Improve your baseball skills by studying these tip sheets written by Mid-Penn Aces coaches.
To learn more about a particular skill, click the link below to be directed to a web page you can print and study off-line.
| Subject | Author |
| Bunting | Al Hobby |
| Catcher's Defense | Al Hobby |
| Run Downs - One Throw | Al Hobby |
| Run Downs - Two Throws | Al Hobby |
| Sacrifice Bunt | Al Hobby |
| Aggressive Control at the Plate | Al Hobby |
| Play in the Right Mental Zone | Al Hobby |
| Top 4 Reasons for Poor Hitting Production | Al Hobby |
| Defensive Tips for Pitchers | Al Hobby |
| Pitchers and Middle Infielders Working Together – The Lock Play | Al Hobby |
| Little Things That Pitchers Can Do to Make A Difference | Al Hobby |
| Your Performance Follows Your Focus | Al Hobby |
| Quick Sand | Al Hobby |
| Clutch Players | Al Hobby |
| Emulate – Form Over Substance? | Al Hobby / Ed Miller |
| Subject | Posted By |
| Pitching | Ed Miller |
| This is a conceptual drawing of the three planes of motion a pitcher uses when throwing a baseball. Do you know what they are and how to use them? | |
| Pitching | Ed Miller |
| Billy Wagner demonstrates how to throw 102 mph. When in high school he only threw 82-84 mph his senior year. It wasn't until he went to little Ferrum College in southwest VA, that he started throwing the ball hard in the mid 90's. What changed? He was the same size in college that he was in high school. | |
| Hitting: Left | Hitting: Right | Ed Miller |
| A lefty and a righty hitter for reference. Note the following; axis of rotation, relationship of hands to rear elbow throughout the swing, how the hands are loaded and stay connected through the swing, position of the hands and body at footplant, and the tight hand path to finish | |
| Pitching | Ed Miller |
| Kris synched up to release with the #2 draft pick in the MLB draft this summer, Justin Verlander. What do you see? | |
| Pitching | Ed Miller |
| Mariano Rivera...Notice how he leads with the hips which sets the upper body posture. Are his shoulders level? Also notice how he rotates into foot plant. | |
| Hitting | Ed Miller |
| Notice the posture of the body and how it sets up to match the rotation and swing plane of the shoulders. Also note the position of the hands and how they are connected to the rotation of the shoulders creating a quick swing. | |
| Pitching | Ed Miller |
| Notice how Ben Sheets keeps his center of mass on line toward home plate as he moves forward into foot plant.(He does not step down in front of the rubber and off to the side with his stride leg.) This is a good example of leading with the hip, sitting as you move forward to throw. Note the slightly elevated front side (ferris-wheel) coming out of high knee lift and how his body adjusts for the higher elbow slot.There's a reason he falls off toward 1st base. Can you explain it? | |
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