Category Archives: Baseball

Baseball -Throwing a Curveballs

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Curveball Grip/Throwing Curveballs

Throwing the curveball is probably one of the most desired pitches of all coaches, parents and young pitchers. As a private instructor I am frequently asked to teach an aspiring pitcher how to throw a curveball. Now there are different concerns, and opinions of young pitchers throwing a breaking ball (breaking ball, generally consist of curveball or slider), most commonly it is thought that if you start throwing breaking balls at a young age that you will hurt your arm. And this does seem to happen to many pitchers young or old, but it is not the pitch per say, as much as it is the way the pitch is thrown. Personally I think it is essential for young pitchers to learn how to throw a fastball first, for a number of reasons, in the same token I do believe if thrown properly a curveball will not have any physically damaging effects on a pitcher. It’s when it is thrown improperly or thrown to frequently that you experience arm troubles.

Here are some helpful tips:

*First and foremost develop your fastball -this means starting out with having the proper grip and arm action -this will be the key to consistency and the building of arm strength -When learning a breaking ball you have to start out with the grip -whether you throw a slider or a true curveball (this is usually determined by the flexibility in the pitchers wrist and the arm action) you want to grip the ball making sure that your middle finger is on the inside of a seam. -this will help in getting maximum rotation and torque on the ball necessary to create spin, which is what actually makes the ball break.

How To Play Fantasy Baseball

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The first thing you want to do to play fantasy baseball is find, or form, a fantasy baseball league. Ten to twelve teams is usually the norm in a league, though you may have anywhere from four to 24 teams in a given league. Each team in the fantasy league must consist of 23 players. Many of the leagues you will find use only American or National League players, so the number of quality players is limited.

Your team’s roster will consist of nine pitchers, five outfielders, two catchers, one player for each of the three bases, a middle infielder, one corner man, and a miscellaneous player (designated hitter in AL based fantasy leagues, utility man in NL based fantasy leagues.

Players: Choosing Your Team

Each owner is given a list of players, and their eligible positions on draft day. There are two methods used to select your team in a fantasy baseball league. One method is the draft method, the other is the auction method.

Draft method- The teams are arranged in a random order. Following this order, owners take turns selecting players until all teams have twenty three players. The draft order is usually reversed for even numbered rounds. Before drafting starts, decide if the league will wipe the slate clean for the next season, or whether it will protect seven to fifteen players.

Baseball, Title Ix and Jackie Robinson: It’s All About Discrimination

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The baseball world recently celebrated “Jackie Robinson Day.” On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first African-American to play Major League Baseball when he stepped onto Ebbets Field as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Many commentators have lamented the fact that 60 years after Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier, today, only 8.4% of Major League Baseball (MLB) players are black. In fact, MLB has been going backwards. The current percentage of black players is the lowest in more than 20 years. Just over a decade ago, in 1995, 19% of MLB players were black.

No one disputes that the numbers of black professional baseball players is declining, the controversy is over why.

One article I read recently attributed the decline to baseball’s legacy of segregation and racism. The writer argued that because of its history, baseball fails to “capture the imagination” of today’s young black athletes.

Others have argued that inner-city black athletes face various economic challenges that limit their access to baseball fields, equipment, etc.

All of these arguments have some merit to them. But, ultimately, they fall short because other sports, like football and basketball, share baseball’s legacy of segregation and racism. Yet, black participation in those other sports has continued to grow.

Last week, a co-worker sent me an article about Title IX by Hubert Mizell of Gainesville.com. It hit me like a thunderbolt that Title IX is the most obvious reason there are so few blacks in pro baseball.

The way Title IX has been interpreted and implemented, it effectively restricts the number of baseball scholarships colleges and universities offer. In fact, most schools, even major schools like the University of Florida, do not offer any “full-ride” college baseball scholarships at all.

I was shocked when I found that out.

Obviously, without a scholarship, many, many young black athletes cannot afford to go to college and play college baseball or, later, professional baseball. Naturally, young black athletes will gravitate towards football and basketball; sports that offer more scholarships. Over the past generation, this shift has become pronounced.

Title IX was enacted by the Congress in 1972. The law, itself, is not controversial at all. It simply states that “No person in the United States, shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”