Coach Rich goes over the importance of having a mental plan before you get up to hit.
Sunday, April 30, 2023
Thursday, April 27, 2023
Caught Stealing Percentage (CS%)
Caught stealing percentage refers to the frequency with which a catcher throws out opposing baserunners who are trying to steal. The formula is simple: catcher caught stealings divided by total stolen-base attempts -- both successful and unsuccessful -- against that catcher.
In terms of caught stealing percentage, a catcher is not responsible for any runners who advance via a passed ball or wild pitch. (A catcher also does not receive credit for throwing out a runner who tries to advance on a passed ball or wild pitch.)
Find more, here.
Monday, April 24, 2023
Assist (A)
An assist is awarded to a fielder who touches the ball before a putout is recorded by another fielder. Typically, assists are awarded to fielders when they throw the ball to another player -- but a fielder receives an assist as long as he touches the ball, even if the contact was unintentional. For example, on a line drive that strikes the pitcher before caroming to the shortstop, both the pitcher and shortstop are awarded an assist if the out is made on a throw to first base.
There is an assist awarded on most ground-ball outs -- because most ground-ball outs require a defender to throw the ball to another defender. However, there can also be assists on fly balls -- when a runner tries to advance, but the outfielder (or in rare cases, the infielder) throws him out or doubles him off.
There is a maximum of one assist per player per out recorded. If a player touches the ball twice in a rundown, where the runner is eventually tagged out, that player is only credited with one assist for that out. Pitchers are not awarded assists for strikeouts.
Find more, here.
Friday, April 21, 2023
Creating Backside Tension to Maximize Ground Force - Coach Rich - Baseba...
Coach Rich shows how to use your backside to create more ground force and power.
Tuesday, April 18, 2023
Where Did The Home Run Derby Come From?
The inspiration for the event was a 1960 TV series called Home Run Derby. The televised event included baseball legends Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, and Willie Mays. The show ran for 26 episodes with the winner receiving $2,000.
The event has grown significantly from its roots in the 1980s, when it was not televised. Prior to 1991, the Home Run Derby was structured as a two-inning event with each player receiving five outs per inning, allowing for the possibility of ties. It is now one of the most-watched events broadcast on ESPN.
In 2000, a "match play"-style format was instituted for the second round. The player with the most home runs in the first round faced the player with the least among the four qualifying players, as did the players with the second- and third-most totals. The contestant who won each matchup advanced to the finals. This format was discontinued after the 2003 competition.
The field of players selected currently consists of four American League players and four National League players. The first Derby in 1985 featured five from each league, and the 1986 and 1987 events featured three and two players from each league, respectively. In 1996, the field was again expanded to ten players, with five from each league (though in 1997, the AL had six contestants to the NL's four).
In 2000, the field reverted to the current four-player-per-league format. The only exception was 2005, when Major League Baseball changed the selection criteria so that eight players represented their home countries instead of their respective leagues. The change was believed to be in promotion of the inaugural World Baseball Classic, played in March 2006.[citation needed] In 2006, the selection of four players from each league resumed. In 2011, the format was revised so that team captains selected the individual sides.
For the first time in Derby history, Shohei Ohtani became both the first pitcher and the first Japanese player to participate in 2021.
Some notable performances in the Derby include Bobby Abreu in 2005, who won the Derby with a then-record 41 homers, including a then-record 24 in the first round. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. broke the first-round record in 2019 with 29 home runs. He broke that record in the following round, hitting 40 home runs in 2 tiebreakers. The previous overall record was set in 2016 by Giancarlo Stanton, who finished with a total of 61 home runs, defeating Todd Frazier in the final round. The current overall record is held by Guerrero Jr. at a mark of 91, set in 2019. Only three participants, Yoenis Céspedes, Stanton, and Pete Alonso, have won the Home Run Derby without being selected to the All-Star Game.[6] Alonso broke Guerrero's first-round record in 2021 with 35 homers on his way to his second straight Derby Title (the first being in 2019 with a final round win over Guerrero).
Read more, here.
Saturday, April 15, 2023
Home Run Derby
The Home Run Derby is an annual home run hitting competition in Major League Baseball (MLB) customarily held the day before the MLB All-Star Game, which places the contest on a Monday in July. A "home run" in the context of the competition, consists of hitting a baseball in fair territory out of the playing field on the fly. It differs from a home run hit during legal gameplay in that the batter is not competing against a pitcher and a defensive team attempting to make an out. In the Home Run Derby, all pitches are purposefully thrown slowly and at a closer range than the official 60 feet 6 inches (18.44 m) distance, usually by a coach behind a pitching screen. In addition, like batting practice, the batter remains in the batter's box after each swing, and does not run, nor circle the bases to score a run.
The batter also does not have to conform to the usual league uniform standards, and as all pitches are tossed in the strike zone without any threat of beanballs, may choose to wear a regular baseball cap instead of a batting helmet. As the event traditionally takes place at sunset where the sun is of no factor to the batter, they can choose to wear their hat casually and backwards.
Since the inaugural derby in 1985, the event has seen several rule changes, evolving from a short outs-based competition, to multiple rounds, and eventually a bracket-style timed event.
Read more, here.
Wednesday, April 12, 2023
Sunday, April 9, 2023
Thursday, April 6, 2023
Instant Replay
Replays "to get the call right" have been used extremely sporadically in the past, but the use of instant replay to determine "boundary calls"—home runs and foul balls—was not officially allowed until 2008.
In a game on May 31, 1999, involving the St. Louis Cardinals and Florida Marlins, a hit by Cliff Floyd of the Marlins was initially ruled a double, then a home run, then was changed back to a double when umpire Frank Pulli decided to review video of the play. The Marlins protested that video replay was not allowed, but while the National League office agreed that replay was not to be used in future games, it declined the protest on the grounds it was a judgment call, and the play stood.
In November 2007, the general managers of Major League Baseball voted in favor of implementing instant replay reviews on boundary home run calls. The proposal limited the use of instant replay to determining whether a boundary/home run call is:
- A fair (home run) or foul ball
- A live ball (ball hit a fence and rebounded onto the field), ground rule double (ball hit a fence before leaving the field), or home run (ball hit some object beyond the fence while in flight)
- Spectator interference or home run (spectator touched the ball after it broke the plane of the fence).
On August 28, 2008, instant replay review became available in MLB for reviewing calls in accordance with the above proposal. It was first utilized on September 3, 2008, in a game between the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees hit what appeared to be a home run, but the ball hit a catwalk behind the foul pole. It was at first called a home run, until Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon argued the call, and the umpires decided to review the play. After 2 minutes and 15 seconds, the umpires came back and ruled it a home run.
About two weeks later, on September 19, also at Tropicana Field, a boundary call was overturned for the first time. In this case, Carlos Peña of the Rays was given a ground rule double in a game against the Minnesota Twins after an umpire believed a fan reached into the field of play to catch a fly ball in right field. The umpires reviewed the play, determined the fan did not reach over the fence, and reversed the call, awarding Peña a home run.
Aside from the two aforementioned reviews at Tampa Bay, the replay was used four more times in the 2008 MLB regular season: twice at Houston, once at Seattle, and once at San Francisco. The San Francisco incident is perhaps the most unusual. Bengie Molina, the Giants' catcher, hit what was first called a single. Molina then was replaced in the game by Emmanuel Burriss, a pinch-runner, before the umpires re-evaluated the call and ruled it a home run. In this instance though, Molina was not allowed to return to the game to complete the run, as he had already been replaced. Molina was credited with the home run, and two RBIs, but not for the run scored which went to Burriss instead.
On October 31, 2009, in the fourth inning of Game 3 of the World Series, Alex Rodriguez hit a long fly ball that hit a camera protruding over the wall and into the field of play in deep right field. The ball ricocheted off the camera and re-entered the field, initially ruled a double. However, after the umpires consulted with each other after watching the instant replay, the hit was ruled a home run, marking the first time an instant replay home run was hit in a playoff game.
Read more, here.
Monday, April 3, 2023
How Are You Using Your Downtime? Great Time To Tune Up Your Game - Base...
Coach Rich talks about ways you can take advantage of downtime to polish your mechanics.
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