Rawlings Official Major League Baseballs

     With those stiff or floppy youth baseball gloves, you’d wonder why kids didn’t give up on the game. Well, truth is, many youths wouldn’t play baseball or gave up for that very reason. They didn’t want to have any part of trying to catch a hot, bobbling grounder on uneven ground. Kids are the same way today. If it’s too unpleasant to use the equipment and play the game the way it is meant to be played, then they might think, “why bother?”

     New Baseball Gloves and New Materials

     Glove manufacturers today have designed them so they’re ready to play with. Instead of stiff, thick cowhide leather composing the whole glove, modern kids ball gloves are made of numerous materials including pigskin. Cowhide may be used where it is needed most, but these gloves are designed for comfort and performance. They almost feel like they can catch the ball themselves.

     The design of youth baseball gloves is done with the child’s hand eye coordination and physical skills in mind. The physical skill of an adult means adult gloves can be made differently depending on the nature of the position they play, and with more webbing to allow them to snare baseballs a little more easily. A child’s finger dexterity and strength aren’t fully developed, so they’re not going to be able to use a glove with the skill of an older youth or adult ball player. There are gloves for young tots, something that couldn’t be done decades ago.

     Additional helpful features of today’s youth baseball gloves, such as anti-microbial treatments, which keep bacteria at bay. It’s hot in the summer and your child’s hand will sweat inside the glove. Read the rest of this entry »

     Keep in mind that the bat you choose, should allow you to focus as much power as possible upon the baseball. This is in fact a guiding principle behind selecting a bat – as a player, you should be able to swing the heaviest bat without sacrificing on your batspeed.

      So what is batspeed? Batspeed is the number one creator of power in a swing. Going by the law of physics, it would seem that you can swing a heavier bat with the same velocity as a lighter one, you will produce more power as per the law that energy equals mass times acceleration.

     Check out the length, weight, and drop of the baseball bat

     Keep in mind that there are three defining factors that apply to choosing the right bat. The first is length. The length of the baseball bat is measured in inches. Then there is weight, which is measured in ounces. Finally, you must calculate the drop, which is obtained by subtracting the weight of the bat from its length.

     The size of the bat Read the rest of this entry »

     The debate to when the steroids era began is just that a debate. Most people put the time frame around the late 1990’s when the homerun races were beginning to heat up. With each new record broken other players wanted a piece of the action and would do anything to get there.

     What is said is it may not have even been the records that many of these players were chasing, but rather the celebrity feeling. Baseball players became pop culture icons for a time being and everyone would stop and watch with each new homerun and watched, as another record was broken.

     Those were not in the spotlight felt left out of the glitz and glam of the highlight reels. This spun a jealousy that propelled people to find new ways to get an edge over the competition.

     It probably started with work out supplements that became controversial. Reporters questioned many baseball players as to what they were taking for their work out regimen. Stretching the limits became a way of life and with each new revelation came a following to get the upper hand.

     This created a snow ball effect with more and more players taking performance enhancing drugs, because they say that others were doing it. There seemed to be no moral police at this time, and no one stood up to say no. Read the rest of this entry »

     Tee ball drills teach players the basics of the game and provide the practice they need in order to maintain and develop good techniques. All skills and areas of the sport are improved through drills. With practice, dedication and repetition, players are able to improve their tee ball abilities and teams learn how to effectively work together as a strong unit.

     Crab Drill:

     The crab drill teaches players the proper stance for preparing to field the ball. Player is in the basic fielding position stance (as if the pitcher is about to release the ball). The player should be crouched forward with glove open and down on the field. Player then takes three or four steps (sort of like a crab) toward the ball as the coach roles it. Like many other tee ball drills, crab drill teaches fielders what to do when they do not have the ball, which is just as important as when they do.

     Crow Hop:

     Crow hop is a classic and very effective throwing drill. Player takes a short step and then hops in the direction of the intended throw. This drill teaches players the proper technique of using their bodies to position themselves toward the target and to throw with the momentum of the body.

     Distraction: Read the rest of this entry »

     Bud Fowler was born on March 16, 1858, in Fort Plain, New York. His real name was John W. Jackson, and he learned baseball in Cooperstown, New York. He was the first known African-American professional player and is first mentioned to have pitched for a team in Chelsea, in April 1878. Later the same month, he pitched a game for the Lynn Live Oaks against the Boston Nationals, and finished that season with Worcester. He continued to play for teams in New England and Canada for the next four years. He also played for teams in Niles, Ohio, Stillwater and Minnesota. Fowler died on February 26, 1913, in Frankfort, New York. His death was primarily because of illness and poverty, and received national attention.

     Rube Foster
     Andrew Rube Foster was born on September 17, 1879, in Calvert, Texas. He is considered to be one of the best African-American pitchers of the 1900s. He started his professional career in 1897, with an independent black team Waco Yellow Jackets. Foster also founded the Chicago American Giants, which was considered as one of the most successful black baseball teams of the pre-integration era. He went on to play for Frank Leland’s Chicago Union Giants, Bardeen’s Otsego Independents and Cuban X-Giants. Later he joined the Chicago Leland Giants as its playing manager, and under his leadership, the team won 110 games. Out of these, it won 48 straight matches and lost only ten matches. In 1920, Foster along with the owners of six other midwestern clubs, formed a professional baseball circuit for African-American teams. He died in 1930, because of mental illness. Read the rest of this entry »