PSSBL Mustangs Update

Posted on June 5th, 2008 in mustangs, pictures, working out, goals by Kyle

We’re 1-2, with our only win coming from a forfeit (we were probably going to win anyway). We lost a game 13-14 because of a wild pitch where the pitcher didn’t cover (we probably would have lost even if he covered) and we walked a ton of batters (the strike zone became absurdly small). Anyway, it’s not a great start - our pitching hasn’t been too good, but the hitting is absolutely dismal in a lot of spots. It’s not for lack of effort, either - lots of the guys show up to practice and work their asses off, we just can’t seem to tie it all together. I still have faith, though - our defense has been quite good in the last two games, and the pitching is coming around.  I still think we’re in the top half of the division - we should be fine.

On a personal level, here’s what’s up with me:

  • I am insanely stressed out with life. When you add this to my laziness, I have gained more weight and gotten more fat. Annoying. I am trying to reverse it, I promise.
  • I still work out 4 days a week with wrist weights, throwing into a net, and dutifully taking batting practice. As a result, I can’t control my fastball, my changeup for some reason is no good anymore, and I sucked in my one official appearance with the Mustangs. It doesn’t help that I just figured out how I want to windup and deliver the ball to the plate using a pendulum swing motion and body action. I need to take it easier on my arm, as it’s rarely 100% for team practices (always good for games, though - I take enough time off).
  • I’ve been hitting fairly well after developing a consistent stride and loading pattern. Against the Mudhens on Friday, I crushed a ball to left field that was ~310 feet on a line. I followed that up with a single, a walk, and an infield pop-up. I’ve been getting jammed too much inside, and that sucks. I need to fix that. Oh well - at least I have a consistent swing that I’m happy with. Can’t ask for too much more.
  • My defense has been quite good, if I do say so myself. I have made all of the plays at me at second base, and though most were easy, I have had two pretty good range-y plays as well as a diving stop with the infield drawn in to save a run and pick up an out. I still airmail it from time to time on double plays, but with some help from my teammates on picking up the target, I think that’s largely fixed.

My physical fitness has never been worse. I weigh ~215 lbs right now and I wanted to start the year at 195, preferably at 190. Life has gotten in the way of actually paying attention to working out and eating right, but that’s not much of an excuse. Back to the grind.

Rob (our GM) has done a great job of managing the team despite some minor quarrels here and there. I realize I’m not one of the top four pitchers on the team with my wildness, and though I’m bummed I don’t pitch, there’s really no reason I deserve a regular spot either as a reliever or a starter. I’ll continue to work hard, and I’m sure Rob will work me in there as the situation calls for/allows it. I’m still batting cleanup, starting at second base, and playing every game, so what can I really complain about? Nothing.

Speaking of pitching, here’s what I’ve finally settled on throwing:

  • Two-seam Maxline/Torque fastballs (I can control it much better and get decent sink on them)
  • Pronation slider
  • Four-seam Circle Change (which sucks right now and I have no idea why - it’s always been my best pitch)

The command/control of my fastball is pretty godawful right now, or at least it was in the game. In practice, it hasn’t been. My velocity has picked up a bunch, though, so that’s some good news. I really want to limit my walks to one every other inning, but at this point I’d take one per inning.

Last, but not least, here’s an animated image of what I do with wrist weights:

And my stats for the year so far (Mustangs Batting Stats - Pitching Stats)

Pitching: 2.2 IP, 3 BB, 3 K, 3 ER, 10.11 ERA 2.25 WHIP
Hitting: .375/.500/.500 , 8 AB - 1 RBI, 1 R, 3 BB, 1 K, 1 2b

Next game is Sunday at Steve Cox Field - the newly-remodeled White Center Park - versus the revamped Missions. I am looking forward to it. Well, I always look forward to playing baseball, of course.

Oh, and in the other amateur league I play in (Seattle League; my team is Nandemoya), there’s a HS pitcher from Japan named Hirosei who is the best pitcher in the league. He throws a fastball/slider/forkball combination, and he has pretty good velocity (usually around 82-84). However, this year, he has gained a ton more on his fastball, and though his secondary pitches lag behind, I swear to god he was touching 90 for 2-3 pitches the last time I saw him. It was unbelievable.

Kyle’s Swing

Posted on March 19th, 2008 in pictures, video by Kyle

Here’s what my swing looks like these days:

The image below shows my greatest weakness; it occurs right after front leg block:

As you can see in the video, the frame after I pause for front leg block, my body still carries forward. This is known as “leaking” and is caused by a weak front leg block. I have fixed this in the past, but I get lazy and tend to forget that I need to land with a strong, yet flexed front leg.

Due to this flaw, my hands move in a linear fashion for too long, hence the term “bat drag.” You want the hands to cut across the chest and in a circular motion around the body to produce a short swing to contact. “Short to it and long through it.”

However, because of my aforementioned hand-eye coordination, I am able to get away with it against inferior (sub-85 mph) pitching and get into this position, which is a thing of beauty:

Now this is good form! Proof?

You’ll notice that Pujols front leg is completely locked out in a strong position; mine isn’t. Again, this is due to poor front leg block mechanics, which is something that is somewhat easily fixed. I am convinced that another month of hitting in a cage with video will fix this problem and give me an excellent power swing. After that, it’s all up to me in the batter’s box to identify and hit pitches, something I’ve fortunately been pretty good at my whole life.

Kyle’s Swing, November/December ‘07

Posted on February 4th, 2008 in pictures, video by Kyle

Kyle’s Swing, December 07

I gotta be honest, I don’t really hate this swing (despite not-great contact)! I was practicing Dr. Yeager’s walk-up drills to help translate linear momentum into rotational momentum, and I learned a lot in doing so.

What I don’t like are my hands being lazy, trying to wrap around the ball, and poor uncocking of the wrists at the point of contact.

After looking at a bunch of video, I think I realized a big problem of mine is “drifting” forward after lead footplant. To stop that, I need to push against the ground more. That should stop the drifting, the poor contact, and should increase power. We’ll see tomorrow - hopefully more video to follow!

On the horse again…

Posted on January 7th, 2008 in pictures, side session-kyle by Kyle

I threw a partial side session on Sunday, as I’m gearing up for the 2008 season. I feel as though I’ve gained a few mph on my pitches (and the location is getting better), but after reviewing the video, my biggest flaw is still there (albeit less seriously as before, it is still present). At footstrike on a fastball release, my glove arm is tightening up (good) but before my hips rotate (very bad). Since my torso more or less rotates with my legs, this is robbing me of significant velocity and will only increase the load on my shoulder/arm. This is something I have finally identified as my major flaw, and I think I know how to fix it.

Lincecum - Front/Side

See on the left how Lincecum extends his glove arm away from his body? This helps to keep his shoulder closed at footstrike and achieve a powerful position:

Lincecum - Footstrike

I would like to get a picture of me up there, but for some reason I can’t Print Screen from Windows Media Player, even when I turn hardware acceleration off. I’ll figure it out soon.

Tomorrow Jacob and I are going to the American Baseball Institute at 9 AM to get some work in, tour the facility, meet the coaches, and check out some prospects who are getting evaluated by Cubs and Phillies scouts. Should be a good time!