"Baseball is not a 9 inning game, it's a one pitch game for 9 innings."
Chandler, AZ
Joined May 2015
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Coach Pollak retweeted
Just because the coach doesn’t play your child doesn’t mean they dislike them. A coach can care deeply about your child, both as a player and person, without agreeing with your assessment of their talent.
Good morning.
Coach Pollak retweeted
Pat Murphy, who led Arizona State from 1995 to 2009, is now the first manager in history to lead a team to the College World Series and Major League World Series.
MLBU 🔱
Coach Pollak retweeted
BUNTING MANIPULATES PITCHER APPROACH AND SETS THE TABLE FOR FUTURE MOMENTS
With 2 outs and no body on in the 3rd inning, losing 4-0, @Brewers Manager Pat Murphy told #9 hitter David Hamilton to lay down a bunt in a seemingly unimportant at bat.
Why?
Because Murphy knew Hamilton was known for bunting and they could set the table for a future at bat and big moment later in the game where he’d get a pitch to hit.
And that’s exactly what happened.
Hamilton bunted.
Hamilton got out.
But in the 5th, in Hamilton’s next at bat, he got a pitch in the heart of the plate and singled scoring a run and bringing the Brewers within 1.
And in the 9th, Hamilton did it again, homering on a get me over slider and extending the Brewers lead to 6-4.
You bunt to create future moments, and the Brewers did just that.
#BuntLife
Coach Pollak retweeted
Pat Murphy uses climbing a mountain to explain how he wants his team to handle getting closer to its goal.
“As you get closer, you just got to keep your footing…you can’t look too far ahead. When you look up for the prize…you might step in a crack or a pothole.”
Getting close to a goal can pull a team away from the very things that put it within reach.
Players start pressing. Coaches feel compelled to say more. Everyone wants to make something happen.
Part of leading in those moments is helping people trust the work they’ve done and stay connected to what the next play (and moment) requires.
Keep the goal in view and the next step in focus.
🎥: NLCS Press Conference
Coach Pollak retweeted
Hitters. I challenge you next time you get a bad call at the plate, have a stoic, unresponsive reaction. The benefit of this is immeasurable.
1. It looks mature and polished. Looking like mental toughness.
2. If this stoicism takes hold internally, you're better equipped to complete the at bat with a clear head. Unemotional and calculated.
The mindset becomes, "So what. I only need one anyway." You're no longer a victim, feeling sorry for yourself. You're not bringing baggage to the next pitch. You're defiantly confident.
Be a rock in the box.
If you must respond, ask the umpire respectfully, "Is that as far as it goes to that side?" Or, "Is that the edge?" The umpire will get the message (they know when they miss a pitch a lot of times and appreciate you not showing them up), and respect you for the rest of your days.
But plate presence, aura and confidence build. Teammates, coaches and opponents take notice. You become unshakable. Even if it's strike 3. Shake your head (yes or no, doesn't matter) and move on. It'll do wonders for your game (and life).
👊🏾
Coach Pollak retweeted
Incredible prep step view from the NLCS.
SS, 2B and CF are all in frame, giving us a great look at how their prep steps time up with the pitcher’s knee drop, the ball entering the hitting zone, and contact.
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t want your feet planted at the exact moment of contact. Notice how these fielders are slightly in the air as the ball enters the hitting zone and time their feet to land a split second AFTER contact.
This allows the eyes to read where the ball is headed based on the contact angle. As the feet come back to the ground, the body can begin to self organize and align in that direction. The fielder can then use the ground to explode into a clean first step directly where he needs to go.
Landing too early can leave you stagnant or flat footed and create unnecessary false steps. Timing it correctly can help you get a cleaner first move and ultimately gain valuable range.
Small detail, but a really quality look that we don’t get often from a TV broadcast.
@CoachMongero
@CoachTaberM
Coach Pollak retweeted
I asked an MLB player what he wishes he knew earlier about hitting.
“Feel-good BP is backwards. You’re wanting to feel good when it doesn’t matter and you have a false sense of 'being ready'"
"Get your routine in. Then challenge yourself in the box every single day."
"Nobody’s ever gotten a hit that counts in a cage."
"All those barrels off a 47 mph fastball stay there. What comes with you is how you trained your eyes, your decisions, and your path at game speed.”
Coach Pollak retweeted
"Energy is a choice not a feeling.
If you are going to be successful in anything in life, you have to be a creator of positive, productive energy. Success requires energy, and high levels of success requires high levels of sustained positive energy."
Coach Pollak retweeted
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM SAC BUNT IN LAST NIGHT’S PLAYOFF GAME
1) Runner on 1B no outs bunt directed to 1B to force first baseman to vacate early which gives the runner at 1B time to extend his lead. If the first baseman does not leave early, it takes him longer to get to the ball.
( Carefully with early break & back pick at 1B with the second baseman)
2) If first baseman leaves real early, you have the option to steal 2B & take the pitch.
3) Ball is bunted softly to 1B to force the first baseman to travel further to get the ball. The looser you hold the bat & the closer to the end of the bat you bunt the ball,the softer the bunt.
4) BIG ONE- RH bunter drop steps with his right foot to point his bellybutton & square his hips up to 1B & create backspin. This is key. If his hips are square to the pitcher & he directs the bunt to 1B, he will likely contact the inside of the ball leading to side spin. If the ball is bunted towards the line, it will probably roll foul. The drop step also puts you in position to go down to the low strike by merely lowering your knee to the ground & chest to knee if necessary.
5) The bunter bunts with a flat bat & the elbows are pointed down. Elbows pointed down keeps the barrel from dropping below the hands leading to a pop up. It also give you more plate coverage.
6) The pitch is elevated in the zone close to the hitter’s eyes. No adjustment is required. The thought being that high balls get popped up. IMO this is only true when bunters go up out of the zone to bunt the ball. Usually pitches above the bat get taken for a ball. It is also my opinion that it is tougher to go down to bunt a low pitch with velocity (Even a hard down breaking breaking ball which bunters rarely practice bunting) because they drop their hands & lose the eye bat connection.
Coach Pollak retweeted
Check out the Yankees bunt defense compared to the Dodgers.
Jazz Chisholm and Kiké Hernandez start in the exact same spot.
Yet when Kiké spots the bunt, he sprints to first to get the out while Jazz just wanders around aimlessly and the runner reaches.
Losing on the margins.
Coach Pollak retweeted
I don’t have all the answers but I love baseball because of the ups and downs and constant grind. So here’s some thoughts for the “X hitting” war that is going on right now.
Coach Pollak retweeted
Are we helping kids… or teaching them to run from hard things?
I see this all the time in schools.
A student has a problem with a teacher, coach, classmate, or situation, and too often the first response is to remove the problem.
Switch the class.
Quit the team.
Avoid the conversation.
Have the parent step in and fix it.
I understand the instinct. We don’t want to see our kids struggle.
But Dr. Becky Kennedy said something powerful:
“The more you optimize for happiness in childhood, the more you actually wire for anxiety in adulthood.”
Kids need to learn that disappointment is survivable.
Conflict is survivable.
Failure is survivable.
Being uncomfortable is survivable.
Sometimes the best thing we can do for kids isn’t remove the hard thing.
It’s help them learn how to walk through it.
Coach Pollak retweeted
The Rays believe in Strike one. They hit the FB. They run the bases well. They play good defense. Bottom half of order know who they are and execute. Move runners if they need to. More importantly they don't strike out!! Sometimes people complicate this game. They keep it simple
Coach Pollak retweeted
Adversity doesn’t beat teams.
Bad responses do.
You don’t need to play a perfect game.
You need a response.
Competition will expose you at some point.
What separates great teams is how quickly they recover, reconnect, and keep attacking.
Coach Pollak retweeted
PG Rocky Mountain High School All-State Games Showcase. Blessed my performance & metrics helped make Top Prospect Team & List, get Scout blog write ups & improve my PG grade. Here is my home-run during game.
Coach Pollak retweeted
AZ Fall Classic Easton Senior Fall Championship Tournament. Drove a double and a single to center field. Five Star Mafia National SW.
Coach Pollak retweeted
Had a top exit velo of 97.4 MPH ranking 11th out of 48 during PBR Unsigned Senior Showcase with avg. of 86.8 ranking 17th
@CoachPollak @Coach_Hill235 @Tlaw19 @BenMesaBaseball @naiello44 @rj_gawlak19 @ThrowingKs @shabansky19 @ArguellesRudy @VictorRojas @ZackChilton @FlattenMark
Coach Pollak retweeted
Thank you to @PrepBaseballAZ for putting on the unsigned senior showcase, here are my throw downs and BP round from the event
@CoachPollak @Coach_Hill235 @ZackChilton @Tlaw19 @BenMesaBaseball @FlattenMark @CoachBMcCabe @ThrowingKs @shabansky19 @KellyStinnett5 @JustusScott3
