tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64749693956519754262011-11-27T17:25:23.920-08:00Applying Baseball Strategy to SloptichBrad/Paige Holbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07187971873307019689noreply@blogger.comBlogger151100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474969395651975426.post-69941644986962275282008-10-29T08:41:00.000-07:002008-10-29T08:52:18.116-07:00

If you're a die hard ball player, you're missing it already. The best thing to do if you fall in to that category: manage a team; November and December give you lots to do.First off, league meetings and wrap ups happen in November (usually). Nobody has other ball commitments and there is the time to discuss changes and such. It's hard to talk about changes in the spring right before the league

Brad/Paige Holbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07187971873307019689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474969395651975426.post-62145137747553687462008-10-14T08:06:00.000-07:002008-10-14T13:47:28.725-07:00

When you get on deck, there is more to do than to just Swing that bat. The idea of being on deck isn't to just warm up, you could do that from the other side of the fence. When you're on deck, you're getting your timing and watching the pitcher.What kind of spin is on the ball? What kind of delivery (or deliveries) is he using? Is there any break in the ball? How flat does does he throw it? How

Brad/Paige Holbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07187971873307019689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474969395651975426.post-57861607949698175092008-10-13T00:43:00.000-07:002008-10-13T00:55:10.396-07:00

As a coach, I love products and tools that do work for me. At the beginning of the season I found an Easton Magnetic Lineup Board online and had my local supplier (Sun Valley Source for Sports) bring it in for me. I love it.The product is a simple 16 position batting lineup with room for subs and positions. It has magnetic strips for all baseball, fastball, and slopitch positions. It comes with a

Brad/Paige Holbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07187971873307019689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474969395651975426.post-76449605814865858722008-10-11T11:52:00.000-07:002008-10-11T12:04:29.022-07:00

Why do some players perform better with an end loaded bat while others are more productive with a balanced bat?Batting power is all about bat speed. There is a myth among some players (usually newer players) that the heavier the bat, the farther the ball will travel; this is not the case. The faster the bat speed at point of contact, the farther the ball will go.This relates to the original

Brad/Paige Holbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07187971873307019689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474969395651975426.post-90733228068856491522008-10-10T13:36:00.000-07:002008-10-10T13:44:11.714-07:00

A reader from www.softballfans.com/forums posted the question:"Why do some hitters wear only 1 batting glove while others wear two and a few wear none?"Batting gloves increase the grip on the handle of the bat. This isn't to combat accidentally letting go of the bat as much as the little bit of rotation that can happen at contact and during your swing. Not all players have an issue with this or

Brad/Paige Holbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07187971873307019689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474969395651975426.post-6301944379356905852008-10-10T08:47:00.000-07:002008-10-10T08:58:38.046-07:00

Easton is rolling out a new line of bats that are transparent so that you can see if the bat has been rolled, and if / when it is 'too' broken in. Once it is it becomes an illegal bat.While this might "even the playing field"... I don't like it. If they're trying to get rolled bats out of the leagues, fine, that's something that gives a competitive edge to somebody who intentionally goes out to

Brad/Paige Holbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07187971873307019689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474969395651975426.post-27595791672748867442008-10-09T23:42:00.000-07:002008-10-10T09:00:03.333-07:00

I changed the name of the Blog today from 'Slopitch Coaching 101' to 'Unconventional'. I think a lot of readers got the idea that I was trying to tell them how to play the game of slopitch, or the only way to play the game; not the case.A programmer by trade, I am analytical, and lucky for me baseball is a game of analyzing and statistics. I like to apply that same theory over time to slopitch

Brad/Paige Holbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07187971873307019689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474969395651975426.post-25545011033944563372008-10-09T11:05:00.000-07:002008-10-09T12:24:01.936-07:00

If you're a baseball fan, you're watching October baseball. I was searching for Red Sox info and I came across this awesome mug. They have Red Sox shooter mugs too!http://www.buddysemporium.com/product.asp?dept_id=83030&pfid=38633There are a couple other teams too: Cubies, Yanks, and I think the indians.This blog is primarily on slopitch coaching, but every once in a while I find things that I

Brad/Paige Holbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07187971873307019689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474969395651975426.post-46363232812998765472008-10-09T08:38:00.000-07:002008-10-09T09:01:10.752-07:00

One of the most frustrating events in baseball is when a player clearly misses a bag and the umpire just doesn't see it. You can appeal the call, but it isn't going to do any good cause the umpire did not see it.Frustrating as it may be, there is usually only one umpire in a game, and even with two umpires, they have a lot to pay attention to. Most games they're not even in the mind frame of

Brad/Paige Holbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07187971873307019689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474969395651975426.post-59732892471882646232008-10-08T08:57:00.000-07:002008-10-08T09:17:25.859-07:00

Have you ever seen a team with their infielders at the minimum distance away from the plate and the outfields almost on the dirt? There's good reason for this and is a very strategic play used often in the majors.If you are in the bottom of the last inning, with the winning run on 3rd, and less then 2 away, this is when you do it. A deep fly ball caught will still score that 3rd base runner, so

Brad/Paige Holbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07187971873307019689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474969395651975426.post-29193705709393711022008-10-07T12:29:00.000-07:002008-10-07T15:30:09.556-07:00

Every once in a while the situation occurs where the opposing team puts the wrong batter out. Often when you or another teammate notices, they or you start hollering at the umpire. When an illegal batter gets to the plate, this is the best outcome for the OTHER team.Why?If you notice that the batter is out of turn, and you tell the umpire, the correct batter will assume the count and come up to

Brad/Paige Holbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07187971873307019689noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474969395651975426.post-54378556384237311592008-10-06T07:44:00.000-07:002008-10-06T12:51:43.127-07:00

We've all heard the ever constant chatter from the bench as we approach the plate:"Wait for yours!", "Never swing at the first pitch!", "Be patient!". But what does this mean? These cliche calls have turned a strategic at bat into a free strike for a pitcher and patience reserved to going down 0 - 1.Know Where You're Hitting the BallI wrote yesterday about how to select where you want to hit the

Brad/Paige Holbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07187971873307019689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474969395651975426.post-32645804677819919682008-10-05T18:37:00.000-07:002008-10-06T07:44:42.946-07:00

Beyond popular belief, batting in slopitch is much more than going up to the plate and swinging your heart out. While this creates the odd home run, you're usually going to either strike out, fly out, or the dreaded power bunt.When you bat, have a plan. Know how many outs there are, how fast the runners on base are, who has the good throwing arms in the field, where the holes are, how fast the

Brad/Paige Holbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07187971873307019689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474969395651975426.post-37202054509415666742008-10-04T15:17:00.000-07:002008-10-04T15:37:51.783-07:00

One of the strategic things as a coach you are responsible for is spacing out your runners, and planning when to use them. Most slopitch rules limit and range from zero to four. In the case of SPN (Slo-Pitch National, www.slo-pitch.com) the limit is 3 runners, and we'll work within SPN rules for the sake of this article.There are a multitude of reasons you put a runner on: injury, speed,

Brad/Paige Holbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07187971873307019689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6474969395651975426.post-69956864988867260102008-10-04T15:07:00.001-07:002008-10-04T15:11:42.960-07:00

Hi,My name is Bradley Holbrook, and I am a slopitch enthusiast. I love playing and watching any level of play, but first and foremost I love to manage a team. As of autumn 2008, I have coached a team for 5 years, played slopitch for 7 years, and played 7 years of minor baseball.This blog is dedicated to team managers. Every article will be dedicated to one scenerio, situational play, or stretegic

Brad/Paige Holbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07187971873307019689noreply@blogger.com0