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
3 Where You Can DREAM as BIG as Your Work Ethic Will Allow! PHONE (936) 588-6762
Published by The Newsletter Pro • www.newsletterpro.com
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs