Michigan Muddogs: The PRO's Speak

Craig Biggio talks about Stealing Bases
Recently Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros talked about stealing bases. Biggio listed three items as the most important things you must do:
1) Get a big lead
2) Never take your eyes off the pitcher - (EVER!!!)
3) The last point he made...........DON'T GET CAUGHT

Former Atlanta Pitching Coach Leo Mazzone
So how does he do it? What's Leo Mazzone's secret, anyway? What's his magic formula?

"Fastballs down and away," says the former Braves' pitching guru. Mazzone, who has now brought his magic to Baltimore believes that the fastball down and away is the best pitch in baseball. Baseball great Eddie Mathews once told Mazzone that if every pitcher threw fastballs down and away, there'd be no reason to have baseball -- because nobody would ever get a hit."

A few reasons why – Depth perception and ego – Most hitters want to pull the ball. For a right handed hitter – if they try to pull the pitch down and away it will usually end up as an easy ground ball to short. A disciplined hitter will try to take the outside pitch to the opposite field – this may end up as a hit but the odds say that this is not the hitter’s strength. The other positive is a hitter may have a tough time determining if that pitch is outside the strike zone or depth perception – is that pitch on the corner or is it a few inches outside – now you have the hitter in a defensive mode and that puts the advantage back in the pitchers hands – right where you want it :)

Those fastballs down and away have helped turn Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine into Hall of Famers. Mazzone's pitching theory brought 13 consecutive league championships to the Atlanta Braves and revived the careers of many pitchers along with turning average pitchers into consistent winners..

Lance Parrish Talks, We Listen
During a recent radio interview former Tiger great Lance Parrish talked about who he felt were the best pitchers in baseball. Parrish said: “If you look at today’s best pitchers, it is not the guys who throw the hardest it is the guy who is the most consistent. The pitchers who consistently hit their spots and can consistently throw their out pitch when needed are the guys who will be the most successful.” Parrish also noted that these same pitchers (and hitters) are the hardest workers in practice. “The player who trains his body consistently in practice to react to situations the right way will come out on top in the heat of the battle.” Parrish finished the interview by stated that the players who just went through the motions or didn’t have the work ethic of someone who cared usually ended up out of the game faster then they got into it. Great words from a player who did it right!!!