Check out our October newsletter!
RANCH REVIEW THE
OCTOBER 2017
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TEMPERATURES HAVEN’T FALLEN, BUT WE’RE STILL THINKING FALL
We’ll be headed to Italy at the end of the month to once again conduct two weekend camps there and reunite with the many friends we’ve made over the past few years.
Although the temperatures still feel like summer, here at the Texas Baseball Ranch ® , we’re full swing into our fall schedule.
We had a great weekend in California during our annual trek west. It was the 10th anniversary of our TZ Academy camp, so special thanks to Jim and Sondra Wagner for their hard work and commitment to making this event a success.
When we return, there will be no downtime, as the staff will turn around and head to Chicago for our annual fall camp hosted by Mike Ryan at his Fastball USA facility. For anyone interested in that event, you can go to www.fastballusa.com. Only a few spots remain, so if you want to join us in Chicago in November, I encourage you to sign up soon.
Session on coordinating movement
As you can see, baseball will have us on the road for much of the early part of the fall, but we will get back to Montgomery to close out the year. In late November, we will be holding our Thanksgiving Elite Pitchers Boot Camp, and then in December, we will host both our Ultimate Pitching Coaches Boot Camp early in the month and our holiday pitchers camp at the end of the month. More information on both of these can be found at www. TexasBaseballRanch.com/events. One special addition before the year’s out is our Collegiate Winter Workout. We’ve had numerous requests from guys wanting to get some work in over the holidays and a final checkup prior to their spring season. We’re excited that the dates will work for us to do just that this year.
Full house at TZ Academy Camp
We also held our Alumni Camp and shared some new concepts from the European training group, the Fighting Monkeys. It’s always our goal to challenge our current paradigms and training processes. It was both exciting and fun to see the athletes try something new and stretch their limits.
As you can tell, there is no slow season for us here at TBR, but that’s the way we like it.
We hope you are able to take advantage of one of these opportunities and come see us before the year is over.
-Ron Wolforth
Fighting Monkey’s Martin Bosey works with Alumni
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DON’T THROW AWAY YOUR WIN Join Us for an Elite Pitchers Boot Camp
When it comes to pitching prowess, if you don’t use it, you lose it. If you’re not getting better every week, you’re losing muscle memory and power. Practicing on your own may help you stay sharp, but if you want to take your game to the next level, you need to check out an Elite Pitchers Boot Camp at the Texas Baseball Ranch ® .
Service Highlight
mph! We’ve seen small miracles happen over and over, for players who were told they would never break 80 mph, much less 90 mph! Coach Ron Wolforth, a true pitching expert, will be running the camps. Maybe you’ve heard of some of his Major League clients. Justin Verlander, Chien- Ming Wang, Trevor Bauer, Tyson Ross, Erik Johnson, Scott Kazmir, and Barry Zito are just a sample of the talent he has nurtured during his career. At the Elite Pitchers Boot Camp, you’ll get the same training MLB squads pay thousands of dollars for … at a fraction of the price. But you’ll need to act fast, as these camps fill up quickly. Don’t miss this opportunity to get hands-on training from one of the best pitching minds in baseball.
We have camps running on November 18–20 and December 27–29. There’s still a few spots open, so sign up while you can. What can you expect at an Elite Boot Camp weekend? Well, Texas Baseball Ranch ® will give you the chance to:
• Improve velocity and command
• Enhance your secondary stuff
• Reduce arm pain and refine technique
Why choose us? To put it bluntly, since 2003, noplace on earth has developed the number of 90-mph pitchers the Texas Baseball Ranch has. More than 320 Ranch pitchers have broken 90 mph, 114 have broken 94 mph, and 11 have topped 100
To register, please visit www.texasbaseballranch.com.
COUNT MACROS FOR MORE PERSONALIZED WEIGHT LOSS
Dream up your favorite food. Now, think about the last time you ate it. Is it rich, delectable, and a food you avoid so you can fit into your pants? What if there was a diet that made room for it and still allowed you to lose weight? Welcome to the wonderful world of macro dieting. It’s all about balancing the food we eat with our lifestyle and genetic makeup. Often referred to as IIFM (If It Fits Your Macros), macro diets are one of the hottest — and most flexible — nutrition plans out there. Remember the food pyramid? Macro diets recall that straightforward figure. They focus on the three macronutrients we get from food: protein, carbohydrates, and fat. These three nutrients are distributed into a ratio of how much you’ll consume on a given day. Unlike similar counting-based diet plans, the macro diet gets personal with its breakdown of calories. The exact ratio varies according to your metabolism, activity level, and goals. Your macros might be 40 percent protein, 40 percent carbohydrates, 20 percent fat, or 50 percent protein, 25 percent carbohydrates, 25 percent fat.
What’s the benefit of this extra calculation? Whereas many diets generalize calories into one number, the macro approaches them more holistically. Not only does it take into account your weight, but it also bases your macros on your energy use (most often using your basal metabolic rate, or BMR). Basically, the macro approach is more personal. Need help tracking your macros? There are a number of apps out there that offer to count them for you. Some even allow you to scan food labels at the store. On top of that, many trainers offer these services. All of these options can help you reach your macro goals and still give you time to go on a run. Like any diet, there are weaknesses. The macro diet offers a lot of flexibility, but if you eat ice cream for dinner, even if it fits your macros, you’ll probably have a tougher time getting to the gym and halting your Netflix binge. When it comes to this diet, you’ll need to choose the foods that make up your protein- carbohydrate-fat ratio. Consulting a nutritionist can be a great way to determine what macros will help you feel your best.
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THE TRUTH ABOUT WEIGHTED BALLS Why They Don’t Keep You Down
ER
THIS MONTH IN BASEBALL HISTORY Mr. October Earns His Nickname For most major league teams, a 15-year drought between World Series titles is the norm. For the Yankees, it’s unacceptable. After a dominant stretch of 12 championships from 1941 through 1962, baseball’s winningest team went cold for over a decade. To remedy this, they signed superstar slugger Reggie Jackson before the 1977 season. At first, Jackson made headlines for all the wrong reasons. He infamously took a shot at Thurman Munson early in the season, saying, “Munson thinks he can be the straw that stirs the drink, but he can only stir it bad.” Tensions didn’t really let up for the entire season, but the Yankees finished with a 100-62 record. When the World Series arrived, manager Billy Martin and his players were willing to put their drama aside in order to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jackson was stellar throughout the series, but what he did in the closing game cemented his legacy and earned him the nickname “Mr. October.” He swung the bat three times that game, and each time, the ball sailed into the seats. The Yankees won 8-4, and Jackson earned the MVP. With just three at-bats, he went from controversial figure to Yankee legend. propensity for injury than baseball throwers, and football quarterbacks would be at roughly three times the risk of injury as that of baseball players. Yet, the exact opposite is true. Paul Nyman actually asserts that if a baseball happened to weigh 7 ounces instead of 5, we’d see FEWER injuries, not more. I concur. Now, in all fairness, several anti-weighted ball folks would counter, “But you don’t throw a football like you throw a baseball.” Duly noted. That is a totally separate issue, but the key point I don’t want you to miss is that adding weight to a ball does not automatically add risk to the throw. In fact, I personally have experienced the opposite. Let me walk you through this process. 1. The lighter the ball we utilize, the higher the potential end point velocity that can be created. 2. The higher the end point velocity, the more efficient the acceleration and deceleration of the arm must be to avoid injury. 3. The higher the end point velocity, the greater potential stress to soft tissue. In essence, I’m saying a 2-ounce wiffle ball thrown at full speed is potentially more risky than throwing a waterlogged, 8-ounce baseball at full speed. Next month, we’ll talk a little more about the benefits of weighted balls. But for now, I hope it’s clear that equating weight to risk is a plain and simple fallacy.
Twenty years ago I was very averse to weighted ball training. Today, I would be considered possibly one of the world’s strongest advocates for it. So, what changed my perspective on the utilization of weighted balls? A big turning point was the realization that a baseball itself is a “weighted ball.” It weighs just over 5 ounces. Many people conclude that 5 ounces, therefore, is a safe weight, but anything over that is dangerous. My question is a simple one: Why?
A regulation 12-inch softball weighs just over 6 ounces. A regulation football weighs 15 ounces. So, if the simple weight of the ball was directly related to its risk of generating injury, softball throwers would show a slightly greater
UPCOMING RANCH EVENTS OUTSIDE ELITE PITCHERS BOOT CAMP NOVEMBER 10-12, 2016 FASTBALL USA - CHICAGO ELITE PITCHERS BOOT CAMPS
November 18-20, 2017 (Saturday-Monday) December 27-29, 2017 (Wednesday-Friday) January, 13-15, 2018 (Saturday-Monday) COACHES BOOT CAMP December 7-10 (Thursday-Sunday)
More information can be found at www.TexasBaseballRanch.com/events.
A SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR OATES SPECIALTIES! STRATEGIC PARTNER,
www.OatesSpecialties. com/Durathro
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(936) 588-6762 INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Temperatures Haven’t Fallen, but We’re Still Thinking Fall PAGE 1 This Is the Winter to Hit 90 MPH PAGE 2 Do You Even Macro? PAGE 2 The Truth About Weighted Balls PAGE 3 This Month in Baseball History PAGE 3 How Farmers Grow Those Giant Pumpkins PAGE 4
GIANT PUMPKINS How Farmers Grow Those
purchase the seeds of the previous year’s champions for their plant. After preparing the soil to make it extra fertile, they’ll plant the pumpkin in late winter or early spring.
Forklifts and cranes may be used mainly for construction work, but every fall, thousands of backyard gardeners use them as gardening tools — or rather, harvesting tools — for their largest single crop. Massive pumpkins aren’t practical, but they can become a minor tourist attraction in your hometown and even win a few thousand bucks if they’re really huge. However, with the time and effort it takes to get them that big, farmers aren’t in it for the money. They’re in it for the glory. Growing these monstrous fruits (yes, they are technically fruits) is kind of like breeding a racehorse. It takes practice, cultivation, and even good genes. Competitive growers will often
Before the gourd starts growing, flowers on the plant need to be pollinated. Farmers will
usually take it upon themselves to pollinate, using pollen from plants with proven genetic lines. Winning pumpkins usually claim their “father” plant and “mother” seed, like racehorses.
Growing a great pumpkin is practically a full-time job, with some farmers reporting spending 40 hours a week on it. Using heated soil, installing fences to reduce wind, adding sand, and other specific cultivation techniques give the pumpkin a fighting chance to grow into a monster. But, in the end, there’s an element of luck. The competitive growing industry is getting bigger (pun intended). In 1979, the largest pumpkin on record was 438 pounds. Since 2008, the world record has been broken every year. The reigning heavyweight champion, grown in Germany last year, weighed in at 2,623 pounds. That’s as much as a 2018 Toyota Yaris or 1,748 standard pumpkin pies.
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