US Sports Baseball: Important Ways to Improve Your Baseball Team’s Baserunning and PADRES vs. RANGERS Full Game Highlights

 

• By Grant Young
 

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Good baserunning is crucial in baseball for various reasons. It enables players to advance bases and score more efficiently, thus enhancing the team's chances of success. Strategic baserunning can also exert pressure on the opposing team, which often leads to defensive errors. Furthermore, it showcases players' awareness of game situations and their ability to make quick, impactful decisions. In essence, proficient baserunning is a vital element of the game that can significantly influence the outcome of a game. And that’s why having baserunning drills that you can utilize to help improve your baseball team is of paramount importance. 

Yet, coaching baserunning in baseball is challenging for several reasons. It requires teaching players to make split-second decisions while considering various factors such as the game situation, the speed and location of the ball, and the capabilities of the opposing team. Plus there’s the fact that baserunning involves a combination of speed, agility, and strategic thinking, making it a complex skill to coach effectively. Baserunning techniques can vary depending on the player's position, making it necessary for coaches to provide individualized instruction. Overall, coaching baserunning demands a deep understanding of the game and the ability to effectively communicate and demonstrate these intricate skills to players.

And Steve Nicollerat has the perfect techniques to help you increase your understanding of the game and improve your players’ baserunning prowess. 

Coach Nicollerat is the Founder of Coach Baseball Right! Which provides baseball organizations with dozens of resources available to grow and elevate their current programs and deepen their kids' experiences. In addition, Coach Nicollerat has about 40 years of experience coaching varsity baseball at St. Louis University High School, as well as playing collegiate ball at St. Louis University.

Coach Nicollerat’s ‘The 10 Base Running Drills Every Coach Needs’ course gives coaches the foundational set of fundamental and progressive base running drills that they can build from to take their teams to a new level. 

The Lead Off

The first aspect of a baseball team improving on the base paths is knowing how to have a good lead off of first base. 

Coach Nicollerat notes that when taking a lead off of first base, the lead should be comprised of different distances if there’s an intention of the runner stealing the base. If the baserunner is a threat to steal bases or if it’s a situation where stealing a base makes sense, the baserunner should be taking a lead that’s a step farther away from first base than they would if they weren’t intending to steal a base. 

While you may think that this will give away the baserunner’s intentions, the reality is that, from the pitcher's mound, a one-step difference isn’t discernible to the pitcher’s eye. They have so many other things to focus on that there’s really no chance they’re going to notice that one-step difference. 

Another aspect of executing a good lead-off is that the runner should be positioned higher up in the baseline if they intend to steal, typically in line with where the front of the first base will be positioned. 

Similar to the earlier point about the lead’s distance, nobody on the opposing team is going to recognize a few inches’ difference between where a player is taking their lead. But being just a little bit closer to the pitcher’s mound could help convince the pitcher that the baserunner is closer to the bag than they are. While this might only offer a slight advantage to the baserunner, baseball is a game of inches. 

How to Steal

One of the most important aspects of stealing bases is understanding when the right time to run is. Even the fastest runner can get thrown out if they get a poor jump, and vice versa for someone who isn’t the fastest runner. 

Coach Nicollerat says that the baserunner should be looking at the (right-handed) pitcher’s left foot when trying to gauge when to steal. As soon as that leg begins to lift off the ground, that’s what the runner should take off. 

If the baserunner sees the right heel coming off the ground, they need to prepare to dive back to first base because that almost certainly means the pitcher is picking off. 

This is extremely easy to drill, as a coach can go out and pretend to be a pitcher while a line of baserunners is in position in the baseline. As soon as the coach’s left feel lifts, the baserunners should simulate taking off for second base. And if the coach’s right heel lifts then they simulate giving back to first.

Reading Lefties

Coach Nicollerat discusses how to steal second base off of left-handed pitchers. The first part of this requires understanding whether the left-handed pitcher can read or not. If the lefty pitcher has proven that they can read effectively, it might be wise to not steal. 

But if the lefty isn’t a reader, and instead uses a more deceptive pickoff move to try and negate the run game, Coach Nicollerat explains that one option is to have the baserunner take a big lead, then take off for second base as soon as the pitcher makes their first movement. 

The idea behind this is that, if the pitcher’s pickoff move is slow, then the baserunner will have enough time to make it to second base if they steal once the pitcher begins their long pickoff move. 

However, if you’re also looking to steal against a reading lefty, one way to do so would be to wait until the pitcher enters the apex of their delivery (the top of their leg lift). While this is a risk, the reading pitcher has most likely already made their decision to pitch rather than pick at this point, so the baserunner has a solid chance of stealing the base. 

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US Sports Baseball - How to Throw a Sinker and Giants vs. Dodgers Game Highlights

 

• By Brandon Ogle
 

Former Dodgers great Sandy Koufax said, “I became a good pitcher when I stopped trying to make them miss the ball and started trying to make them hit it.” Although Koufax was known for his knee-buckling curveball, this quote applies perfectly to the art of a sinkerball. The sinker isn’t designed to be a major strikeout pitch. It doesn’t have the coolness factor of a 100mph fastball or a 12-6 curveball, but it does do one thing effectively: get hitters out.

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Primary Use of the Sinker: Ground Balls

The sinker is effective because it consistently forces hitters to turn over on the ball and induce a ground ball. Keeping the ball on the ground in the infield provides a number of ways to record outs. For example, take a situation where there are runners on the corners with one out. If you want to get out of this jam without anyone crossing home plate, you have two strategies to work towards. If you possess a dominant strikeout pitch, then you can go for the strikeout and then attempt to get the final hitter out. However, not everyone has nasty strikeout pitches they can lean on in jams. In this case, you try to get the hitter to turn over into a ground ball double play. In essence, this is the core use for a sinker.

Understanding the Grip

The nice thing about the sinker is that it isn’t a difficult pitch to learn the grip and release for. In fact, you can start out with the same grip as the two-seamer. Helpful Baseball Drills Provides a terrific narrative on how to get this grip.

“Place your index and middle fingers over the seams where the seams are closest together. With the sinker you could try placing the index and middle fingers on the outside edge of the seams. And the thumb rests directly underneath these two fingers in the open area on the baseball.” The more pitches you learn how to throw, the more you’ll realize the importance of mastering the grips before even learning how to throw the pitch.

Release: Tighter Grip

No matter what sinkerball pitcher you talk with, they’ll all stress the importance of a firmer grip. As evidenced by an MLB.com article, this grip creates friction against the air and “is what makes the ball sink, but it’s also what makes the pitch a few miles per hour slower than a normal fastball.” As a result, you witness a greater break in your sinker pitch. Another important note in terms of the release is to always keep your hand and fingers on top throughout the release. This will ensure the sinking occurs in a downward motion. As you can tell, there isn’t much to the release, but it is still critical to practice the release because one miscue can lead to batting practice taking place in an actual game.

Less Stress on the Body, Longer Outings, Longer Careers

In today’s baseball environment, one of the players most susceptible to major injuries is pitchers. Whether it be shoulder or elbow injuries, youth leagues are placing more and more restrictions on the amount of innings and pitches that can be thrown to attempt to diminish these risks. The sinker is a perfect weapon to combat these injury risks that are much more common when throwing higher percentages of curveballs or fastballs. The wrist doesn’t get twisted much, nor is there significant torque placed on the elbow or shoulder, which is a plus. Helpful Baseball Drills provides a great tidbit to lessen the risk even further. “Trying to apply the most pressure with the middle finger keeps the arm flowing in a natural motion, and less likely of an arm injury.” By focusing on characteristics like this, the sinker can be an arm-preserver for youth pitchers looking to take their careers to high school and beyond.

 

Pitching Skills, Drills and Practice Routines featuring Coach Justin Blood

Keeping Hitters Off Balance: Mix-and-Match Pitches

Despite all of the positive qualities of a sinker, I’m not trying to persuade pitchers to scratch all of their pitches and throw 100% sinkers. It can be a terrific situational pitch complimenting others. The best all-around pitchers have a number of above-average pitches in their arsenal. With this said, I suggest pitchers work on mixing-and-matching their various pitches. As Warren Spahn once said, “Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing.” The best way to offset their timing is to have numerous pitches coming out of similar arm angles in a manner that the hitter doesn’t know what’s coming next. As I mentioned in the grip section, it has a similar grip as a two-seam fastball, but with a slightly altered release. If thrown successfully, the hitter could guess a heater is coming before it quickly dips on its way to the plate, thus inducing a grounder. The key is to focus enough time on the sinker just as you would for a curveball or changeup.

A Sinkerball Pitcher’s Worst Nightmare Avoid Hanging the Sinker

If a sinker ball pitcher is hanging his pitches, then a baseball game can start to look like batting practice in an instant. This is because when the sinker is thrown up in the zone, it won’t experience the break that makes it so successful. For this reason, it’s easy to see why the sinker is a much more effective pitch for control pitchers as opposed to power arms. Much like a hanging curveball, the hanging sinker can be a bad omen for pitchers. After all, the point of a sinker is to induce ground outs and not fly outs. So, as a result, the pitch should start at the belt before breaking.

Top Sinkerball Arms in the Game

In recent years, we’ve seen a number of pitchers combat their lack of pitch speed with a ground ball-inducing sinker. Here are a few that have dominated the pitch:

-Brandon Webb – Despite struggling with injury issues, Webb possessed one of the most dominant sinkers of his era. Combated with a nasty changeup, curveball, and a fastball, Webb won the 2006 NL Cy Young Award. Thanks to his impressive arsenal of pitches, Webb wasn’t merely just a ground ball pitcher, but also racked up a solid number of punch-outs in his career.

-Chien-Ming Wang – The former New York Yankees’ pitcher has struggled with injuries in recent years. However, during his prime, he consistently stifle hitters with a power sinker. The unique part about his sinker was the speed he threw it with, as it consistently sat in 91-94 mph range. Furthermore, the efficiency he had in regards to the sinker’s command allowed him to achieve so much success early in his career.

Keep It Low 

The best piece of advice I can give to an aspiring sinker is to keep the ball low. As I mentioned numerous times, a hanging sinker is a pitcher’s worst nightmare. It is nothing more than an average batting practice pitch. At the same time, don’t forget about perfecting the rest of the pitches in your arsenal to keep hitters guessing. In the end, you know the sinker is working when the hitters are hitting the ball on the ground.

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US Sports Baseball- How a Baseball Coach Can Develop Strike Throwers and EVERY home run from Opening Day 2026!

 

• By Grant Young
 

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Being able to throw strikes is the most important part of youth baseball pitching. We have all seen youth baseball games that drag on forever because the pitcher can’t put the ball over the plate. 

While most kids are worrying about trying to throw the ball as hard as possible, or asking when they can learn how to throw a curveball, actual success on the mound stems from throwing consistent strikes.

And because a kid’s enthusiasm for baseball is strengthened by succeeding, teaching kids how to be accurate while pitching is a paramount part of increasing their enthusiasm for the sport. 

Coach Scott Shepperd knows a thing or two about properly teaching pitchers. Shepperd recently served as pitching coach at the University of Texas, San Antonio for two seasons. Prior to that, Shepperd was the pitching coach for Hallmark at Incarnate Word the previous two seasons. Under his tutelage, the Cardinals pitching staff lowered the team's ERA by more than three runs per game. His nine years of coaching at the Division 1 level have taught him a ton about what it takes to build and maintain a successful pitching staff. 

And while succeeding in Division 1 baseball requires much more than succeeding at the game’s lower levels, the first and foremost part of the equation is throwing strikes. 

Shepperd’s ‘Developing Strike Throwers’ course takes coaches through all of the different components of teaching accuracy on the mound. He details the various mental and physical aspects that go into this endeavor, and we have pulled a few of our favorite lessons from Shepperd’s course, and distilled them into easily digestible sections that should provide you with a better idea of how to make your own pitching staff throw consistent strikes. 

‘How Many Pitches Get to The Edges?’

One of the most common misconceptions when it comes to throwing consistent strikes is that pitchers should remain on the corners of the strike zone. This is often because young catchers will be setting up on the outside corner, prompting their pitcher to throw it there because they’re afraid of their pitcher leaving it over the middle. 

Aside from when the game plan is to expand the zone in a strikeout situation, Coach Shepperd instructs his catchers to always set up over the strike zone’s middle. 

“We’re encouraging the pitcher to throw the ball over the plate, and encouraging contact,” Coach Shepperd says. 

He then discusses how he never uses the term “perfect pitch” with his pitchers. The reason he avoids doing so is because it makes pitchers feel a need to pinpoint a ball to a specific spot, rather than execute their pitch to one segment of the strike zone. And this usually doesn’t lead to good outcomes. 

One important point Coach Shepperd alludes to in this section is that the art of executing pitches has just as much to do with the catcher as it does with the pitcher. The way a catcher sets up, frames, and generally receives the ball can often be the difference between a ball and a strike. 

This is important for youth catchers to understand as well, so they can keep that in mind as they continue to progress in the sport.

‘Our Three Priorities’

Coach Shepperd keeps his pitching staff’s focus on three priorities when they’re on the mound. Those three priorities (in order) are:

1. Only allow 1 free pass for every 3 innings pitched.

2. Have a 62% strike percentage.

3. 65% first pitch strikes. 

The first priority is simple. For every three innings pitches, only allow one free pass (a walk or a hit by pitch). This equates to less baserunners, which equates to less runs scored and more games won.

The reason that Coach Shepperd decided on 62% for total strikes is because that was the MLB average for strikes that were thrown in the season he created these three priorities. And since then, Coach Shepperd has found that if his pitching staff has thrown 62% or more strikes in a game then it usually amounts to a good performance.

Coach Shepperd notes that the 65% first pitch strikes is the third priority because it’s the toughest to achieve. Yet, he keeps it at that number because it gives his pitchers a reachable goal, but is still tough. 

Of course, none of these numbers are realistic if you’re coaching youth baseball. But the point is that regardless of what level you’re coaching at, minimizing free passes, throwing strikes, and throwing first pitch strikes should be a central priority for you.  

Another important point Coach Shepperd drills into his players’ heads is that they’re in control of the game. They have the ball in their hand, and they’re in the diamond’s center. Yet, all they need to do is hit those three priorities to be a hero for his team.

‘Intrasquad Games’

Coach Shepperd claims that intrasquad scrimmages (when his team divides into two smaller squads and plays) is, “our biggest factor in developing strike throwers, because we play a lot of them.”

He then discusses how his pitchers need to compete and feel the pressure during these moments when the games don’t count, so that they’re prepared for those feelings when the games do begin to matter. 

In these intrasquads, Coach Shepperd will curate scenarios for his pitchers to perform under (such as, entering the game with runners on first and second base with no outs), in order to get those necessary repetitions. 

Feeling the pressure is a main reason why pitchers struggle to throw strikes. Which is why getting pitchers acclimated to the pressure as early and as often as possible is crucial. 

If your youth team doesn’t have enough players to field a full intrasquad scrimmage, you could set up a live batting practice, where a pitcher faces a series of hitters with little or no fielders aside from a catcher. 

Utilizing Coach Sheppherd’s wisdom will have your pitchers executing strikes in short order.

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