Archive for the ‘General Baseball Thoughts’ Category
2010 MSABC Pre-Season All-State Selections
January 20th, 2010 | 
Author: Congratulations to 3 of our members that were recently selected for the 2010 MSABC Pre-Season All-State Team!
Kevin Kean- Old Mill HS Mike Marsh- Chesapeake HS Jason Seitler- Chesapeake HS
2010 MSABC Pre-Season All-State Selecetions
Thursday Jan 14, 2010
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR MEMBERS!
All of the pitching machines will be shut down tonight. There will be soft toss available and live BP only.
Thanks!
Coach Fletcher
Winnipeg Goldeyes Signs Pitcher at BATT Academy
On Sunday December 27th, Winnipeg Goldeyes Field manager Rick Forney came to the BATT Academy to evaluate recent Flagler College Graduate, Austin Donmoyer of Pine Grove, PA. Upon the completion of Donmoyers bullpen, Forney and the left-handed Donmoyer agreed to terms. Donmoyer signed his contract with the Goldeyes while sitting here at the BATT Academy! Congratulations Austin!!!
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- Winnipeg Goldeyes Field Manager
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- LHP Austin Donmoyer
Posted in BATT News, General Baseball Thoughts, News Letters, Pitching, Uncategorized | 
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TODAY’S INCLEMENT WEATHER!!!
With the snow that has fallen so far and with what has been forcasted for the remainder of the day, The BATT Academy and Athletic Edge will be CLOSED for today, Saturday December 19th.
Also, please make a note of our Holiday Closings-
The BATT Academy and Athletic Edge will be closed on December 24, 25, 31st and January 1st!!!
Enjoy the snow!
Coach Fletcher
Catching Camps and Clinics
We have been receiving numerous phone calls about this winters catching camps and clinics for softball and baseball players. Well, Mid-Atlantic Catchers has finalized its’ winter camp schedule with The BATT Academy. Each event requires registration and the first camp has already sold out! Don’t miss your chance to work with David Fletcher, Assistant Head Coach at Anne Arundel Community College, founder of the Mid-Atlantic Catchers Camps, and Regional Scout for the San Francisco Giants. For more information, visit www.macatchers.com or go directly to the camps page at http://www.macatchers.com/CampsandClinics.html
As always, feel free to contact me at 410-960-6016 (cell) or at dfletcher@battacademy.com
Thanks!
Coach Fletcher
Long Toss and the 3 Absolutes of Throwing
Throwing a baseball with accuracy and speed is obviously a necessity for ballplayers to continue to move up the baseball ladder. It is almost incomprehensible that kids who are fourteen years old and in high school are expected to play at the same distances that major league baseball players do, but that is the case. High school dimensions are the same ninety feet between the bases and sixty feet between home and the pitcher’s mound. Those are formidable distances for players, especially for those who have not had their growth spurt yet. The good news is that players can improve their arm strength and accuracy with good mechanics and practice by engaging in Long-Tossing. Players who want to improve their throwing should adhere to the following fundamentals and practice until perfecting them. It is also necessary to throw (correctly) for anywhere between seven and nine months out of the year. Generally, as kids get closer to high school, more throwing is advised with at least a couple of days a week of quality throwing (Long-Toss!). Getting the proper amount of rest between throwing sessions is also important.
3 Absolutes of Throwing for Speed and Accuracy
1. Direction – most kids know how to stand at home plate so having them go to their hitting position before throwing should come easy. This complete turn of the body will point the front shoulder directly at the target with feet parallel to each other. Without this correct set-up position, the thrower’s ability to reach maximum speed and accuracy are already compromised. As noted with hitting position, a complete ninety degree turn of the thrower’s foot of the same side as his throwing arm is necessary to get to correct starting position.
2. Direction 2 – Players must step directly at the target. Without this direct step the thrower’s hips will not function correctly causing a lack of accuracy and power. The length of the step will be determined by the distance of the throw and will come naturally, with the key being the direction. Drawing a direct line from the lead foot towards the target or setting down a couple of objects for the player to step in between are good practice drills to reinforce the correct step. An indirect step is the most common area of break down in a player’s throwing fundamentals.
3. Follow through – it is necessary that throwers allow their arm to travel the complete path so the body can alleviate some of the stress of the arm action on the shoulder and to prevent aiming the ball. This is done by the players throwing arm finishing at his opposite side hip, thigh or knee and by having his rear leg come up and forward as they throw. Like hitting, this weight transfer puts power into the throw.
Sounds simple enough but like anything, “The difference between doing something totally correct and almost correct, is the difference between success and failure.” (Author of quote is unknown.) Long distance throwing can also develop arm strength but the 3 above fundamentals must be followed for “long toss” to be beneficial.
Hope this helps!
Coach Fletcher
FINAL WORLD SERIES UPDATE
Well, as I sit here in day 3 of my Jury Duty waiting to be called into the courtroom, I thought I might as well put up our final World Series Update of 2009. I know that many, and I mean many of our members are Yankee fans. I have noticed one thing about these Yankee fans in our facility that seems to be a constant in all of them….. you guys are Yankee die-hards! Serious fans, through and through!
So for all of our BATT Academy and Athletic Edge Yankee fans, CONGRATULATIONS on winning your 27th Fall Classic. For all you Yankee-haters, that seems to be the rest of us ; ) there’s always next year!
Now, we start the countdown to spring training!
Coach Fletcher (Juror #87)
HOURS REMINDER
Just a reminder of our current hours of operation!
Mon-Thurs 3pm-9pm
Friday 2pm-7pm
Saturday 9am-3pm
Sunday 12pm-3pm
Please make a note of it as many members have been showing up during off-hours. We have been able to let most of you stay and work out but now that our team rentals are starting, you will not be able to do that so make sure you don’t waste a trip to the Academy!!! Check the hours before coming in!!!
Coach Fletcher
WS UPDATE
Phils win last game at home and bring the series to 3-2!
I know that many of our members seem to be Yankee fans so I thought I would put a very simple post up today. The Phillies pulled it off last night and now find themselves hoping that “Old” Pedro can get the job done in New York like he has in the past while playing for the Sox. If not, the dreaded Yanks will have the opportunity to win the Fall Classic in their new stadium… the next few days will tell!
Something to think about though…..Can Chase Utley win The World Series MVP if he is playing for the losing team???? What do you all think? He’s having a great series and his numbers seem to be better than anyone on the yankee squad…interesting!
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LOL!
Coach Fletcher
WORLD SERIES UPDATE
WORLD SERIES UPDATE- YANKS LEAD PHILS 3-1
Johnny Damon dashed into the history books, Alex Rodriguez delivered the hit he has waited his whole life for and suddenly, the Yankees are one victory from their 27th World Series title.
The Bombers stunned Brad Lidge and a sellout crowd at Citizens Bank Park with an astonishing ninth-inning rally on Sunday, securing Game 4 of the Fall Classic with a wild 7-4 decision, moving just nine innings away from celebrating in the Canyon of Heroes.
“I’ve said all along that I’ve felt this club has been extremely resilient all year,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “We’ve been through some up-and-down times, and our guys have gotten back up and played extremely well. All I think about is playing a good game tomorrow.”
Using the formula that fueled 103 regular-season victories and now 10 more in the postseason, the Yankees dealt a crushing defeat to the Phillies after Pedro Feliz had provided hope with a game-tying eighth-inning homer off Joba Chamberlain.
The 105th World Series may have turned for good in the top of the ninth, as Damon finished a hard-fought nine-pitch at-bat against Lidge with a two-out flared single into left field. What followed was a display of instinctual baserunning that will be replayed and referenced for years to come.
Stealing second base on a slider in the dirt, Damon knew the infield had shifted for Mark Teixeira — who was batting left-handed — and he executed a popup slide to see that third base was left uncovered by Feliz, who was near second. Damon instantly broke, hoping his legs had enough juice left in them to outrun Feliz to third.
“I knew Feliz covered the bag, and I knew how he caught the ball,” Damon said. “When I saw him right behind me, I thought, ‘Man, I hope I’m still the Johnny Damon of 21 years old and not the 35-year-old guy.’”
In the Yankees’ dugout, players were speechless for a moment until they realized where Damon was going. When Damon pulled into third base safely after the footrace, the Bombers erupted into applause.
“He called himself an ‘Idiot’ a few years back, right?” captain Derek Jeter said, referencing Damon’s nickname on the 2004 Red Sox. “He looked pretty smart on that play.”
When Teixeira was hit by a pitch, Rodriguez stepped to the plate in perhaps the biggest situation of his 16-year career. Expecting Lidge to stay away from his trademark slider with Damon 90 feet away, A-Rod crushed a fastball down the left-field line for a go-ahead double.
“There’s no question, I have never had a bigger hit,” Rodriguez said. “When I get good pitches to hit and I put a good swing on it, good things usually happen.”
Jorge Posada added a two-run single, which was enough for the Yankees, who again got to savor what an advantage they have in handing the ball to Mariano Rivera. The future Hall of Famer locked down the ninth inning with eight pitches, recording his 11th World Series save.
“It’s not a luxury every team has,” Jeter said. “There isn’t a closer that has ever played this game that you’d want to see in that position other than him. He comes around once in a lifetime.”
Ace CC Sabathia — signed to a $161 million deal last offseason — started and did not have his sharpest command, but he dodged damage often enough to put together a gutsy effort and depart after 6 2/3 innings, entrusting a one-run lead to the bullpen.
Sabathia hung tough against Philadelphia despite seeing Posada wear a path to the mound with frequent visits that earned a chorus of boos.
“They’re a good team,” Sabathia said of the Phillies. “You know, they’re the defending champs. They have an American League lineup, and you have to battle. There’s really no time limit on the game, so it’s up to us to make sure we’re making the right pitches and doing the right things.”
Sabathia’s 107th and final pitch was rocketed over the right-field wall for a home run by Chase Utley — who has hit three off Sabathia during the Fall Classic — and it was the only call Posada would second-guess.
“He was outstanding,” Posada said. “He really gave us a chance to win. If we can take one pitch back, I would take the pitch that Utley hit. Everything else, you really have to give credit to the hitters. He was on.”
The Yankees gave Sabathia early breathing room with two first-inning runs, and after the Phillies tied the game by scoring in the first and fourth innings, Jeter and Damon logged fifth-inning RBI singles to regain the lead from Joe Blanton, who allowed four runs in six frames.
Warnings were issued to both clubs in the first inning after A-Rod was hit by a Blanton offering, Rodriguez’s third plunking of the World Series. While Rodriguez later declined to discuss being hit, TV microphones captured Rodriguez telling home-plate umpire Mike Everitt, “It’s the third time. It’s a little obvious.”
The Yankees thought it was the best that they have seen Chamberlain in some time, with Posada calling his stuff “electric.”
But Chamberlain missed his location with a fastball to Feliz, who slugged it for the game-tying homer, bringing the Philadelphia crowd back to life.
That frenzy of white towel-waving persisted for a span of just three more outs, as Damon and Rodriguez combined to suck the passion out of the building and leave the Phillies despondent about their hope of being baseball’s first back-to-back World Series title team since the dynasty Bombers of the late 1990s.
“That’s this team,” Chamberlain said. “We just go out and pick each other up. In the bullpen, you get to go back out there tomorrow. I can’t say enough of these guys for picking me up.”
A.J. Burnett gets the ball on Monday evening, when the Yankees will try to topple Cliff Lee — who beat New York with a dominant complete-game effort in Game 1 — as the final stumbling block to a championship title.
“We won’t think about that now until it’s done,” Damon said. “They’re a great team. We’re not going to count anything until our job is finished.”
Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.