High school baseball

Discuss indiana high school baseball allowing NIL

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

So back with another episode of Borclue's Dudes. Discuss some high school baseball here a little bit. Coach there at uh local high school, JB head coach, and uh we just got our tenth win last night. Ten wins against two losses. Uh really should have had one legitimate loss, in my opinion, uh, against Bar Reeve. Uh the other game that we lost. Uh we had a couple errors, you know, in the first two innings that cost us two runs, which uh shouldn't happen. So uh it might have been you know a different outcome. You know, it could have been a different play call towards the end of the game. So uh yeah, with that being said, I think we should have one legitimate loss. Uh I don't think Barry was better than us. I just think we hit everything right to them that night. And uh just sometimes you can't do anything about that when you hit a ball hard and it goes to the opponent and uh make the plays. So I tell my guys, put it in play, make them make a play. If they make it, good for them. If they bobble it, you know, we're on base. Uh varsity also won last night, walk-off nine innings. Uh that's three walk-offs in a row. Uh had a doubleheader on Saturday that they actually uh had to come back both games in the last inning and walk it off and win. So kind of proud of one of my JV guys who got in on the uh second game and uh actually got a uh base hit in the bottom of the sixth that gave uh gave us a two-run lead, but they Terry Houghton North scored a run in the top of the seventh to tie it, and then we walked it off in the the uh bottom of the seventh. Guy hit a run scoring run scoring double to uh win the game, so that was kind of cool. So uh kind of shows what the character of the varsity is by three walk-offs. Uh the JB team last night. Uh pitcher gave up one hit, five innings, struck out seven. Uh you know, if hadn't got that one hit, again it was a bang bang play. Uh first base, which I still think he got him by about maybe a half a half a step. But it's it's tough call for the um party, you know, but it is, so no big deal. Uh a couple of batters before that. Uh their batter hit a uh soft liner over second base, and the right fielder picked it up and threw him out at first, so kind of to uh keep the no-hitter going, and then of course a batter later hit a two or three hopper of the shortstop, and no, he's playing a little back. He's not our normal short shortstop, so uh playing a little back and long throw, and just I still think he got him, but you know it is what it is a bang bang call. So uh, and if uh that would have gone through the pitcher that was pitching last night, that would have been his third no-hitter in a row, which is kind of cool. He's a good pitcher, he doesn't throw real hard, maybe mid-70s, but he's got a nasty, he's got a major league curveball at this point in his life, and the kid's just a sophomore, so it's really a good 12 to 6, and it breaks several feet. And uh you know, it buckles a lot of good hitters, so good pitch. So yeah, we stand at 10 and 2, and uh we got a game tomorrow. Another double header with a varsity, so not on I'm not sure how good Harrison High School is. Uh I did umpire a couple of their games several years ago when they played rights, and uh their JV wasn't really that good then. So, but you know, things change over the years, they get players in, things like that. So we'll see what happens. Uh kind of excited. Got several games coming up here. So here we go. We'll see, we'll see how that goes. So uh it's been interesting. Kind of watching MLB TV right now. Uh yeah, I don't didn't get to watch many games yesterday because they were all during the daytime, and then we had to get to school and head for that long ride to Northeast Du Boys, which is an iron 20 minutes. Just no easy way to get there. And uh yeah, so crazy ride. So yeah, they're on there talking now on MLB channel about uh Alex Corr getting let go early and Rob Thompson getting let go by the Phillies early, which uh both those teams are really good. You know, I don't know you know, it's just not like it used to be. The ownership and higher-ups are not like it used to be. They you know, they let the teams play their way out of it, and uh some of these new owners uh don't know dick about baseball. Uh so that's kinda I'm gonna switch up. That's kind of what happened to the Philadelphia 76ers back in the late 70s, early 80s, when they brought all these superstars in. And you know, you couldn't you can't put four centers on the floor, or you can't put four power forwards on the floor and expect them to get along because they all, you know, they they all are scores and they all want the ball. It's kind of like it is there at Boston, the Red Sox, when you got four or five outfielders that are starters and they would be starting anywhere in MLB, and then you know you gotta try to find that bats and playing time for them, and it's tough. And you know, when a player's not performing, the manager pays for it, which I think's bullshit. I think upper management ought to pay for it for bringing them in. You know, all the manager can do is put them on the field and hope they come hope they uh uh perform. I'm seeing it here at uh in the high school level, which you know, obviously my first year of coaching, and you know, we put them on the field, some of them perform, some don't. I mean, like right now, my guys are having a hard time hitting a damn slow curve. Uh we faced a guy last night that threw in the mid-70s and we ripped his ass. But if he would throw a you know, off speed here and there, you know, they would they would uh struggle with it, but it was a little faster off speed, so they could still pick it up. But if a guy threw a you know 40-50 mile an hour off-speed slow curve, our guys would just swing way early and they'd be looking at me before the ball ever got to uh home plate. So I don't know. I thought about using the old Craig Jeffries. Uh bank remember Sam. He used to be an infielder for uh I think he'd come up with the Philadelphia Phillies and he went to the uh I think he played for the Mets also, but he also played for the Cardinals, and I know him when he was struggling, his dad would take tennis balls and he would write numbers on them, and we would throw them to him, he'd make him call out the number when he was hitting it, which I think that's a pretty good drill. I don't know why people don't use that still. I mean, get you some tennis balls or get you some of them soft baseballs and write numbers on it, and put it in a pitching machine and have the pitcher to call out a number when they're hitting it, or you know, just throw some live BP and have them to call out the number. Kind of makes them keep their eye on the baseball when it's coming in there. And then, you know, the release point. You know, some of my guys, I'm asking them, you know, where they're picking the ball up, and you know, well, we're trying to pick it up halfway there. And say, no, you pick it up at the pitcher's release point. Not all pitchers have the same, you know, some are overhand, you know, some are maybe one half, uh, some are three-quarters. So you got to pick it up where it's coming out of their hand, you know. And if you have a new pitcher that starts, you know, some of these guys are not watching, you know, get onto them, so watch the guy throw. You know, he comes in and starts warming up new pitchers, see where his release point is, you know. And when you're there, pick the ball up, you know, look where it's coming out of his hands and pick it up. That way, when you get it to plate, you'll you'll have an idea where the ball is coming out of. So, yeah. And they're young kids, it's hard to get that through their head. Uh, we did have a kid that was struggling hitting the ball. He's really good, he's fast, gets on base, he's guaranteed to get you uh one or two stolen bases every time he gets on base. But I asked him, I said, Can you see the ball? And he said he had a hard time seeing it, and you know, he wasn't picking it up until it was almost on top of him. And I said, Man, you need to get your eyes checked, just joking around. And I'll be damned if he didn't, they didn't take him to get his eyes checked, and his was weak in his right eye, so it was straining his left eye, so he wasn't picking the ball up. And he got new glasses, and he played last night, and he went three for three. He said he could pick the ball up, and it just relaxed him because he could pick it up better. So, and he made a couple of hell plays in the outfield where he could track the ball. So you know, it's kind of cool. So, you know, sometimes it's just your eyesight, sometimes it's you know, you're picking it up at the wrong release point, and uh weight back, wait on the pitch. I mean, a lot of these guys get out on their front foot and they swing and uh they miss the ball by four feet, and uh you know, you just gotta keep your weight back, you know. Because you can uh always said, you know, growing up, seen them, they say always uh uh look fastball. Because then you can foul off, or no, my bad, look slow pitch, or if a fastball, you can, you know, you could swing late and still foul it off, you know, get a piece of it. So uh they did it last night. They were a lot better hitting that curve. I mean, that slow off speed curve, whatever he was throwing. They still a lot better. Uh like I said, they seem to hit the ball better when it's a guy throwing a little harder, you know, than a really slow pitcher. So just can't wait, you know. It's just hard to sit back and wait on it and get way out in front and swing and miss. Or you pull it and uh had a couple guys do that last night, way out in front and pull the snot out of it. So yeah, I don't know. We'll have to figure something out, but like I said, we might be getting into a tough part of the season now. Uh varsity definitely is. I mean, they've they've uh with the all their injuries that we've had, you know, some guys are playing varsity JV level, and uh so it's been difficult to get a set lineup. It's almost different every time we play. Now the only thing that's been consistent is the pitchers. I love P. Like I said, the kid that pitched last night, one hitter and shut one hit shutout. Uh constructive HC. So I think he's pitched four games this year, I think, and he's got a zero ERA. So he's been dominating as a as a sophomore again. He doesn't throw real hard, but he's got a nasty off-speed pitch. And uh been trying to teach him to throw a knuckleball. You know, just here and there to mix it up, he'll do it in these bullpens, and he's got a pretty nasty knuckleball. Uh so you know, he could develop that over the wintertime and to go along with that curve and that basketball he's got, because like I said, he's only gonna get stronger and bigger because he's just a sophomore. And you know, by his time he's a senior, you know, he may be throwing in the upper 80s and have that nasty 12-6 hook and maybe get a mix in of knuckleball here and there. So we'll see. But I'm gonna end it on that. Uh just gonna come on here and just talk a little bit about the baseball. You know, we're 10-2, and the varsity's 12-1, so uh we're doing good. Uh I I am happy that we're doing good and you know, starting to get people saying, Coach, you're doing a great job, and they like how I coach, but how I uh uplift the kids and positive and not negative, and uh, you know, that's just the that's just the retired military in me. If you get on to a kid, you pull him aside, away from everybody, and you don't get in his ass, you just say, hey, you know, here's try this, do this better that way. You know, that doesn't just go with the pitchers, that goes with all the players, you know. You never want to embarrass them in front of anybody, you just want to say, hey, you know, come in a couple of steps and catch that off a you know, a big hop, that way you're not short hopping it and you know, easier to throw over there. So things like that. And I think the kids respect that, and I know the parents do, because my wife's in the stand. Some of them don't know she's my wife, but she says she hears the positive comments about how I talk to the kids, which kind of makes you feel good. Because it's not just about baseball, it's about life, you know, turning these guys into men. Because, you know, there's only a couple on that team that'll probably, you know, have a chance to play, I'm gonna say big league uh college baseball. There's some some that can go to, you know, like some local colleges that are, you know, not big time. I mean, there might be even a couple on here that get a sniff in the in the professional level, too. It just depends on how they keep progressing. And we've got a couple of kids that ride the bench, but I mean, I can see how much better they've got, you know, just getting out there and you teach them, and uh, you know, used to if you hit a ground ball hit to them and they drop it and they'd get in a hurry, and then they try to throw the guy out and they'd overthrow. We had a kid last night that they hit one to him and he had to range far to his left. Uh he knocked it down, but then he relaxed and picked it up and threw the guy out by a step. I mean, that's that's you know, that's that's how you do that. You know, you get relaxed up there or shot hit back to the pitcher, you know. Uh you know, you just you pick it up and then you relax and you nice easy throw over there. So and they've been doing that, and we've been winning. So happy for that. With that, I want to jump off here uh in this episode with uh four clueless dudes. Uh gonna try to get a couple of them over tomorrow night. Uh weather here's turned chilly again, so beautiful night, maybe to set out by a fire and get the fire pit going, and maybe some marshmallows and some hot dogs. So we'll see how that goes. Have a good rest of your day.