Baseball is a very humbling game. It can be very difficult to remain positive at times. I have been struggling this season, but I am keeping perspective and I know that it is a long season. Baseball and pitching is a roller coaster through out a season at times and the key is to stay positive and not let one game get you too high or too low.
The main thing to remember about this game is that it is a marathon and not a sprint. There will be inevitable ups and downs and your main priority needs to be to stay focused and have a short memory when it comes to your last outing. Build off of every pitch and every game. This is easier said than done but when it comes down to the ability to adapt this marathon attitude will benefit you through out your career.
Get better EVEryday.
-Isaac
My name is Isaac Hess. I have pitched professionally for 6 seasons through out 5 countries and on 11 different teams. My experiences in coming back to play professional baseball for 6 years after receiving a total hip replacement at the age of 19 have helped me become the person and motivator that I am. This blog is for serious pitchers that want to Get Better EVEryday.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Saturday, May 26, 2012
The value of drinking water for pitchers/athletes
Dehydration, be it minor or major is a factor that constantly affects athletes. It is another fact which I feel is a very overlooked aspect of fitness and performance in sports. Baseball players are some of the worst about this. We often have an array of sodas and sugary juices available in our locker rooms so that is what many of the guys opt for. This is not good!
We should always aim to be drinking at least 90% of the liquid we ingest in the form of good quality WATER! So many parents raise their kids to drink sugary drinks from a young age...please stop doing this parents! You are conditioning us to reach for the soda and be used to its sugary highs and lows. If you can get your young athletes to crave water over soda or even Gatorade, you will help give them an edge. I can tell you that I drink about 1 soda every 3 months just to remind myself how sugary it is...I have taught myself to actually crave Water though!
Over hydration of the body is proper hydration of the body. It is very very hard to drink too much water! I dare you to try! On the other hand, if you can get your young pitchers and athletes to GET IN THE EVERYDAY STATE OF MIND to reach for water, you will help them to make their blood cleaner an their bodies stronger.
Moral of the story...Ditch the soda! Reach for the water! And if you think to yourself..."but water has no flavor!" then just keep it in perspective and think about how many people in the world don't even have access to water on a regular basis. #WeAreSoLucky!
Thanks for reading and getting better EVEryday!
We should always aim to be drinking at least 90% of the liquid we ingest in the form of good quality WATER! So many parents raise their kids to drink sugary drinks from a young age...please stop doing this parents! You are conditioning us to reach for the soda and be used to its sugary highs and lows. If you can get your young athletes to crave water over soda or even Gatorade, you will help give them an edge. I can tell you that I drink about 1 soda every 3 months just to remind myself how sugary it is...I have taught myself to actually crave Water though!
Over hydration of the body is proper hydration of the body. It is very very hard to drink too much water! I dare you to try! On the other hand, if you can get your young pitchers and athletes to GET IN THE EVERYDAY STATE OF MIND to reach for water, you will help them to make their blood cleaner an their bodies stronger.
Moral of the story...Ditch the soda! Reach for the water! And if you think to yourself..."but water has no flavor!" then just keep it in perspective and think about how many people in the world don't even have access to water on a regular basis. #WeAreSoLucky!
Thanks for reading and getting better EVEryday!
Velocity vs. Command?
This is something that becomes more and more clear to me every game I see from the dugout and every year I play baseball. I am in my 6th professional season of baseball this year and more and more I continue to value my ability to throw strikes over how fast I can throw the ball. I see guys in the Atlantic League dice people up throwing 85. Granted these guys have years and years of experience so they really know how to pitch, but they can get guys out without having to throw extremely hard. So,f you are a young pitcher then please do not consume yourself with just throwing hard.
Don't get me wrong, velocity plays its roll and it is most definitely better to be able to throw 95 with decent command than 85 with great command. Usually that 95 mph guy will succeed more often if he can stay around the zone. Work hard and take care of your arm and get your velocity as good as high as you can, but don't weigh everything on trying to throw 91 instead of 89. Instead focus your concentration and efforts on maximizing your ability to command the fastball and throw your offspeed pitches for strikes consistently. The guy who throws 85 with great command will almost always be more valuable to his team than the guy who throws 95 and doesn't have a clue where it is going.
Usually the guy that throws 85 and pitches to contact will have his defense play better behind him more consistently as well. It never fails, when you walk people your defense inevitably makes more errors because they get frustrated when their pitcher is not being efficient and throwing too many pitches. It's not that they are trying to play bad, but when you go deep into counts consistently on hitters you put your defense on their heals.
Moral of the story is that command defeats velocity over the course of a season and a career. Strikes are more important that mphs!! So make sure you focus on your game and your routine accordingly.
-Isaac
Don't get me wrong, velocity plays its roll and it is most definitely better to be able to throw 95 with decent command than 85 with great command. Usually that 95 mph guy will succeed more often if he can stay around the zone. Work hard and take care of your arm and get your velocity as good as high as you can, but don't weigh everything on trying to throw 91 instead of 89. Instead focus your concentration and efforts on maximizing your ability to command the fastball and throw your offspeed pitches for strikes consistently. The guy who throws 85 with great command will almost always be more valuable to his team than the guy who throws 95 and doesn't have a clue where it is going.
Usually the guy that throws 85 and pitches to contact will have his defense play better behind him more consistently as well. It never fails, when you walk people your defense inevitably makes more errors because they get frustrated when their pitcher is not being efficient and throwing too many pitches. It's not that they are trying to play bad, but when you go deep into counts consistently on hitters you put your defense on their heals.
Moral of the story is that command defeats velocity over the course of a season and a career. Strikes are more important that mphs!! So make sure you focus on your game and your routine accordingly.
-Isaac
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| Long Island Duck's Field, Central Islip, NY |
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Get your mind right, EVEryday!
So you love baseball, you are ready to work hard, and you want to be a better pitcher? Well I'm glad your here. In this blog I aspire to give you tips to constantly improve your game...from the inside out.
They say baseball is 90% and the other half is physical...or something like that. Well, I can tell you that that is an accurate statement. If you believe in yourself and your ability and you think you can compete at the next level, then you better get your mind right.
How do I get my mind right, you ask? You check-in. Check-in with yourself and your purpose. Why are doing this? Is it just because you see that the lifestyle of a big leaguer is full of fame and money and because they get to play a game for a living? If that is the case then you need to step back. All that stuff is good and grand, but it comes with a lot of sacrifice. Most guys that make it to the big leagues sacrifice everything to get there, and all of the guys that I've played with that have big league experience all say it is everything you can dream it up to be and the sacrifice is worth it.
Put yourself ahead of all the other guys out there that think making it to the show is only about physical ability l, because that couldn't be further from the truth. There are a handful of freaks in the league that have amazing god given ability...then there are the truckloads that all have their own stories and paths of how they made it. So check-in all the time, EVEryday. Figure out what makes your blood pump, makes you excited to get out of bed, makes you appreciate that hug from your mom or your girlfriend more. For me, baseball has been the portal in which I have been blessed to use in order to maintain focus in my life. It is what helps me attack my goals with a vigor that is unmatched by anyone else in my realm. Checking in EVEryday has kept me inspired to continue.
Keep checking in with this blog and I will keep providing you with tips on how to become a better pitcher, mentally and physically. I have began with the mental aspect because knowing your purpose and having a strong foundation will make you separate yourself from the pack, regardless of your current level of ability.
They say baseball is 90% and the other half is physical...or something like that. Well, I can tell you that that is an accurate statement. If you believe in yourself and your ability and you think you can compete at the next level, then you better get your mind right.
How do I get my mind right, you ask? You check-in. Check-in with yourself and your purpose. Why are doing this? Is it just because you see that the lifestyle of a big leaguer is full of fame and money and because they get to play a game for a living? If that is the case then you need to step back. All that stuff is good and grand, but it comes with a lot of sacrifice. Most guys that make it to the big leagues sacrifice everything to get there, and all of the guys that I've played with that have big league experience all say it is everything you can dream it up to be and the sacrifice is worth it.
Put yourself ahead of all the other guys out there that think making it to the show is only about physical ability l, because that couldn't be further from the truth. There are a handful of freaks in the league that have amazing god given ability...then there are the truckloads that all have their own stories and paths of how they made it. So check-in all the time, EVEryday. Figure out what makes your blood pump, makes you excited to get out of bed, makes you appreciate that hug from your mom or your girlfriend more. For me, baseball has been the portal in which I have been blessed to use in order to maintain focus in my life. It is what helps me attack my goals with a vigor that is unmatched by anyone else in my realm. Checking in EVEryday has kept me inspired to continue.
Keep checking in with this blog and I will keep providing you with tips on how to become a better pitcher, mentally and physically. I have began with the mental aspect because knowing your purpose and having a strong foundation will make you separate yourself from the pack, regardless of your current level of ability.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Be in tune
In order to be a better pitcher you need to be in tune with your body. The baseball season is long and it is important to check in with what your body is telling you it needs everyday. Sometimes it will tell you it needs rest and others it will tell you that you need to push hard and get as much work in as you can. The key to being a better pitcher is to focus on your body and always, always listen to it.
There will be times where your ego will want to take over and override what your body is telling you. Through out your time and experience in this game you will continue to refine your ability to listen to what your body needs.
The 3 main keys to take from this post in order to be a better pitcher are as follows:
1) listen to your body everyday. It will tell you what you need to do that day
2) always push as hard as you can when you go to put your work and throwing in, but don't let your ego get you injured
3) continue to work towards achieving a balance between mind, body, and ego in order to get the most out of your body and ultimately bring you the highest level of success on the mound.
There will be times where your ego will want to take over and override what your body is telling you. Through out your time and experience in this game you will continue to refine your ability to listen to what your body needs.
The 3 main keys to take from this post in order to be a better pitcher are as follows:
1) listen to your body everyday. It will tell you what you need to do that day
2) always push as hard as you can when you go to put your work and throwing in, but don't let your ego get you injured
3) continue to work towards achieving a balance between mind, body, and ego in order to get the most out of your body and ultimately bring you the highest level of success on the mound.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
First things first
The first thing an most important thing to being a consistent and quality pitcher is an ability to respond to adversity. It doesn't matter how good your mechanics or velocity are if you don't know how to react to things when they aren't going your way. A good tool that I use to maintain focus throughout the bad times in a given game is to pick a spot in the outfield that is your "regrouping" or "focus" place. This season I have been picking the biggest "P" I can found on an advertisement in the outfield. I look for a P to represent Power. It may be a little corny but it has been helping me slow the game down when it speeds up on me, and I think it is a great tactic to reset.
In this blog my goal is to give you information on what it takes to be a better pitcher mentally, physically, mechanically, and all the other intangibles that go into what it takes to be the best pitcher you can possibly be. The game of baseball is very synonymous with life in just about every aspect involved. Responding to failure, staying focused on your goals day by day, month by month, and season by season are just a couple of the ways that baseball parallels with life. This game has been one that has taught me a lot about myself and I am thankful for what it has given me. I look forward to sharing some of the positive things I have learned with everyone out there so that you can be a better pitcher.
In this blog my goal is to give you information on what it takes to be a better pitcher mentally, physically, mechanically, and all the other intangibles that go into what it takes to be the best pitcher you can possibly be. The game of baseball is very synonymous with life in just about every aspect involved. Responding to failure, staying focused on your goals day by day, month by month, and season by season are just a couple of the ways that baseball parallels with life. This game has been one that has taught me a lot about myself and I am thankful for what it has given me. I look forward to sharing some of the positive things I have learned with everyone out there so that you can be a better pitcher.
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