Learn the secrets of pitching success from the most dominating and electrifying hurler in the game: Randy Johnson. Randy Johnson, the most overpowering pitcher since Sandy Koufax, has devised a teaching system that reveals the intelligent, methodical approach to pitching that has produced five Cy Young awards, nine strikeout titles, and a co-MVP Award in the 2001 World Series. The secret behind all of Randy’s Hall of Fame credentials has been his ability to transform raw power into controlled precision. In Randy Johnson’s Power Pitching, Randy teaches: •The fundamentals of pitching •Control, control, control—how to benefit from patience and precision •The importance of proper mechanics •Physical conditioning drills for injury prevention and high-performance pitching •The mental side of pitching •How to make the most of your natural talent Fully illustrated with previously unpublished photographs from Randy’s personal archive and enlivened with his reminiscences of a life in baseball, this is today’s most essential instructional guide for players and coaches at every level.
Elite baseball pitchers are elite for a reason. They seem to have it all: a variety of pitches that no one can lay a bat to; cool heads and confidence in their "stuff" when they get in a jam; and the kind of dexterity that makes difficult plays seem easy. Is elite status revealed through statistics? Though the author of this book considers statistics of both the traditional and sabermetric sort, he argues that the greats are proved not by broad statistical comparison with all other pitchers, but by their record against one another. In a thoughtful discussion of the evidence of head-to-head matchups, he finds the nine pitchers who make up the true elite: Cy Young, Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, Grover Alexander, Lefty Grove, Warren Spahn, Tom Seaver, Roger Clemens, and Greg Maddux. For each pitcher the book provides biographical information, career highlights, and a list of the feats that put him in the record books.
Understand and learn to TEACH the pitching motion. Follow a proven, easy-to-follow plan for training and developing young pitchers. Here is your complete coaching reference to pitching mechanics, arm care, common flaws, pick-offs, and mental strategy. With complete lesson plan outlines, this book will be the most valuable piece of coaching equipment you own! BENEFITS AND HIGHLIGHTS • Learn to TEACH pitching in addition to understanding it. • Keep athletes safe, healthy, and having fun on the mound • Help athletes tackle tough mental challenges related to the pitching position • Identify and fix common flaws and errors • Set up effective training programs and throwing schedules. Since the previous edition of Coaching the Beginning Pitcher, I’ve spent an additional eight years as a professional instructor (total pitching lessons provided eclipsed 15,000), three years as a collegiate pitching coach, driven deeper into advanced mechanics associated with velocity and power production, and earned a Master’s Degree in Physical Education. With expanded write-ups on the coaching plan (Chapter 3), drills (Chapter 5), and recognizing and correcting challenges (Chapter 6), along with a completely updated and enhanced section on training the pitcher’s mind (Chapter 11), Coaching the Beginning Pitcher, Third Edition, is complete! Although it may seem that the mechanics of pitching have not changed for the last hundred years, the nuances of instructing young pitchers are constantly evolving. This book contains the most effective methods known for working with young athletes, complete with tips and drills, throwing loads and quantities, common mistakes and remedies, and valuable sample lesson plans. This book is written with the right-handed pitcher in mind. However, all examples and pictures can be easily reversed and applied to the left-handed athlete. Coaching pitchers requires much more than knowledge of the physical motion of pitching. Effective pitching instruction also incorporates a structured, efficient plan and communication methods effective with—and often unique to—youth baseball players. This book provides that plan, outlining the steps to follow when working with a pitcher, and helps the coach place a pitcher in the best possible position to experience pitching success with a healthy arm. Finally, this book helps baseball coaches and parents maximize their own enjoyment and fulfillment while working to improve the technique, performance, and abilities of the youth pitcher! TESTIMONIALS “Dan Keller’s blend of baseball knowledge, training techniques, communication skill and love of teaching kids is captured in this well-designed book. This book teaches the art of pitching from fundamentals to complexities in a manner that coaches, novice to expert, can grasp and use effectively.” ~ Abe Key, President & CEO, PONY Baseball & Softball Inc. “I’m very impressed with Dan’s ability to break down and organize pitching instruction. Arm care and pitcher development are hot-button topics taken very seriously at Babe Ruth League. Our organization believes that Coaching the Beginning Pitcher provides a solid training plan to follow.” ~ Steven Tellefsen, President & CEO, Babe Ruth League, Inc. “Keller has a great baseball mind, a terrific understanding of the pitching motion, and an un- matched ability to communicate clearly. If you are trying to learn how to coach pitching, this book can provide the foundation you need.” ~ James Keller, Special Assistant to the GM, Toronto Blue Jays “This book embodies positive youth coaching and the development of today’s athletes. Dan’s understanding of the mechanics of pitching is impressive, and he communicates in a fashion that is understandable for all. Coaching takes a plan, and Dan helps to provide that plan.” ~ Gary Adams, Retired UCLA Baseball & Hall of Fame Head Coach
Soon after Satchel Paige arrived at spring training in 1937 to pitch for the Pittsburgh Crawfords, he and five of his teammates, including Josh Gibson and Cool Papa Bell, were lured to the Dominican Republic with the promise of easy money to play a short baseball tournament in support of the country’s dictator, Rafael Trujillo. As it turned out, the money wasn’t so easy. After Paige and his friends arrived on the island, they found themselves under the thumb of Trujillo, known by Dominicans for murdering those who disappointed him. In the initial games, the Ciudad Trujillo all-star team floundered. Living outside the shadow of segregation, Satchel and his recruits spent their nights carousing and their days dropping close games to their rivals, who were also stocked with great players. Desperate to restore discipline, Trujillo tapped the leader of his death squads to become part of the team management. The American players believed they might be lined up and shot if they lost the tournament. When Paige’s team ultimately rallied to win, it barely registered with Trujillo, who a few months later ordered the killings of fifteen thousand Haitians at the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Paige and his teammates returned to the states to face banishment from the Negro Leagues, but ironically they barnstormed across America wearing their Trujillo All-Stars uniforms. The Pitcher and the Dictator is an extraordinary story of race, politics, and some of the greatest baseball players ever assembled, playing high-stakes baseball in support of one of the Caribbean’s cruelest dictators. For more information about The Pitcher and the Dictator, visit thepitcherandthedictator.com.
Baseball's best writer offers an extraordinarily candid and thorough exploration of the inner craft of pitching from one of the game's best, David Cone. There is no big league pitcher who is more respected for his skill than David Cone. In his stellar career Cone has won multiple championships andcountless professional accolades. Along the way, the perennial all-star has had to adjust to five different ballclubs, recover from a career-threatening arm aneurysm, cope with the lofty expectations that are standard for the games highest paid players, and overcome a humbling three-month, eight-game losing streak in the summer of 2000. Cone granted exclusive and unlimited access to baseballs most respected writer Roger Angell of the New Yorker. The result is just what baseball fans everywhere would expect from Angell: an extraordinary inside account of a superstar.