3 Keys To Success At Any Level

Hey guys,

I was watching a few major league games and am astounded at the number of strikeouts that occur in Major League Baseball this day in age.  It led me to thinking of the keys to being successful at any level in baseball: Throwing strikes, putting the baseball in play, and making the plays defensively.  These things aren't addressed, they're just thought of as things that should magically happen.  I don't care if you're five or in the major leagues you have to work on throwing strikes to throw strikes, you have to work on putting the ball in play to put the ball in play, and you have to work on making the plays defensively to make the plays defensively.

Throwing Strikes: I was watching a high school game this past week and watched a right handed pitcher who threw 77mph pitch a complete game shutout and toy with the best hitter in the state.  The reason he was able to have this success was that he pitched ahead.  Once you're ahead, you can go anywhere you want.  You are in control.  This takes tremendous work on learning to command all of your pitches.  As a coach, you cannot just say, "Ehh, he doesn't have very good control of his curveball."  Make him work to control it!!!  See my point?  It's something that his obvious, but isn't addressed.

Putting the Ball in Play:  IF YOU STRIKE OUT, YOU DON'T GET ON BASE.  IF YOU DON'T GET ON BASE, YOU DON'T SCORE.  IF YOU DON'T SCORE, YOU DON'T WIN.

Making the Plays: This just comes down to fundamentals.  Constant repetition is the only way to be successful at this more often.  The best teams make the least errors.

When it comes down to it, these are the three keys to being successful at any level of baseball.  The game really is simple.  You just have to let it be simple.  So when you're making your lineup as a coach or in fantasy baseball, or in a video game, ask yourself which players do these things the best and you will have the best lineup possible.

Tip of the Day: Being a coach, I'm partial to coaching tips.  Sorry.  Have your players practice these three things by making them more difficult in practice.  Speed everything up to unrealistic speeds, put players in impossible situations, and make them think at a higher level than they should be able to.  This allows the game to become easy.

Until Next Time!