Farm Boy Strong

Steve Bernhardt: Building the Better Ballplayer

In the last week, I have spent a lot of time shoveling snow. Here in Baltimore, we received 50” of snow in a five day stretch. As I piled snow higher than my head on the sides of walkways, driveways and cars, I taxed muscles that had not been awakened in some time. Hours of doing this also gave me plenty of time alone with my thoughts. One thought involved the type of shape I would be in if this kind of shoveling was a daily routine for me.

It made me remember a scouting term that I have heard before: “farm boy strong.” This term is used to describe a young player who is naturally thick and strong referencing young men who grew up on a farm and developed their strength by doing difficult manual labor on a daily basis. These guys are hard to find these days. We see many more “soft-bodied” prospects than “farm boy strong” prospects. Society has changed with more jobs done by automated machines than in generations past, but it is also widely chronicled that today’s young players spend more time playing video games and staring at the computer than ever before.

When Mickey Mantle was growing up he worked in the lead mines in the summers. One of his jobs involved smashing large rocks into smaller ones with a sledgehammer. Some credit his immense wrist and forearm strength to this. Hank Aaron and Ernie Banks both worked in the cotton fields as young men building naturally strong hands from their hours of picking cotton. These “farm boy strong” players combined for 1,803 home runs in their storied careers. As the rules continue to eliminate players with chemically enhanced strength, I think the player with some skill and natural strength will become an extremely hot commodity.

Maybe some of today’s young high school players should pick their summer jobs not based on which is the easiest, but by which will build up some usable strength for them in the future. It paid off for guys like Mantle, Banks and Aaron.



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 formerly served 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.

The Seventh Tool

Steve Bernhardt: Building the Better Ballplayer

What do Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Lou Gehrig, Stan Musial, Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams all have in common? Yes, they’re Hall of Famers and yes they belong in the discussion of the greatest hitters of all time, but did you know that they also all walked more times than they struck out in their careers? They all had knowledge and control of the strike zone. They all had plate discipline.

I know that the walk to strikeout ratio is considered by many as an archaic way to measure plate discipline. Statisticians have conducted many recent analyses of plate discipline that include percentages of balls swung at that are out of the strike zone, contact percentages, pitches per at bat, hitter tendencies toward passive or aggressive approaches and others. For this discussion we’ll keep it simple and stick with the BB/K ratio that I happen to feel still has merit.

Strikeout totals continue to rise in baseball today and they seem to be more accepted. I understand that there are a lot of variables in the mix. Closers, set-up men, splitters and sliders have emerged. So has the line-up in which every player is capable of hitting the ball out of today’s smaller parks at any time, as well as a propensity for working deeper counts. Gone are the days of the 2-strike approach and fighting to avoid making that walk back to the dugout after being beaten by the pitcher.

Despite the high strikeout totals, some players do buck the trend. Recent HOF inductees Rickey Henderson, Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs all walked more than they struck out as did the current career HR leader, Barry Bonds. In today’s game it’s getting harder to find players that maintain a positive ratio. Superstar Albert Pujols has walked 802 times while striking out just 566 times at this point in his career. Others with a positive ratio are Chipper Jones, Todd Helton and Dustin Pedroia, all quality hitters.

I discussed in a previous blog that a player’s make-up should be regarded as the 6th tool for position players joining the standard five tools (hitting ability, power, defensive ability, arm, speed). Finding a player with multiple plus tools out of the “original” five will normally result in a productive Major Leaguer and if those “tools guys” have solid make-up you normally have an All-Star. Add in plate discipline to the mix and the result seems to be a Hall of Famer. I think plate discipline deserves its place as the 7th tool when scouting position players.




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 formerly served 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.

The Curveball: Part 3

Matt Schilling: From the Batting Cage

When last I blogged we were discussing the curveball and the mechanics involved with how to hit this pitch. This week I want to discuss exactly what pitchers are trying to do with the breaking ball when they are attacking hitters. I believe that if you as a hitter understand how the pitcher is trying to go after you with the breaking ball, you will be better prepared to hit it OR lay off of it.

First lets deal with a RHP vs a RHH or LHP vs LHH:
Generally speaking, early in the count the pitcher is trying to throw the curve for a strike. In doing so they are usually going to start by throwing the curve at you, usually at your waist and let it break over the plate. The idea being, if they start it at you they can raise doubt in your mind and get you to bail out or at least freeze. This pitch is actually a good one to hit because it is intended to be thrown for a strike which means it is going to cross the plate around mid-thigh level. This is an elevated curve that you can get good wood on. (as long as you don't bail out)

Once the pitcher has two strikes on you he does not want to throw you a strike. He wants to throw a breaking ball that starts as a strike then breaks out of the zone. See the final pitch of the world series for a perfect example. By starting this breaking ball in the zone, the pitcher gets the hitter to start his bat, by breaking it out of the zone he gets the hitter to chase a bad pitch, which he is either going to miss or hit weakly. This breaking ball usually starts down the middle and breaks low and away out of the zone, often in the dirt. If as a hitter you know this, you can train yourself to take this pitch and force the pitcher to bring the ball up in the zone. Anytime you get the pitcher to bring the ball up in the zone it is going to work in your favor.

Next lets talk about the RHP vs. LHH or LHP vs. RHH:
In these match-ups the breaking ball is no longer going away from the hitter but actually coming towards the hitter. Because of this, the pitcher has to adjust how he attacks the hitter with the curve. In these match-ups, the pitcher usually will try to throw a backdoor curve for a strike early in the count. Meaning he will throw the breaking ball by starting it off the outside corner of the plate then break it over the outside corner for a called strike. The thought being he will get the hitter to give up or quit on the pitch because he thinks it is a ball, and then drop it in late for an easy called strike. As long as you dont give up on this pitch too soon, it is a good pitch to hit because it it elevated and easily shot into the opposite field.

With two strikes, the pitcher will try to break the curve at your back big toe. He will start the breaking ball middle-in at strike height, but get it to break low and in under your bat. Usually the hitter will either swing over the top of it, foul it off his foot or dribble it weakly on the ground. Again as a hitter you must train yourself to lay off of this pitch and make the pitcher bring the ball up in the zone. If you get the pitcher bringing the ball up in zone you will have a great chance of getting a good pitch to hit.

Tune in next time as we will cover the final part of this series when we discuss, "How to practice hitting the Curveball."

Quote of the week:
The pitcher has got only a ball. I've got a bat. So the percentage of weapons is in my favor and I let the fellow with the ball do the fretting.
-- Hank Aaron

Matt Schilling is the Senior Director of On-Field Instruction at Baseball Factory. Schilling graduated from Coastal Carolina University, where he was an All-Conference and All-State player while being voted the fourth best second baseman in the country by the Smith Award Group. Schilling went on to coach at Coastal for five years, helping them reach the top 25. He is also a former Associate Scout with the Atlanta Braves.

Situational Hitting: Part 2

Matt Schilling: From the Batting Cage

Last week I began talking about the importance of "executing" when faced with different hitting "situations." I noted seven different hitting "situations" that tend to stick out more than any others. This week, I am going to discuss the first two on the list. In case you forgot, here are the first two:

1. Sacrifice bunts

2. Suicide squeeze and safety squeeze

Most young players think that being a productive hitter means getting a lot of hits. The reality is that it is great to get a lot of hits but it does not guarantee that you will be productive. You can also be a productive hitter without hitting for a high average IF you "execute" well in hitting situations.

1. Sacrifice Bunts

Most young players do not know how to bunt. This is one of the most under taught skills in baseball today. Young players also hate to bunt because we wait all that time for our turn to hit and now we don't get to swing, we have to bunt, yuck. But a good ballplayer will gladly give himself up or "sacrifice" for the team. My first tip to being a good bunter: Commit to it. A lot of players will give a half-hearted attempt at it and miss or foul off the first attempt in hopes that the coach will take the bunt sign off. This is the worst thing you can do. Usually this will make the coach angry because he can clearly see you are not making a good effort, so as a matter of principle he will make you try to bunt even with two strikes. So COMMIT to the bunt and it will help you have greater success.

A few other tips to help you. When Sac bunting you must get UP, UP and UP. Move UP in the box, move UP on the plate and move UP on the bat. If you do this correctly this will guarantee that when you square to bunt, your bat will be in fair territory (this is critical to bunting the ball fair). Once you have done this, you should pre-set the angle of your bat. What I mean is, if you are going to bunt to 3rd you should square up and get your bat angle set so that if the ball hit your bat it would ricochet towards 3rd. You must also make sure to always keep the tip of the bat slightly above your hands. If the tip of the bat drops you have a greater chance to pop the bunt up. Lastly you must know what direction to bunt. With a man on first you should bunt to first. If you can make the first baseman field the bunt it becomes a very difficult throw for him to try and throw out the runner going to second. He likely will opt to throw to first and you will have done your job. With a runner on second you want to bunt to third and make the third baseman field the ball for the same reasons mentioned above. While these are not all of the tips for bunting, these are a few that are not always taught and can give you an edge up.

2. Suicide squeeze and safety squeeze

Suicide squeeze means that when the pitcher winds up to throw to the plate the runner from third is breaking like he is stealing home. As the hitter you have to bunt the ball in fair territory. At worst you must make some sort of contact with the ball otherwise the base runner will be a dead duck. In this "situation" it is most important to just get the bunt in fair play and not be so worried about what direction you bunt the ball. If you can keep it away from the pitcher a little bit that is a huge help.

Should your coach call this play and you achieve the element of surprise it is usually fairly successful. If the defensive team is on its toes and looking for a possible squeeze it becomes a little more difficult. The best defense against a squeeze is to throw a pitch-out or a pitch that the hitter cannot bunt but that the catcher can catch. So as the bunter you must be prepared to get the bat on the ball. Do whatever it takes to make some form of contact. Throw the bat at the ball, take one hand off the bat to extend your reach if you must, but make contact. Again if you don't the runner is going to be out. If you are given the squeeze, be prepared for the worst, and if you get a decent pitch it will be a lot easier for you.

The safety squeeze simply means that the base runner at third is not running on the pitch, but waiting to read where you have bunted the ball. This "situation" is much more like a sacrifice only instead of advancing the runner to second or third, you are sacrificing him home. Therefore in this spot you must "execute" a quality bunt directed away from the defensive pressure. Usually the third baseman is a little more aggressive charging and more athletic, so in general you will want to get the bunt down towards first. This spot does not require that you go after the pitch, you have the option of waiting for a good pitch to bunt, so make sure you "bunt strikes."

Next week we will take a look at the next few "situations."

Man on second with no one out and man on third with less than two outs.

Trivia Question answers:

1. Hank Aaron is third all-time in career hits behind Rose and Cobb
2. Ernie Banks has 4 of the top ten single season home run totals by a shortstop, A-rod has the other 6


Schilling graduated from Coastal Carolina University, where he was an All-Conference and All-State player while being voted the fourth best second baseman in the country by the Smith Award Group. Schilling went on to coach at Coastal for five years, helping them reach the top 25. He is also a former Associate Scout with the Atlanta Braves.