Hot Baseball How-Tos

How To: Throw a Curveball

A curve ball is considered an off-speed pitch and is very effective. You should not throw this pitch if you are not physically mature yet. Around 13 years old is an appropriate age to start throwing one. A curve ball is slower than a fastball and breaks down. It breaks from 12 to 6. If the strike zone was a clock, a curve ball would start at the 12 and end up at the 6. You should throw this pitch when you are ahead in the count and can put the batter away!

How To: Throw multiple pitches in baseball

In this video, we learn how to throw multiple pitches in baseball. When you hold the ball, you should have your middle and pointer finger next to each other on the laces. The thumb should be sitting on the grip and your hand should be tight, which will achieve the curve ball. For the slider, you will grip the ball with your pointer and middle finger spread apart in a 'v' shape and your thumb on the laces. Use these pointers to help you throw the baseball while you are playing a game. Practice...

How To: Play baseball with Goofy

In this tutorial, we learn how to play baseball with Goofy. First, you will need to play in a ball park and have players for each team. The pitcher will throw the ball and the hitter will hit the ball, then run to the different bases. The uniform will be loose fitting so it's easier for the player to run around on the field. Players will also have to practice holding the bat and playing against other teams so they know how to get along with other players. After the pitcher throws the ball, if...

How To: Throw a crazy gyroball in wiffle ball

In this tutorial, we learn how to throw a crazy gyroball in wiffle ball. You will first stand still with the ball in your hand grasping it lightly, when you go to throw the ball, throw with force and spin your body around. This should make the ball go straight into the target almost every time you throw it. Keep practicing this until you have the hand placement correct. Try moving your hand in different positions around the ball so that the grasp makes the ball move in the right direction. Af...

How To: Throw a riser pitch with a wiffle ball

In this tutorial, we learn how to throw a riser pitch with a wiffle ball. first, hold your wiffleball the same as you would hold a slider. Throw with your sidearm towards the ground. This should be fairly simple to do, but you will need to get your fingers place correctly on the ball to make the throw perfect. Throw faster if you want the ball to hit the opponent harder. Keep practicing this until the ball flies into the spot you want and gets the amount of air it should get. When you learn h...

How To: Throw a sweeping cutter

In this tutorial, we learn how to throw a sweeping cutter in baseball. This is a throw that will fool the batter so they swing and miss the ball. First, take your middle finger and put it on the inside lace of the ball. Now, place your index finger right next to it. Your thumb should be underneath the bottom seam of the baseball. To throw, come forward and snap your wrist when you release. This is what will give the ball a curve. Apply pressure to your fingers when you throw the ball to make ...

How To: Throw a change-up in baseball in little league

In this tutorial, we learn how to throw a change-up in baseball little league. To do a circle throw, you will use your three fingers to make a circle on the baseball, and pitch it and just throw it like you're throwing a fast ball. Teach your child how to change speeds while throwing, so they are a good pitcher in baseball and think about what they are doing before they throw the ball. The more you stick the ball into the palm, the softer the ball will be. The close to the fingertips the ball...

How To: Line a baseball field

There's a proper and improper way to line a baseball field. Learn how to prepare the ball field the correctly in this video. After the field has been mowed and leveled, you can place the bases and begin to line the field. You'll learn that the proper way to line each baseline is to take a cord reel with a stake attached. Place the stake down on your starting base or home plate, and pull the cord to your ending point. This way you can make sure your line is correct before you begin lining. Onc...

How To: Throw an eephus pitch in baseball

In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to throw eephus pitch in baseball. This pitch is a gimmick pitch and rarely used in any baseball game. There is no certain way to grip it. It is preferably gripped like a fastball pitch. This pitch can be used to catch the hitter off-guard and can be used as a last resort to strike out a player. The ball is thrown lightly overhand and goes at a low speed. This video will benefit those viewers who enjoy playing baseball, ad would like to learn differen...

How To: Coach Young Baseball Catchers Home Plate Blocking

Most people believe the most exciting play n baseball is the home run, but some would say the most exciting play is at the plate. The catcher is the one with the most exciting responsibility. They control the home plate, and they're responsible for blocking ohm elate and making tag plays to keep the opponent's score down. Learn how to teach your young baseball players how to block the plate as a catcher. It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it.

How To: Use Pitching Drills to Coach Young Baseball Players

Young baseball pitchers aren't necessarily born with a gifted talent for strikeouts, most have to be taught and honed to develop those types of feats. And the best time to teach them is when there still on little league. We're talking about the 11- and 12-year-olds. Coaching them and preparing them for the next level of play requires skill, and with this video you'll learn some great pitching drills to use on your star pitcher. Also, it talks about pitch counts and injuries with pitchers.

How To: Coach Young Baseball Pitchers Proper Grip and Release

Pitching can be either really great and effective, or really sloppy and frustrating. Most young children pitching the baseball fall into the latter category because they don't know how to properly grip or release the baseball. This video will talk about some proper grip and release techniques coaches can use to teach their baseball pitchers, so they can maximize spin and velocity during curveballs, fastballs, or any other pitch.

How To: Develop Young Pitching Talent in Baseball

Pitching might not come natural to every baseball pitcher. That's why it's important to hone and develop a young pitcher's skills and performance while they're young, because once they learn the fundamentals of pitching great fastballs or curveballs, they'll have greater success as they mature into an adult athlete. In this video, join Jonathan Hurst, the pitching coach of the Savannah Sand Gnats, about coaching young players and developing their pitching talents.

How To: Dynamically Warm Up Youth Sport Players with Exercises

When playing sports, warming up is an integral pre-game must, and with kids, there's an entirely different approach to coaching them through warmup drills. This video will help coaches keep their team in good condition by talking about the process of teaching your youth players to successfully complete dynamic warmups. The biggest part is to prevent injury. The muscles have to be warm upped, the blood needs to flow, and the heart rate need to be up as well. See all of the necessary exercises ...

How To: Set up in the batter's box with Ryan Howard

Ryan Howard is one of the greatest power hitters in the game today. In this video, he breaks down his procedure for setting up in the batter's box before taking a pitch. He encourages young players to develop a batter's box routine like his own to ensure that they are in the proper position every time the stand in to bat.

How To: Bunt the baseball properly with Travis Buck

Bunting is one of the most beautiful, most finesse-requisite parts of the small-ball game that has been enjoying a resurgence in the post-steroid era of Major League Baseball. This video features MLB outfielder Travis Buck explaining when and how to bunt a baseball, including how to analyze a situation to determine if a bunt is appropriate and how to place a bunt where you need it to be to create the play that you want.

How To: Catch a pop-up from the catcher's spot in baseball

Popping the ball straight up is one of the most embarrassing things that a batter can do. They can be absolved, though, if the catcher fails to make the catch in foul territory. This video features MLB catcher Josh Bard explaining his approach to catch pop flies. If he can do it in front of 50000 screaming Yankees fans, you should be able to do it yourself in a more easy-to-master situation.

How To: Grip a baseball with MLB reliever J.J. Putz

There are a lot of different ways to grip a baseball for pitching. This video features one great pitcher, J.J. Putz, explaining the grips he uses for some of his best pitches, including the four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, and, his personal favorite, the split-finger fastball. There is no actual throwing in this video, so master these grips and then get out there and throw some pitches!

How To: Read a baseball hop with Derek Jeter

Fielding the ground ball is arguably the most challenging part of defensive baseball. Just ask Bill Buckner. This video features future Hall-of-Fame shortstop Derek Jeter going over some defensive drills that will help you to read the hop of a ground ball and catch the ball at the proper location. Don't be Buckner, watch this video.

How To: Talk Effectively to Your Child's Sports Coach

Parents and coaches are the two most important part of most young athlete's support systems that allow them to excel in their chosen sports. Unfortunately, friction often occurs between these two groups when their opinions of what is best for the young athletes in their charge differ. This video features a high school baseball coach explaining some strategies for parents to maintain a proper, courteous, effective relationship with their child's coaches and improve the skills and well-being of...

How To: Master the Mental Approach to Hitting a Baseball

In all likelihood, there is no living person who knows more about hitting a baseball than former NL MVP Jeff Bagwell. This video features the man himself discussing the mental aspects of hitting, including getting over a slump and learning how to choose your stance properly. Watch this video, there is no one more qualified to teach you about hitting than this.

How To: Line a Baseball Field

Every type of athletic field or court requires maintenance to preserve the quality of the playing surface. Baseball might be the most labor-intensive field maintenance sport of all, with its mixture of surfaces and the very exacting lines chalked from home plate to the outfield wall. This video explains some tips and techniques for lining a baseball field properly with an old-fashioned lining machine. It works for football too!

How To: Teach Mental Tips to Young Baseball Catchers

The catcher is the player on the baseball field on whom the most difficult mental and physical demands are placed. They have to squat for long periods of time, defend the plate from slides and, most importantly, call the game for the pitchers. This video teaches you, as a youth baseball coach, how to train your catcher's mind to make them better at calling games and improve the performance of your whole pitching staff.

How To: Master 'Coach Pitch' for Baseball & Softball

Coach pitch is an important part of any child's progression up the baseball and softball ladder. After tee ball, the next step for most young players is participating in a league where the coach pitches to them. This video teaches youth baseball and softball coaches how to pitch to their young players properly to maximize their learning, improve their baseball skills, and foster their love of the game.

How To: Properly break in a baseball glove

This video gives you four steps on how to properly break into a baseball glove. If a glove isn’t correctly broken into, it may affect a player’s performance. The first step is to condition the leather, softening it by adding either glove oil or cream. Remove any excess oil with a paper towel. Make sure to repeat this step throughout the year. The second step is shaping your glove by placing a ball where you would normally hold a baseball and then tying two large bands around the glove in ...

How To: Build arm strength for pitching

In this how to video, you will learn how to build up your arm strength for pitching. This involves using exercises that give you more focus on the muscles you will use for throwing. A high cable curl and crunch is a useful exercise for doing this. It involves gripping the rope on a weight machine and combining two different exercises together as one. You first start out with a curl, and then move on to a crunch. Repeat this for as many times as necessary. This will help you get a little extra...

How To: Pitch underhanded

Sometimes you will have to pitch underhand - whether you are playing softball, baseball or with little kids - sometimes a lighter throw is necessary. It may seem odd and unnatural to pitch this way at first, but check out this tutorial for tips on how to toss that ball over the plate with the same force as upperhand pitching.

How To: Play home run derby

It's summer again and it's time to get out of the house and there's no better way than with a fun game like some improvised baseball. You don't need a whole team of people all you need is a bat, a ball and another person to play with.

How To: Avoid the curveball trap when throwing a curveball

Dwts7sdbt5 teaches you how to avoid the curveball trap when throwing a curveball in baseball. This is mostly seen in young pitchers, aged 12 and younger. The curveball trap is when a pitcher learns to throw a curveball and then uses it almost all the time to strike out a hitter. The hitter might be inexperienced. This is not a good long term strategy for health or effectiveness. You should sacrifice a little success now to have more success later. You should learn other types of pitches and s...

How To: Throw a sinker baseball pitch

This video shows how to throw a sinker baseball pitch. The instructor begins by showing his two seam grip on the ball and notes then he does not use the strong thumb tactic while pitching. The instructor explains how he throws through the inside of the baseball which involved his hand rolling over mid way through the pitch. Another pitching technique the instructor shows is the cross finger throw which is when you hold the ball securely with only two fingers on the ball with the thumb only sl...

How To: Grip a traditional slider baseball pitch

In this video, bawstansawkscawk99 demonstrates how to throw a slider, as well as the differences between sliders and curveballs. To throw a slider pitch, grip the baseball with your index and middle fingers on top of the baseball in between the two seams and your thumb directly underneath them (on the other side of the baseball and on the middle of the seam.) Throw the ball without flicking your wrist, letting it roll off your index and middle fingers. The ball should dive down and away from ...

How To: Throw a basic curveball

GiantsMan5 demonstrates how to throw a basic curve-ball. First, don't listen to people who say there's only one way to throw a pitch. Position your fingers on the four seams of the baseball. Unlike a fastball, which you throw straight, to throw a curve-ball, move your wrist in and let the baseball drop during the pitch. By throwing an effective curve-ball, you give it top spin so it drops after you release the ball. Use different grips to control the speed of the curve-ball. You can also thro...

How To: Throw a good curveball

Kyle Hutchens with Live Strong demonstrates how to throw a good curveball. First grip the baseball on the side where the skinny seams come together. Take a normal pitching stance with one leg back, come through, bend your front leg and snap your wrist down through the ball to release it. Snapping your wrist down through the baseball creates the speed and the drop of the curveball. It creates less velocity than a fastball. Create the drop when your arm is between the 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock p...

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