the following season, and your proven track record once you do take the field.

Pitching is the most difficult spot to earn your tenure in this environment. But earn it you must. Just be mindful that someday, you’ll be watching a new kid, sit where you use to sit, waiting his turn, while you hang out with the regulars at the other end of the bench.

#3

Sorry guys, it has been about a month since I last posted. I’ve just been busy with school and thanksgiving and etc. However, I had my 15th birthday a couple weeks ago and I am excited to say I got Tuff Cuff to help my improve my pitching. I am working on the program and am excited to see my results in the future. I updated my info about me to say I am 15 now. I think tryouts for my high school begin in February (I’ll have to double check that) but our baseball indoor conditioning for the school starts January 10th. I will try to be better now about updating this but if you guys have any thoughts, let me know.

#4

Excited to follow your progress!

#5

Update: Hope everyone had a merry christmas and I hope you all enjoy the new year. High school indoor conditioning starts January 10th so I keep feeding you guys info on that. Pretty soon I plan to have my pitching speeds posted and hopefully a normal and slow motion video posted as well on here. As of right now, I am just working with the Tuff Cuff program.

#6

Another offseason update: Hello again guys I will give you all a quick run down what has happened since my last post. I have been attending baseball conditioning at my high school and that has been going great. Tryouts for my school are February 26th. I have been working with a private instructor to improve my hitting and pitching. I have been continuing my TuffCuff program exercises. I plan to have a video of me pitching hopefully by next Wednesday. I have narrowed down my pitching arsenal to just a 4-seam, circle change, and a curveball so I can focus more on master those pitches. I will again try to post more but I can be forgetful in the offseason. Looking forward to seeing more progress.

#7

One week away from high school baseball tryouts. I am seeing an increase in velocity, and in control of all my pitches which is really exciting. I haven’t forgotten about my promise to post a video of me pitching but it is just harder to in the winter. Also in case, anyone is wondering, my fastball currently is about low 70’s so I am continuing to work on the velocity goals I set for my self. (not 100% sure since I haven’t used a radar gun in a while but that is my estimate or at least my private instructor’s guess.)

#8

Well, no one ever said it was going to be easy. For someone reason, I felt really sore throughout this week so my velocity was down this week and when it came to hitting, I had a terrible off week. Unfortunately, it all was just terrible timing so today I found out I did not make my schools freshman baseball team. (Today was the last day of tryouts and they took place all week) I am trying to figure out where to go from here. Baseball is my passion so there is no way I am giving up. I guess my only option is to my best to improve every single today. My plan is to do everything in my control from here on out to be the best I can be and prove my high school coaches wrong.

#9

Keep working during the HS season and start looking for a summer team. If travel is in the budget try to find the most competitive team you’ll realistically receive playing time. If travel isn’t in the budget look for a Legion team. Keep improving your game and have fun. Don’t get down and work on improving for next year.

#10

Sometimes, it takes just a few days to step back, catch your breath and relax. A passion for baseball can drive a guy to extremes, trying extra hard, putting more into whatever it is that motivates you.

But here’s the rock-in-a-hard-spot that works against you … you have only so much to give with what you have. This “amount” just didn’t meet the standards at the time, so be it. I would suggest to let it go, catch your breath, don’t beat yourself up with grinding harder, and harder, trying to relive what was. You have a lot of growing to do, you’re young and full of ambition. So, use this :growing and ambition" in the proper perspective for opportunities that will come along when you are a bit older and stronger.

One of things that I use to look for was a guy that understood the realities of life … all in their proper perspective. So, plan for the future … by projecting how you’re going to meet the future’s challenge. I would suggest looking for a club this summer that isn’t too challenging, but one where you can progress at your own pace, exercise your weaknesses into strengths, be the star of the program and groom a reputation of being the “go to guy.”

With your outlook and desire to being one of those in the lineup, you’ll do just fine. Give it time. Give it time.
Coach B. (retired)

#11

I’d echo the coaches sentiment above and state it must be one hell of a hs freshman team to turn away a kid who’s throwing low 70s

#12

Part of it was, I don’t feel like I was throwing my best this week. My shoulder felt really sore this week.(couldn’t have better timing for that) On top of that, they would work us hard in the tryouts and since they would call us to pitch alphabetically, I would be the second to last person to go. At least 20 of the 28 freshmen who tried out also tried out for pitcher whether it be their main or secondary position. I knew I hadn’t pitched my best earlier in the week so I was hoping to get a chance on Friday to “redeem” my self but because of time they didn’t get to give everyone a second chance to pitch during tryouts and since they were going alphabetically, I was one of 3 people who didn’t get a second chance. So overall my pitching wasn’t stand out.
My batting this week was the other reason. I would not consider myself a great hitter by any means but I believe I am about average but I was just in a terrible hitting slump this week. I was just hoping my infield defense would be enough to at least get me on the team till I could prove my self again in practice but life doesn’t always go your way.
In the end, while I have been upset about it and it really sucks and hurts your pride to be cut, I can’t blame them for cutting me. How are these coaches who have never seen me before supposed to know whether it is an off week? I am not going to lie, the cuts have really got me down and I may have kind of just been moping around today but I guess in the end, I’ve only got one way to go from here. My plan is to keep practicing and working harder than ever before and to just keeping improving over the summer and make the team next year.

#13

That’s a good attitude, only 28 though? My school has about 45 for freshman this year and normally 60-80 and they carry 20-24 kids on a roster for freshmen, 20ish for jv and 18 for varsity. How many are on your schools out of curiosity?

#14

Only about 13 or 14 freshman. In the past, we used to have two freshman teams but they changed that a year or two ago.

#15

Also going back the velocity thing, in the end, it isn’t my most important concern. Yes, I did care about how hard I throw but really that’s just a number. Sometimes I can get caught up in that so I try to remind my self that being a good pitcher is about being able to command your pitches and hitting your spots and mixing up speeds and movement in different spots.

#16

Unfortunately the tryouts are over for this year. I understand it is painful but the best path going forward Is to not look behind. If you truly want to play going forward you must realize nothing in the past can change. Just use for motivation going forward. Work to improve and find opportunities for improvement and ways to get on the field to complete outside of school ball until next year. Best of luck and keep working.