Tipping Pitches

Doug Glanville: Lessons from the Times


For the 2009 baseball season, I will be discussing the lessons the Baseball Factory family may consider from my New York Times column, "Heading Home." Your feedback is welcome! Drop me a line at askdoug@baseballfactory.com!

We can learn a lot from the latest cloud over Alex Rodriguez. He has been accused of “tipping” pitches to the other team by using his glove or his body to signal the upcoming pitch to the hitter.

For starters, I played with Alex for a year in Texas and I don’t recall seeing anything from centerfield, but let’s just say for a second that I missed it.

Even so, it is a bold statement to accuse a player of helping the other team, which is one of the worst things a player can do. I also think that he may have tipped pitches, but not for his opponent, but for his own team. And either way, maybe he didn’t do it on purpose.

As you advance levels in baseball, it becomes more and more important to find an edge. There are a lot of ways to find it (that don’t involve bad things like steroids). One way is to study your opponent closely. If you look hard enough, you will see that they are sometimes giving you information that can help you know what they are about to do.

Tipping pitches is something that pitchers and defenders do without even knowing it. As players, we have patterns, we have habits that can be detected by a trained eye. The higher the level, the better the players are at picking up these unintentional signs.

When it comes to pitchers, most pitchers do something a little bit different on each kind of pitch they throw. Maybe they curl their glove when they are throwing a curveball, maybe they arch their back when they are trying to get on top of a splitter, maybe they change their foot position when they are going to pickoff to first base. It is there, you just have to find it.

The more experienced pitchers study themselves just like their opponent would to try and change if they are giving away their pitches.

So as a hitter, after facing a pitcher a bunch of times, you may be able to find something that can help you. Bobby Abreu was the best I ever played with at figuring out a pattern of a pitcher. By the third inning of every game, he knew what the pitcher was throwing with great accuracy.

You can see how this can help you. Not just at the plate, but on the bases. It would be nice to know when the pitcher is going home and when he will try and pick you off.

But pitchers aren’t the only ones who tip off pitches. Watch the defense. Did the shortstop move a couple steps to his left to pinch the middle? Did the centerfielder just move toward the right-centerfield gap on two strikes? A lot of times, defenders move for a reason, they may know what pitch is coming and based on that information, they are protecting against where they think the hitter may hit it. When slow pitches are about to come (splitter, change-up, curve) they defender may protect against the hitter pulling the ball. Just like a catcher may change his crouch because he is worried about a ball in the dirt from a bad curve or fork ball, he usually wouldn’t worry about it on a fastball.

If you are a middle infielder, it is wrong to tip off your own team’s signs to your opponent when it is on purpose. I choose not to believe what they are saying about A-Rod on this issue, but keep in mind, sometimes you are tipping pitches without even knowing it and as a ballplayer, it is your job to know this about your opponent and use it against him. During the game, be a good sportsman, but don’t help your opponent beat your team. When the game is over, if you have a friend on the other team, you can link up after the game. But never tell anyone your secrets unless it is to help your team.



Doug Glanville joined the Baseball Factory as a Special Consultant at the end of 2007. Glanville attended and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Systems Science and Engineering. Glanville was drafted 12th overall by the Chicago Cubs in the 1991 amateur draft. Glanville played nine seasons in the Majors, getting his break with the Cubs. He also spent six seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies and a portion of the 2003 season with the Texas Rangers. In 1999, Glanville batted .325 with 204 hits, 101 runs, six homeruns, 73 runs batted in and 34 stolen bases. He led the league in singles with 149 that year. To review other articles from Doug Glanville, including his New York Times column, please click here.

Parents Can Help Kids “Just Say No”

Rob Naddelman: Through a Parent’s Eyes

It seems like everyone has an opinion about New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez and his recent admission that he used steroids between 2001 and 2003. I have heard lots of commentary and opinions about A-Rod’s apology, how sincere it was, how truthful it was, or how disingenuous it was. What I haven’t heard enough talk about is how we can help prevent more young baseball players from making the same mistakes. With the fierce competition of Major League Baseball and the high stakes of salaries and signing bonuses for those that achieve success, how do we as a society work to reduce and eventually eliminate drug use in young athletes that are looking for competitive advantages? I personally think parents can help play a large role.

I have never used illegal drugs of any kind. A big reason why is based upon talks I had with my parents and what they instilled in me as a young man. I remember speaking to my dad about the dangers of drugs as a high school student and his advice was right on the money. Here are a few key bullet points of what he stressed to me:

1. They are illegal so stay away from them.
2. The best thing to do is never start, and if you don’t start, you will never have to worry about quitting.
3. You work your whole life to build a solid reputation for how you are perceived. It only takes one bad decision to have that reputation come tumbling down.
4. If you can say that you gave 100% and you did the best you could, that will always be good enough and you don’t have to cheat to gain an edge.
5. Even if you don’t get caught, you will always have to live with yourself, and in those quiet moments you will have a tough time being at peace with your soul.

I think a large key to the hopes of stopping illegal drug use in young athletes is for parents to help ingrain a strong moral compass within their souls. Young adults that are secure in their decision making, feel trusted by their parents, and truly believe in themselves, tend to make well grounded decisions as adults. It is the combination of building strong moral fiber and educating on the dangers of drugs that will go a long way towards curtailing drug use in the future. I personally think we are better off spending our time and energy on this initiative instead of conducting witch hunts and public trials of Major League players.

As parents, continue to speak with your children about these issues and help them make the smart choice when it comes to drugs. “Just Say No” is a slogan that has been around for decades and it may be more appropriate in these times than ever.


Rob Naddelman is the President of Baseball Factory. Naddelman is a former two-time All Ivy League Third Baseman at the University of Pennsylvania, where he competed in a College World Series Regional. He has served as the President of Baseball Factory for the past 13 years, and also is the Executive Director of Baseball Factory's charitable arm The B.A.S.E. - H.I.T. Foundation. Naddelman and Steve Sclafani (CEO) have been featured in Business Week and CNN for their work in building Baseball Factory into the nation's leader in player development and college placement.

Mixed Emotions

Jason Budden: Un-Common Sense?

As things have unfolded regarding Alex Rodriguez’s admitted use of steroids, I’ve had a hard time forming a solid opinion on the situation. There are so many different aspects involved and my thoughts have been pouring out:

• First off, it frustrates me that spring training is right around the corner and this is the only story we are going to hear about for the next four weeks (maybe even the next four months or years).

• How did this leak? The players were assured by Major League Baseball and the Player’s Association that this was an anonymous test, never to be shared with the public, or anyone for that matter. It was to be completed as a survey, to find out just how bad steroids really were in the game of baseball. In a lot of ways, this test led to many positives in regards to a new testing policy, stricter punishment and overall accountability within baseball. Do you think players would have been willing to be tested, if they knew the results could be made public?

• Now that the information has leaked, why just A-Rod? Why not the other 103 players on that list? As a nation, we love to build up our superstars, but we enjoy pulling them back down even more.

• Will the players ever trust the union again? Will they ever trust the owners again? Who can they trust but themselves? The next time a labor dispute comes around, how can we expect an agreement to be reached? Can anyone in baseball truly be taken at their word?

• I can’t decide if I like the nickname A-Fraud or A-Roid better. I think I’m leaning towards A-Roid.

• Former teammate of A-Rod with the Texas Rangers and current Baseball Factory Consultant, Doug Glanville may have written the best point of view I’ve seen so far on this topic.

• Part of me is proud of A-Rod for owning up and admitting that he let down the game of baseball. He isn’t hiding like Mark McGwire. He isn’t shifting the blame like Roger Clemens or pointing his finger adamantly like Rafael Palmeiro. He didn’t admit to something, while really admitting to nothing like Jason Giambi. He isn’t going to purge himself in court and have to fight it out like Barry Bonds. He apologized. He took all of the blame. Does that free him from guilt? Absolutely not, but it does make him more human, and it does make America more likely to forgive him.

• Was Barry Bonds somehow behind this information leaking? It sure takes a lot of the press and overall pressure off of his trial. He is now story number two in the steroid world that is baseball. (I don’t think this is a possibility, but it is fun to imagine Barry sitting in a dark room, masking his voice as he makes an anonymous call to Selena Roberts)

• Where does the league go from here? If McGwire, Clemens and Bonds weren’t the rock bottom points of the Steroid Era, then this has to be, so there’s only one way to go.

I’m sure that there will be more that will come out of this story. It wouldn’t surprise me if the names of the 103 other players on that list were released. As much as I wish it would just go away, I hope that there is some good that can come from this and that baseball can move forward on a clean path that properly represents that game.

Only time will tell.


Jason Budden is the Vice President of Operations and Marketing at Baseball Factory. Jason joined the Baseball Factory in 1997 while still a junior in high school. After going through the Baseball Factory's college recruiting program he was placed at Johns Hopkins University where he played two years of college baseball before graduating with a degree in Economics. After working part-time at the Factory throughout college, Jason joined the team as a full-time employee in January 2002 when he was promoted to Director of Marketing. He currently oversees all marketing projects and sponsorship opportunities at Baseball Factory. He is also in charge of development and marketing for Baseball University, the leader in online baseball education and a division of Baseball Factory.

Torre Tears Into the Yankees

Jason Budden: Un-Common Sense?
Is anything in sports sacred anymore? It used to be that what happened in the clubhouse, stayed in the clubhouse. I don’t know when Vegas trademarked this statement, but these days, What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas…and what happens in the clubhouse, is blasted throughout the media and apparently, exposed in tell all books by Joe Torre.

As a lifelong Orioles fan (and Yankee hater) I never disliked Joe Torre. I could list you 50 players on the Yankees that I did dislike, but I always respected Torre. He re-created a dynasty in New York that rivaled the days of Mantle and DiMaggio, Yogi and Whitey, and Ruth and Gehrig. He led the Yankees to four World Series titles in the span of five years, and appeared to do it the right way. He created leaders (Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera) and gamers (Scott Brosius and Paul O’Neill) and managed to get every last drop of talent out of veteran players (Bernie Williams, Orlando Hernandez and Luis Sojo).

But all of that respect is gone with the publishing of a new book called The Yankee Years, by Tom Verducci and Joe Torre in which the book reveals that the players called Alex Rodriguez, “A-Fraud” behind his back. The book claims that A-Rod had a “Single White Female” obsession with Jeter. It also rips general manager Brian Cashman and dishes on the Steinbrenner family.

Now Torre can claim that these comments are Verducci’s words and not quotes (which is true), but his name is on the book. His image is on the cover. He reviewed and approved every paragraph. And he got paid for it.

Why Joe? Does this really make you feel better about how things ended in New York? The majority of the baseball watching world would agree that you got a raw deal. Is this what you remember most about the Yankee teams that you managed? The dirt. Not the championships or the great games or great memories or even the great players you molded into stars? Did you want revenge that badly that you felt it was important for the world to know what happened behind closed doors?

Come on! You moved on to Los Angeles. I’ve seen the commercials. You’re doing yoga and drinking wheat grass. You were managing the Dodgers in October while Rodriguez, Cashman and the Steinbrenners were sitting at home watching. You were the clear winner in this situation. Torre 1, Yankees 0.

So why bring it all up again? Isn’t your success combined with the Yankees’ failure enough to provide closure? How does it help your conscience by trying to humiliate Alex Rodriguez? I assume you don’t need the money, so I lack to see the motivation. Maybe LA really has changed you. You used to avoid sensationalism at all costs, now you are feeding the tabloid frenzy.

Well congrats Joe. We now have no winners, just a bunch of losers, with your name on top of the list.

(check out Buster Olney’s blog for some good reading on this subject)


Jason Budden is the Vice President of Operations and Marketing at Baseball Factory. Jason joined the Baseball Factory in 1997 while still a junior in high school. After going through the Baseball Factory's college recruiting program he was placed at Johns Hopkins University where he played two years of college baseball before graduating with a degree in Economics. After working part-time at the Factory throughout college, Jason joined the team as a full-time employee in January 2002 when he was promoted to Director of Marketing. He currently oversees all marketing projects and sponsorship opportunities at Baseball Factory. He is also in charge of development and marketing for Baseball University, the leader in online baseball education and a division of Baseball Factory.