What is a baseball specific workout that will increase my throwing velocity and also help me hit farther?

Any baseball players out there, please let me know what you do to gain muscle for hitting and pitching.


Does anyone use kettlebells? What about resistance bands?|||Squats, you can't do anything without a strong base, it will increase your velocity and your bat speed.





Core workouts, will both increase bat speed, and your velocity, as well as make you overall more athletic.





If you go only, their are numerous kettleball workouts for all sorts of sports, kettle balls can be your best friends if you use them right.





Don't forget to workout the basics, work your swing, throw long toss. All those basics are things many young players forget about, because they only want to hit the weight room and get bigger.|||Check out the 3X Pitching Velocity Program. It comes with the Ace Pitcher Handbook which has the throwing program and the strength and conditioning program. I got to 94mph with it and also hit 7 homeruns as a pitcher in a professional season.

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|||I call it the lumberjack work out, not really sure the real name of it. but you get a rubber plate weight that you'd use for power cleans and swing it like your cutting down a tree with an axe (similar to a baseball swing, but don't follow through, stop once you "hit the tree")

What are good baseball drills to help me improve?

I am on a senior league baseball team. I am a centerfielder. I am great at catching flyballs. I am very fast and cunning so I don't need any baserunning drills. I am very inconsistent at batting and fielding ground balls. What are good drills or excersizes to help me improve?|||Well, this is a good drill for contact with the ball when batting. What you do is set up a couple of very thin items down through your street. If your street is small, try to look for a longer street. Next, you ask someone to drive you down your street at the maximum speed limit. You take your bat, reach outside of your fully open window in your regular batting stance and try to hit as many of the THIN items as you can.





This especially works with a more widely known street so it'll have a larger speed limit, in which you can have the person drive faster.





Make sure the item you choose is very thin, (since it resemnles the ball.) Also make sure that you use items that don't matter if they break. Lastly, make sure you DON'T hit any mailboxes, street poles, etc.





This routine helped me when I was training to become a great baseball superstar and now I am on one of my states' Minor League AAA teams.|||kidding? in my neighborhood you wouldn't make 1/2 a block without being arrested or shot at.

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|||I find long toss to be great. It strengthens the arm and prevents injury. Anything that builds stamina and conditioning that involves running and throwing. If you have a problem with ground ball nothing beats just the repetition of having ground balls hit to you. Baseball is funny when it comes to training in that all of the weights, conditioning and everything else is great but nothing improves your skills like practising the fundamentals. Make sure that you have someone that doesn't mind putting the time in with you.|||Go ask Tom Emanski and Fred McGriff. They have a couple of videos that should help and it was even used by the AAU's back to back to back chamions.

How did Baseball go from the national past time to the most boring professional sport in America?

Growing up baseball was the sport. It was America's past time. Now I call it sports purgatory because it is the most boring time of all the four major sports in America. I am just glad that the World Cup is on this summer.





What happened? How did baseball fall? Was it steroids? The unions? Greedy owners? Unnecessary expansion? All the strikes? ESPN SportsCenter's emphasis on highlights as opposed to the story of a baseball game? Price of tickets?|||Here's an analytical perspective. Baseball was THE SPORT of the Radio Age. Young Kids and their sports obsessed fathers sitting by a Radio listening to announcers describe "Towering balls hit by (Insert Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, etc. here) that could reach the moon" They'd sit there and even keep an at home scorecard. Everything was described BIG. Curveballs went from head to toe. Home Runs were 400 foot blasts. All these descriptions filled a lot of space.





To this day some folks listen to radio broadcasts of Baseball instead of watching the TV Broadcasts. I watched the Yankee games with the sound off and turned the radio on until Michael Kay went to TV. Now I actually listen to the TV's sound.





Then came TV. And we got to see that Pitchers spend a lot of time scratching themselves between pitches. Curveballs don't go head to toe. Oh yeah and 400 ft. is from here to where I parked my car.





Then came the Highlight reel. This actually helped baseball for a while.





Then came the digital age. Games, PC's (Or Macs), etc. Things started getting faster. Basball didn't. (And no help from the Human rain delay Steve Trachsel mind you.) Football, Basketball, and Hockey (All very condusive to TV) get faster. Video Games of those sports rival the pace of the real games. Baseball's games. Well, to this day only one company has gotten a Baseball video game right. Acclaim's All Star Baseball (Now out of business no longer making that game because all their other games stunk.)





Baseball is sort of an Athletic Chess. It's just a slower game. They've tried to incease Home Run output in hopes of increasing interest. However, I think they failed. For years, Baseball was the US's answer to Soccer. Our slow defensive game with a 3-2 score. The anticipation for the one big blow. The Home Run to ice the game had us captivated. The same way the rest of the world waits for that moment the announcer yells GOOOAAAALLLLLL!!!!!!! But, Home Runs happen all the time now.





So now Baseball to the younger generation is a slow game with great highlight reels. Watching it for them is difficult. Some guy scratches himself a lot while the announcer tells you how great his record is when pitching in day games on the equinox if he's at least more then 450 nautical miles North by Northwest of Fiji.





All that said. I do love Baseball. So much.|||Salaries for players burned a lot of people out. However Baseball is NOT boring.|||it's baseball, what do you expect? Kids who are too fat and wimpy play Baseball, since you have the excuse of playing a sport but without the excercise. If you want your kids to get good excerise (and alot of parents have realized this) they put them in soccer. Less kids playing little league, less kids giving a crap about baseball when they grow up. Baseball sucks. Although I do have to say that up here in Yankee and Red Sox country, baseball is alive and well as a popular sport.|||Call it boring if you want, but baseball revenue is off the chain. Minus a few struggling franchises the stadiums remain packed and the price of everything is going up. This happens for a reason and its not because baseball suddenly became boring. Maybe you grew up, or maybe its just soooo big now that it doesn't seem like our game anymore. Either way its always going to be a hot sport with an enormous fan base.|||it's not boring, that's what most people say about soccer and they're wrong too...|||easy...NFL...|||You actually think baseball is more boring than basketball?|||I still love baseball. And I think there's more fanatics like me than there ever have been in history at this point so it hasn't exactly fallen... the Yankees and Mets sold out a 55,000+ seat stadium for 3 days in a row this past weekend (again). It's actually doing quite well even if it can be (I admit) potentially extremely boring. BUT, and it might sound kind of obvious, when you're actually interested in the action on the field, it's gotta be one of the least boring sports. Very funny game, too.|||I don't believe baseball is boring.





America has changed. Americans love face pased, hard core action, hard hitting, etc. This all has helped lead to football becoming the new pasttime with basketball and hocky also gaining popularity.|||Baseball hasn't gotten boring. American's have just gotten dumber. Baseball is a game of anticipation and strategy... and all Americans want these days is instant gratification and/or blood.





Don't worry though, the few intelligent Americans left are still watching the game (and voting against Bush).

Will washing a baseball cap in the dishwasher ruin the cardboard or plastic frame in the hat?

i've never washed a baseball cap before and i want to wash my friends'. i don't want to ruin it because it's not mine. i heard of those hat shaper things you can buy before you put it in the dishwasher, but the shape won't work for his hat because he bends the front part into a curve like a semicircle. would wrapping the curve around a mug work or will the dishwasher ruin the frame no matter what?|||i don't think that i would wash it in the dishwasher, i have seen the hat racks that you put the hat in and then wash it in the washing machine, it keeps the shape of the hat, plus you need to watch, if its a wool hat you shouldn't wash those at all.|||ok the dish washer is for dishes. get the hat thing for the washer and wash it. he can bend it back again. just dont put it in the dish washer.|||It will ruin it.|||dishwasher works great for hats! It won't ruin it.|||i wash these guys around here in washer. just don't dry it place it over a jug or something and let it dry

What is your favorite piece of baseball memorabilia that you own?

Today I got a baseball signed by Carl Yastrzemski! It is by far the coolest that I have and I was wondering about about everyone else. What is your coolest or most favorite piece of baseball memorabilia that you own?|||Baseball signed by Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax.|||Letter signed by Buck O'Niel





500 home run club ball|||My dads old mit|||My autographed Mitch Williams picture... pretty much because of the story behind it. I bought a jar of his "wild thing southpaw salsa" and because I did I got an autographed picture. It's authenticated and everything, haha.|||Foul ball that my little brother caught at a game and gave to my newborn son. Hit by Grady Sizemore a few years ago.|||my whole signed baseball collection .. ranging from ichiro suzuki to derek jeter and alex rodriguez..and its still growing|||2004 yankees signed ball only team to ever let a team come back from 3-0 in the playoffs haha. anyone want to buy it?|||I've got a foul ball from Game 2 of the 1985 World Series that is signed by the entire 1985 Royals team.|||My Jersy that was signed by Ichiro, mariano rivera, Ervin Santana, Joe mauer, hanely rameriz , evan longoria , geovany soto, francisco rodriguez, alex rodrguez clif lee, Josh Hamilton , brandon webb, and the best one Hank Aaron and Yogi berra





I didn't have space for all of them so i used two jersys got them signed in 2008 All star game because i had a ticket that i could go in the field|||My old Little League all-star jersey. (I worked so hard for that!)|||I have a baseball that was signed by Abner Doubleday when I was 10.|||My Babe Ruth baseball card that my grandpa got as a young kid. Meant a lot to him, and it means a lot to me, now.|||An Ozzie Smith rookie card signed by him. He also signed his nickname on there for me "The Wizard of Oz". I actually got it signed during and autograph session that my dads company had put on and I get to spend a few minutes with him before the show which makes it even more special. I also heard that he wouldn't sign very much Padres stuff because he disliked the ownership from his time there and it was pretty tough to get him to sign his nickname as well because he was just so modest.|||Back in 2004 got hit in the eye by a Chase Utley foul ball, I got to meet Chase later that year and he signed the ball and gave me a bat also signed. It was a painful way to get an autograph but it is my favorite.|||The baseball I used to throw out the first pitch at a River City Rascals game Aug. 23, 2003. The Rascals are from O'Fallon, Mo. and play in the Frontier League, an independent minor league.|||Two foam fingers straight from Fenway. My bulletin board: http://www.rootzoo.com/photos/full/redso鈥?/a>





That's in my room, lol. It's about 5 feet long and 3 feet up.

Which baseball team would you say has reasonable and prices for parking?

Out of all the Major, Minor, and Independent Baseball Leagues that play baseball, which team would you say has reasonable prices for parking when you go to attend a baseball game? This could be a Major League Baseball team, Minor League Baseball or an Independt League Baseball team not affilated with MLB or MILB. You can even have a College Baseball Team if you like.





I would say that the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field have reasonable prices for parking and you can park for around $10 for reasonable parking either in the stadium parking lot or near the stadium in city lots.|||The Kansas City T-Bones (Independent League team) have free parking and the tickets start at $6.00 and go up to $14.50. The food and drinks aren't ridiculous either - beer is only $2.50 (same size as the $7.00 ones at Kauffman), sodas and hot dogs are only $1.50 and (like every stadium in KC) they have a great BBQ joint there.|||the rays|||in st. louis there is this particular office building were you only have to pay 8 dollars to park there, we always park there for games|||at tampa bay rays games parking is free

How many baseball books do you read each year?

Reading about baseball and its history is obviously a great way to learn and understand the game, so I'm just curious to know how many you read each year. You can include annuals like BP, and even fiction if you'd like.|||At least 12 or more a year from the public library.


Right now I am reading another book on the ***** Leagues.


BTW, if you are ever in Kansas City, you have to take an afternoon to go to the ***** Leagues museum. At 18th and Vine, near the site of the former A's-Royals-Chiefs-Monarchs-Blues ballpark, Municipal Stadium. Exits well marked off I-70 in the middle of the city, Missouri side.





I don't know why YA is blocking the word *****. That is the correct name of the museum and the leagues. The place honors black baseball players before and after Jackie Robinson broke the color line. Political correctness has gone to far.|||I read 3 or 4. My favorite is "The Boys of the Summer of 48".





One summer I even read the complete 1997 baseball rulebook. Pretty nerdish, however, while watching the games with my Dad and others they were amazed that I would know the ruling of a particular play and the reason behind it.





I also liked "The Bronx Zoo%26gt; and "Baseball Stories" which is a compilation of short stories form noted authors and baseball columnists.|||I buy all the periodicals, and since I was 13 in 1982, I have waited for early February, which is when they come out. There are four of the magazines I need, like Athlon Sports, Lindy's, The Sporting News, and Street and Smith's. I also picked up a new one this year, "Scout", which reviews each of the team's 30 top prospects. I also pick up Baseball America's Prospect Handbook.





I usually only completely read 1-2 baseball books a year, but have many of them that I've accumulated over the years, that I pick up and read parts of. For example, Ken Burns' "Baseball", which is a companion of the PBS series. If you want to learn about the history of the game, that's the one to get. I got it 10 years ago, and still flip through it frequently.





Out of curiousity, which version of "The Sporting News" won't be published? I picked up the annual, the New York version had Chien Ming Wang on the cover.|||About 3. I really don't read much!!!|||none|||Several but I try to read more than just sports books.|||2 -5|||I'd like to say that I read baseball books, but truthfully, it's just not my thing. I enjoy classic novels and fiction immensely, but I haven't really given baseball novels a chance. I suppose part of it is a lack of knowledge concerning where I should even begin. If you have any recommendations, I'd definitely be willing to listen.|||I try to read every baseball book that comes out. My family is always supplying me with the latest books, too. I love to read especially about my favorite sport baseball. It keeps me occupied especially in the offseason.|||i can usually find about 3-5 good ones in a year.





:)|||I generally read a book for two weeks which would mean that I read about 26 books per year, about half of those are Baseball related. I recently read a murder mystery that was Baseball related, it amazed me that the author was able to capture so much of the clubhouse atmoshpere in the book. I am always reading magazines but like you said the "Fantasy previews" kind of bore me and they are written so far ahead that you will never be able to use them as a real guide.|||I think I have read 3 books based on baseball in the last 2 years. Canseco's, Game of Shadows, and Ernie Harwells book. Outside of that it is mostly just periodicals, fantasy reports, etc. that come out at the beginning of the season.|||I couldn't give you an exact number, but I'm a pretty avid reader. I'd say I read around 15 baseball books a year.





I just got finished re-reading "Faithful" by Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan about the 2004 Red Sox season, and now, I'm reading "Wrigley Field: The Unauthorized Biography" by Stuart Shea.





I'll read about any team and their history. I've read some books about A-Rod and (one or two) about Barry Bonds and lord knows, I'm not particularly fond of either of them! I just enjoy getting a different perspective and learning something new.|||Great question!


I don't have a set number per year, but I do love to read about the game. Fans of the movie "Field of Dreams" should really pick up one of the many books written by W.P. Kinsella (it's based on one of his stories). He has several collections of short stories about baseball that are an absolute joy to read.





Other than Kinsella, I've also enjoyed reading a series of baseball mysteries by Troy Soos, set in the 1910's and 20's, with lots of references to actual players from that era.





Ty Cobb's autobiography was fascinating as well, and of course plenty of more current non-fiction stuff like the Sporting News annual yearbook, etc.





EDIT %26gt;%26gt; Thanks for the update Craig. I'm sorry to hear that about the Sporting News books. They were the best. Killed by the internet, no doubt.|||About a dozen. Anything by Bill James tops the list, Baseball Prospectus always gets a read, and a few others. March-April is a great time to see the new releases; there's a lot of dross but a few gems pop up as well.|||baseball sucks hockey then football are the best sports ever.