Preparation Leads to World Series Championship

Steve Bernhardt: Building the Better Ballplayer

The biggest play of the World Series clinching game wasn’t the RBI single by Feliz or the slider by Lidge that ended it; it was Chase Utley’s defensive play in the top of the 7th. Utley changed the game and he did it through the long-term and short-term preparation that we preach at our own Baseball Factory Player Development events.

In case you missed it, the play happened in the top of the seventh inning with two outs and a runner on second base. Akinori Iwamura hit a ground ball up the middle that Utley backhanded. He faked a throw to first and threw home to get Jason Bartlett trying to score all the way from second. The inning was over and the tie was preserved. In the bottom of the seventh, the Phillies gained the lead that they would never relinquish.

Let’s look at the many ways Utley had to prepare himself both physically and mentally to make this play.

Physical Preparation

1. He has spent time working on his agility and first step quickness. That showed as he reacted quickly with a crossover step immediately after the ball was hit and had enough range to get to the ball in the first place.

2. He has put in countless hours of mechanical work and it paid off as he flawlessly backhanded the ball – the most difficult play for most infielders.

3. He has worked on his arm strength as he made a throw that is longer than normally required from a 2B. It shows why second basemen need to long toss regularly and not form the habit of all throws being a ¾ arm slot “flip.”

4. He has practiced throwing on the run. His throw was accurate and bouncing it gave the catcher a chance as opposed to a high throw.

Mental Preparation

1. He knew that the runner on 2B (Bartlett) was a fast and aggressive baserunner.

2. He knew the speed of the hitter – Iwamura is a fast runner and is quick out of the box after contact.

3. He had anticipated the different scenarios in his head for any ball hit to him or anywhere else on the field. This way he wasn’t surprised by the play.

4. He understood how valuable the ball is and that a throw must be made with a purpose. A throw to 1B there would not have gotten Iwamura and a futile throw there would have allowed Bartlett to score easily.

5. He knew to always keep your head up and look for the next play. There was no hesitation between his pump fake and making the throw home.

Everything Chase Utley did showed that he is a “true” baseball player. Thanks to his preparation, both mentally and physically, he made the biggest play of the game and put his team in position to celebrate a World Series victory.


Steve Bernhardt is the Executive VP of Baseball Operations with Baseball Factory. Bernhardt played for five years in the Colorado Rockies organization. As Executive VP of Baseball Operations at Baseball Factory, he oversees all events and instruction. Bernhardt currently serves as an Associate Scout with the Colorado Rockies. He received his B.S. from the University of Richmond where he was an All-Conference player.

LIVE: From the Under Armour Southeast Regional Tournament: Day 5

Dave Lax: We're There

A second serving of Juice, please.

That’s right the Chet Lemon’s Juice captured their second straight Under Armour Southeast Regional Tournament. After a long day of baseball and many threats from mother nature the conclusion to this year’s tournament had a familiar feeling. But first lets take a look at how the final day of competition played out.

Starting the day we had eight teams looking to earn a spot in the semi-finals. The Palm Beach Clippers kept their Cinderella story alive by taking out the #8 seeded Miami Fat Cats. In the early upset of the day the Palm Beach PAL beat previously undefeated Line Drive Baseball in a battle that went into extra innings. On the other side of the bracket the most anticipated game of the day was between Chet Lemon’s Juice and the All-American Prospects - Navy. In another extra inning game the Juice came through in the bottom of the eighth inning to win 4-3 and move on. The lowest seed still in the tournament was the Florida Pokers. The Pokers took out two of the tournaments top teams and were looking to take down the boys from Texas, Team DeMarini, but a few early runs were all Team DeMarini needed. They held on to win 4-1.

As the field was cut down to four, the teams geared up for their next game with hopes of gaining a berth in the championship game, which was played at Roger Dean Stadium.

In the first semi-final Team DeMarini’s starting pitcher threw an incredible game. He pitched four hitless innings and his team led 1-0 entering the fifth inning; however, the Juice and their experience were not thwarted by a stellar pitching performance. The Juice finally broke through with some hits knocking the starting pitcher out of the game, which opened the flood gates. The final score of 9-1 was not indicative of how close the game really was, as both teams gave everyone watching some excitement. In the second semi-final the Clippers magical run came to an end as the Palm Beach PAL took them down with strong defense and timely hitting. The championship was now set and the teams hurried over to the stadium field as rain clouds covered the sky.

In the championship game the Juice struck early and often. With Under Armour Undeniable Player of the Game, James Ramsey walking in two consecutive at bats he quickly turned those walks into runs with his blistering speed and teammates clutch hitting. The Palm Beach PAL put up only one run as the Juice captured their second title in as many years with a 7-1 win. We look forward to seeing what next year has in store for the Under Armour Southeast Regional Tournament and we congratulate Chet Lemon’s Juice on another incredible tournament.

If you are interested in reviewing some of the scouting reports from the event, please check out Team One Baseball.

LIVE: From the Under Armour Southeast Regional Wood Bat Tournament - Day 4

Dave Lax: We're There

Elimination Day is here and some teams as expected moved onto the final day of play while other teams had some surprises for the entire tournament. Upset was the name of the game in the first set of games. Although the teams that were playing were only a few seeds apart it seemed that the team with the lower seed kept on winning. The Florida Pokers took out the always dangerous Atlanta Blue Jays 3-2 in a great game. The Florida Pokers went on to beat the #2 overall seed All American Prospects Red team 4-2.

Most of the big names in the tournament held true to form as they moved easily into Day 2 of elimination. Chet Lemon’s Juice beat a stingy Treasure Coast Young Guns squad 3-0 to advance. The All American Prospects Navy avenged an early pool play loss to the Broward Mavericks to move into the final eight. Line Drive Baseball had the most convincing win blanking the Pirates Prospects. The Palm Beach PAL dispatched of the Baseball Factory Red team 10-2 after the Baseball Factory Red edged out their counterpart Baseball Factory Navy in the first round of games.

The big surprise of the day was the upset of #1 overall seed DiamondVision Elite. The Palm Beach Clippers who were a #17 seed took out the top seed in the tournament with a 3-2 win. So as it turned out both teams that were undefeated lost their opening game and were eliminated from the tournament along with 14 other teams.

We look forward to our final day of the 2008 Under Armour Southeast Regional Tournament. Who will be playing at the stadium at the Roger Dean Sports Complex? Who will take home the crown? Will it be a top seed or one of the many underdogs?

Check back tomorrow for a recap of the entire event.