Player / Manager Relationship

Having a good relationship with your manager or coach is very important, that’s of course if you want to play. Many players take advantage of their ability to play the game and think that they can do whatever they want on and off the field. These type of players almost always have it come back to haunt them one way or another. Shortly after, they find themselves riding the bench.

Many kids while growing up get to have their father coach or at least volunteer to help out. With this, the young players seem to think they can run the team whenever their father is not around. As a player you would want to get away from that. Always be the nice guy on the field that works really hard. Keep yourself out of trouble and always respect the manager or coach no matter if it is your father or your friend’s father.

Obviously in high school or college it is extremely rare to have your father involved with the team. At this point you need to make sure you respect your coach and follow their direct instructions. If you are an underclassmen, it is best to not talk to much and just bust your butt. You want to make sure you are well liked. Don’t think because your that good, that you can control what happens at practice or what you do in a game. Remember your coach always has the power to take you out of the game whenever they want. Obviously upperclassmen that are all-stars have a little bit of an advantage and their coaches will allow them to get away with almost murder because they are one to not make an example. This is mainly because they cant afford to lose their best player or have him out of the lineup for even an inning.

In professional baseball everything changes. There is no room for attitude. Very few get away with it. Usually if you are the first pick in the draft overall, you can. However I do not recommend it as this could always come back to haunt you. Just because the organization invests a lot of money in you, doesn’t mean you are the new owner of the team. Many organizations find that if you have an attitude, your gone, you my friend are released. They will find someone else to replace you that’s just as good. There are so many good players out there running around just waiting for their opportunity. As a professional baseball player, it wouldn’t hurt to talk to your manager whenever you can. It can be about anything. If he is a good manager you will think of him as like a second father. He is there to help you get better and be a well rounded individual. If you are losing, you might not want to get in his way or ask him a lot of questions. If you lose, you probably don’t want to talk to him after the game, wait until the next day prior to your next game or practice. If your winning by a lot, that’s when your manager will be more lenient for you to tell a joke or something in between innings. If you win the game, afterwards would be a great time to talk to him if you have anything on your mind.

One of the most important things as a player is to make sure that you have your ears open. There is nothing more annoying and irritating to a manager than mental mistakes. Whether it be being late to the bus or missing a sign on the field. Keep your eyes and ears open at all times. Forget about the hot brunette in section 121 row 5. Deal with that after the game.

Sometimes a manager will take an issue out on you because your standing next to him. Don’t let something like this bother you. Just ignore it and go on with what your doing. It will blow ever and everything will be fine. If you get angry and talk back to your manager, he might do something that you both will regret.

Players Perform – June 2010

It is now Mid-June and well in to the second half of the baseball season. Following players stats a little bit and talking to parents, I have received updates on how many players that come through We Drop Bombs are progressing.

For the 9 year old’s, Ryan Graham is hitting a solid .650 going 39 for 60 with 6 doubles and 11 triples. Matt Christopher is 31 for 57, hitting .544. Cole Shontz is 23 for 47 making his avg .489 John Adams has a .391 batting average with 5 doubles. Jonah Mikulski is currently at the .385 mark with 2 doubles.

Ryan Feig of Columbus, NJ is an impressive 63 for 106 on the season with a .594 average. He has 14 doubles, 4 triples and a home run. Ryan also carries 22 walks with him.

In a total of 26 games, Garrett Carella is 36 for 62 on the season. These stats are combined from 3 teams he has played on. His average is at .580. He has 18 doubles and 2 triples. He also has 16 walks.

EJ Mangione plays a filthy 2nd base and catches behind the plate with ease. His hitting has improved tremendously this season. He has shown an increase of power driving the ball over 200 feet. His batting average remains near .400 while playing for the 9 year old Arsenal squad.
10 year old Kyle Quagliero is 46 for 105 in the 2010 season combined with two teams. He has 38 RBI’s, 9 doubles, 3 triples and 1 home run.

Tripp Miller is now 35 for 70 with a .500 avg and 7 doubles. On the same team Tim Schroeder is 24 for 66 putting his avg at .364

For the 12 year old Medford Renegades Zach Amisano is at .342 with a home run while teammate Ryan Bailey is hitting .350 with a home run. Teammate Jake Guertin is hitting .494 with 8 doubles and 10 home runs. Tucker Byrne is at .302 with 3 doubles, a triple and 3 home runs.

12 yrd old John DeSantis from Southampton has 10 home runs on the season and is hitting over the .500 mark. On the same team Cole Bowman is hitting .333. Devon Gilbert is at .435 with 3 doubles and a home run. Conner Klein is hitting near the .400 mark with 4 doubles and about 10 home runs on the year. Garrett Merski is at .378 with 3 doubles and a home run. Andrew warren is hitting .312 with 4 home runs.
Andrew Cannuli of Moorestown has a smashed a fair amount of doubles and planted quite a few bombs over the fence this season…but nothing will be comparable to his outstanding performance on June 19th in a tournament against GVAA. Andrew stepped to the plate three times and launched back to back to back home runs. His first 3 home run game of his career. His swing has become quite powerful for being one of the smallest guys on his team as he is maximizing his power with near perfect mechanics.

12 year old Matt Hare is reporting 2-3 times better stats this season than last season.
13 year old Chase Bromley is 26 for 60 placing his average at .433 and 13 year old Ryan Lange for Medford Old School is now hitting .327. Alex Gambino, playing for Pro-Skills is now hitting over the .600 mark while pounding doubles in to the gaps with ease.

Eric Frain had a .402 batting average for Archbishop Ryan of Philadelphia. He collected 7 doubles, 3 triples and 1 home run. He was named 1st Team All Philadelphia Catholic League at Shortstop. He was selected as a Carpenter Cup Selection and was named one of the top Shortstops in Southeastern Pa. Also awarded “Most Versatile Player” of 2010 by Coaches

Injuries keeping talent from the SHOW

Season after season, a professional baseball player’s worst fear is injury. No matter how much they stretch and how great they take care of their body, the injuries keep coming and coming. Most tend to be muscle strains and broken bones. The worst part is that fans expect their favorite player and teammates to perform at a certain level and if they don’t, well in their eyes they aren’t any good. Unfortunately fans and managers don’t always know what’s going on in the player’s body. Some players remain silent as they play through injuries because they love playing, they don’t want to lose their starting position or they don’t want to let their team down. I for one have battled injuries my entire professional career which kept me from performing at my best. In fact I have even played an entire season with 3 different injuries at the same time. There is nothing more frustrating in the game of baseball than playing hurt and not performing to your abilities. Many players only get one or two opportunities to prove themselves and if at that time
they aren’t healthy, well then they are out of luck. They actually may never play a professional baseball game again. This is what we call the system. The worst part was that when I finally got healthy and to the prime of my game, I started to rake. I was hitting home runs and doubles all over the place in preseason only to later be released. I got a few offers after that from teams but nothing worth taking. The system needs to change. If you have the talent then you shouldn’t be overlooked. Never give up, it only takes one scout or manager to see something in a player that really impresses them to get that player a contract.

A Good Strategy to Coaching

A Good Strategy to Coaching

Most people appreciate other parents stepping up and volunteering their time to help coach a team. Coaching a team takes a lot of time, patience and dedication. As a coach, it is important to remind yourself that you are there for the kids and not everything is always about winning but more importantly making it a fun experience. Obviously the kids have more fun when they do perform to their ability and win. The best way to get players to perform is to make sure they feel comfortable. Yelling and screaming at your players when they are not performing is not recommended. In most cases, this will make the players pressured and nervous and most players do not perform when nervous. If you want to make a point to a specific player, embarrassing them in front of the whole team is not the answer. Fingers do not need to be pointed.

Yes there are players that come up clutch when the game is on the line but that is a different story. This is a different type of pressure. Players that are scared of their coach often fail. Make sure that as a coach, you have a good relationship with each and every player on the squad. This can sometimes lead to untalented teams beating the very best.

It is rare that freshmen and sophomores in high school or college actually step up and perform, this is usually due to comfort level. After a player gets a year or two under their belt, they usually play much better. This is because the player is used to everything going on around them. This also happens in professional baseball. Most rookies don’t always put up impressive numbers, but rather do so a couple years later. So as a coach please remember to be patient with your players, especially the hitters. And just because someone is not performing, it does not mean there is something wrong with their mechanics. Usually it is because of a weak mental approach. Confidence, Concentration and Relaxation are all key parts to being a successful baseball player. Try to find out what your player is thinking and how they feel while on the field whether it be hitting or pitching, then go from there.