Baseball Training? Part One

When we look at training for sports; there needs to be a purpose.  I believe there are two simple purposes to sports training:  1.  To Stay Healthy 2.  To Improve Performance.

The sport that has really adopted these principles is professional golf, due in part to Tiger Woods crashing the scene in 1997.  At that time a rotund golfer named John Daly led the PGA Tour in Driving Distance at 303 yards.  Tiger was second at 297 yards. Today there are more that 65 golfers averaging over 300 yards of Driving Distance.  Is the equipment better?  Of course.  But what are leaps and bounds better is the shape the golfers are in.  These guys are jacked!

The golf fitness craze spread through the Tour like wildfire.  Services like TPI (Titleist Performance Institute) and the PGA Tour’s own traveling gym housed in a modified 18-Wheeler have helped golfer get in better shape.

I bring up Golf because the training that these guys have done have shown measurable results.  The golfers have bought in to improving their fitness.

Conversely, the sport that refuses to look into different training ways to stay healthy and improve performance is baseball.  The same training is done over and over again expecting different results.  I believe we call that INSANITY!!. 

Here are a few things to think about:

Long Toss, Resistance Bands, and Weighted ball are used to “strengthen arms” for outfielders.  Any Results?  Name 10 outfielders that can reach home plate on the fly from their normal outfield position. 

You wont get to 10.  Why is the number not 80?

Long Toss, Resistance Bands, Weighted Balls for pitchers are used to “strengthen arms”.  UCL (Tommy John) injuries are at an all time high.  Pitchers who have had Tommy John Surgery are taking longer to rehab than the actual Tommy John in 1974.

How can this be?

Stay Tuned for the next blog.  Hint:  DON’T VIOLATE KINESIOLOGY!