In this episode, you’re getting another a sample chapter of my new book, Clean Your Cleats: Advice on Baseball and Life for Ballplayers. This chapter is about relationships with coaches. It’s now available everywhere you buy books online. Get your copy today.

In this episode, you’re getting another a sample chapter of my new book, Clean Your Cleats: Advice on Baseball and Life for Ballplayers. This is chapter 2, called Baseball is a Trap.

Is a knuckle-curveball different than a regular curve? And, what does hiding the ball mean for pitchers? Should they try to do it? Should mechanics be taught so that hiding the ball happens?



The EARLY Work program is almost ready for launch. Sign up for my email list to be notified!



To submit a question for the Q&A segment, email a voice recording to Dan at hello@danblewett.com. Want to support the show? Buy a copy of Dear Baseball Gods on Kindle or Paperback, or listen on audiobook. Or, pick up Pitching Isn’t Complicated, his advanced-but-understandable pitching manual. Enroll in one of Coach Dan’s online pitching courses or his mental skills course. Use code BASEBALL GODS to save 20% on any course, just for being a listener. Sign up for Dan’s Email list and get a free pitching checklist, and follow up with him on the interwebs: YouTube Channel | Twitter | Danblewett.com





Transcript: EP102 – What Does Hiding the Ball Mean for Pitchers? And, Is a Knuckle Curve Different?



You’re listening to the Dear Baseball Gods podcast. In this show, I helped parents, players and coaches better navigate their baseball careers.



Hey, welcome back to Dear Baseball Gods. I’m Dan Blewett. And just as a little bit of housekeeping yet, again, be sure to check out the description here. Be sure to check out my email list, which is also there’s links in the descriptions podcast. Releasing a new online strength conditioning program called early work very soon.



And of course, obviously if you’re listening to this video, anytime in the future, it will be already out by time or a year looking for a new strength training program to follow for your son, for your team, for your family. We have different plans in a 14 day free trial, or if anyone wants to check it out, try out the Early Work strength and conditioning program.



This was built by me and a fellow strength coach, a good friend. Mine named coach Andrew Sacks, who is an expert in baseball and softball training. So without further ado, let’s get into today’s episode. So today we have two topics. Number one, what is a knuckle curve? Is it different than a regular curve ball?



And number two also for pitchers, what’s the deal with hiding the baseball? So this is a common term where we say, Oh man, the guy hides the ball really well. But what does this mean? Is it important? Is it something you should try to do? We’re going to kind of demystify that whole bunch. Okay. So let’s talk about the knuckle curve,

Host families, hotels, training room floors, dorm rooms, crowded one-bedroom apartments shared by five teammates? Yep, that’s life on the road. I share some stories from my time living with host families, with a hoarder, sleeping in the clubhouse and spending my summer on an air mattress. Tune in for the real story of the places I slept, and where countless players before me laid their heads.

Kevin Vance returns to the show to talk spin rate and how it affects a pitcher’s arsenal, approach, and ability to get hitters out. We discuss best practices in teaching pitchers to pitch and share stories about how each of us pitched based on our spin rate. We also talked about pitch tunneling, sabermetrics and how baseball analytics are changing the game, and what we can do to bridge the gap between stats guys and baseball guys.

Mike Reinold, one of the world’s experts on pitching injuries and performance, joins us to share some stories from his time as the Athletic Trainer for the Boston Red Sox. Does the public really know what’s going on with Major Leaguers when they take the field? What do guys at the Big League Level do to prepare to play each day? We also discuss pitching injuries and some of Mike’s recent, ground-breaking weighted ball research.

Mitch Osnowitz, current minor league pitcher with the Boston Red Sox, joins us to discuss his big arm and how it has transformed his career. Upon not hearing his name called in the MLB draft, Mitch went to a tryout. A scout asked him to pitch, and he promptly threw 96mph off the mound. Since then, Mitch has been working to convert into a pitcher and bouncing around from team to team as he learns. Listen in as he shares his experience.

Matt Zielinski has played in the Frontier League, Atlantic League, Italian Baseball League, and the winter leagues of Puerto Rico, Mexico, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. Listen in as he explains how he made his way from a high school in Pennsylvania to a Division-I University, and then came back from injuries to pitch professionally in amazing places against some of the best players in the world.

Former Division-I baseball player, Tom Meaney, comes on the show to discuss the parallel between sports and business. We talk about why motivational books are often useless, why New York bagels are so great, and discuss the qualities that athletes possess that prepare them well for “the real world.” Are on-field skills helping athletes achieve more in business later on in life?

Dan has had Tommy John surgery twice, and he takes 10 popular questions in this Q&A episode of the Dear Baseball Gods Podcast. He tackles popular myths, fears and concerns, layered with a large dose of his stories, experience and wisdom on recovering well, avoiding Tommy John surgery altogether, and on keeping youth pitchers healthy.

It took me a long time, but doing things the right way, over time, eventually made me into a respected athlete who led by example. A handful of stories illustrate how I grew into my sport, and developed an improved ability to lead. Developing leadership qualities took time, and it took me rising to challenges, sometimes getting into heated arguments, and occasionally almost coming to blows with teammates. Taking a stand for your beliefs and for proper conduct isn’t easy.

In this episode, we are joined by current University of Rhode Island pitching coach, and former minor league pitcher, Kevin Vance. Listen in as we discuss the deeper side of baseball: transitioning into coaching following retirement, dealing with failure and slumps, what it’s like to be “filler” within an MLB organization, how draft round and signing bonuses affect promotions, why life isn’t fair and our shared love of the slogan, if you don’t like it, play better. 

In this episode, Dan tells the story of how he broke into professional baseball. After finishing his college career undrafted and recovering from Tommy John surgery, finding a team to take a chance on him was difficult. Listen in as he reveals how networking, professionalism and seized opportunities helped him get his foot in the door and launch what became a long, successful career.

Some coaches claim that sleep is critical to recovery. Sure – this is true, and everyone needs sleep. But is it actually relevant and important to be talking about to younger athletes? Second, Dan discusses the new state of MLB baseball – is it capturing the attention of young players? Is it boring? Should young players be playing this swing-and-miss style of baseball?



To submit a question for the Q&A segment, email a voice recording to Dan at hello@danblewett.com. Want to support the show? Buy a copy of Dear Baseball Gods on Kindle or Paperback, or listen on audiobook. Or, pick up Pitching Isn’t Complicated, his advanced-but-understandable pitching manual. Enroll in one of Coach Dan’s online pitching courses or his mental skills course. Use code BASEBALL GODS to save 20% on any course, just for being a listener. Sign up for Dan’s Email list and get a free pitching checklist, and follow up with him on the interwebs: YouTube Channel | Twitter | Danblewett.com





Transcript: EP101 – Is Sleep Important For Performance? Plus, Is MLB Baseball Boring Now?



You’re listening to the dear baseball gods podcast. In this show, I helped parents, players and coaches better navigate their baseball careers.



welcome back to the Dear Baseball Gods podcasts. Last week was the episode. The big number 100. So it’s a, it’s like, Oh one Oh one. Okay. We’re so far from any other relevant milestones, so, Oh, how the mighty have fallen, uh, but quick reminder or announcement, depending on, uh, if you’re on my email list or any of that next week, I’m releasing a new strain of conditioning program, a online program, which I’m really excited about.



This is a collaboration between myself and my good friend, fellow strength, coach Andrew Sachs. So look for more details, uh, in the upcoming week, if you’re not on my email list, definitely sign up. There’s links in the show notes, but this is a really good program. We spent the last, well, we started this in March and then covert happened, but.



Um, about a hundred episodes or a hundred exercises filmed, a lot of really good detail. Um, just a lot of moving parts in general to make this successful, but we’re excited that next week it’s finally gonna launch and you’ll be able to get, uh, a free two week trial. So if you want to jump in and try it, you’re more than welcome to.



So just a little bit of housekeeping. Also, you’re gonna notice some new intro music and transition music, which I’m excited about. My old stuff was as grading on me a little bit. And, uh,

This story starts on the day of a major crossroads in my career: Undergo a second Tommy John surgery, or hang up my cleats.

In this introduction, I discuss who the “Baseball Gods” are, and why they’re a theme of this show. Dear Baseball Gods is show that will tell the stories of no-name players (myself included) who did big things in sports, but never quite made it into household names. There’s a lot of hard work, talent, resolve and luck that goes into becoming a celebrated, famous athlete, and any deficiency in the three can derail a promising player. Listen in as we unearth some amazing stories of players who lost their grip on the mountain as they closed in on the summit.

In this landmark 100th episode, Dan reflects on some of the important things he’s learned in the 3 years that have passed since the Dear Baseball Gods podcast began back in March of 2017. A LOT has happened…



To submit a question for the Q&A segment, email a voice recording to Dan at hello@danblewett.com. Want to support the show? Buy a copy of Dear Baseball Gods on Kindle or Paperback, or listen on audiobook. Or, pick up Pitching Isn’t Complicated, his advanced-but-understandable pitching manual. Enroll in one of Coach Dan’s online pitching courses or his mental skills course. Use code BASEBALL GODS to save 20% on any course, just for being a listener. Sign up for Dan’s Email list and get a free pitching checklist, and follow up with him on the interwebs: YouTube Channel | Twitter | Danblewett.com





Transcript: EP100 – It’s Been One Hundred Episodes – What Have I Learned Since Then?



All right, folks. Welcome back. This is the 100th episode of the deer baseball gods podcast. So if you’re listening to this number one, thank you for being here. Maybe you’re brand new. Maybe you’ve just picked up the show recently, or maybe you’ve been here from the beginning, who knows either way. Thank you for listening to my musings, ramblings, uh, teachings, whatever.



You’d call it over these three and a half years now, actually. So, uh, in today’s episode, I’m going to talk about things I’ve learned over the years, over these past three and a half years, that. I’ve felt I’ve made a positive change in my life that I would like to convey to you. Maybe one of these 10 hits a chord.



Obviously some of these are going to be moderately COVID related. I mean, I think, I think, uh, one of the sentiments about, uh, COVID-19 is that it’s been an accelerant. So, you know, accelerating agent for change. So things that were going to happen maybe in a couple of years have suddenly all, all of a sudden happened in three months or in six months or whatever.



And I’ve found that’s a been the case with some of my, my endeavors and things. Yeah. As well. So without further ado, I’m going to get to 10 things I’ve learned since the deer baseball gods podcast started back in March of 2017. Alright. Number one. If I had to give some advice, it would be, and this is going to be number one.



And number two, it’s both follow your passions and follow your skills. Now I’m 34, so I don’t need to Dole out too much career advice because I’ve only been living in the real world for about a year.

Are short and longterm goals really that important? Is distance running useful for pitchers? Or is it the devil? And, what should we all know about launch angle and its importance in baseball?



To submit a question for the Q&A segment, email a voice recording to Dan at hello@danblewett.com. Want to support the show? Buy a copy of Dear Baseball Gods on Kindle or Paperback, or listen on audiobook. Or, pick up Pitching Isn’t Complicated, his advanced-but-understandable pitching manual. Enroll in one of Coach Dan’s online pitching courses or his mental skills course. Use code BASEBALL GODS to save 20% on any course, just for being a listener. Sign up for Dan’s Email list and get a free pitching checklist, and follow up with him on the interwebs: YouTube Channel | Twitter | Danblewett.com





Full Transcript: EP99 – How Important Is Launch Angle? Distance Running & Are Goals Actually Useful?



Welcome back to Dear Baseball Gods. On today’s podcast. We’re going to cover three different topics. Number one, is distance running important? Is it bad? Is it good? We’ll figure it out. Number two, how important is launch angle a? Is this something useful to work into someone’s swing? Is it good, bad, the devil, whatever we’re going to solve that as well.



Lastly, we talked a little bit about longterm goals. How important are they? Are they overrated or are they underrated? Okay. So first is distance running important. Now distance running has been demonized by much of the strength and conditioning community of which I’m a part. The basic tenants here are that distance running use a different energy system than you use when doing an explosive, uh, action.



So swinging a bat is an anaerobic, very explosive exercise. And we obviously all know that you can’t maintain that sort of effort level, that sort of intensity or explosiveness over a long distance or long period of time. Right. So where you’re jogging for 30 minutes or biking for 30 minutes or whatever.



You know, those user aerobic system, it’s a much different type of exercise then, you know, doing something like throwing a medicine ball, throwing a baseball, hitting a baseball, sprinting, jumping things that are anaerobic that are very explosive. So. The big thing here is for years and years and years pitchers just ran polls.



And one of my favorite books, ball four, they talk about how much running is done. And there’s a, an ongoing discussion in that book, even back, which was written in the seventh or the, it was written in 1968, I think, uh, that you know, is running actually beneficial. Like we, we run it every day is pictures, but why,

Should pitchers throw year round in baseball? How should they plan their workload? And, does having small hands prevent a pitcher from learning a changeup? Lastly, coach Dan explains why pick off moves are underrated and under taught, and what pitchers should do about it.



To submit a question for the Q&A segment, email a voice recording to Dan at hello@danblewett.com. Want to support the show? Buy a copy of Dear Baseball Gods on Kindle or Paperback, or listen on audiobook. Or, pick up Pitching Isn’t Complicated, his advanced-but-understandable pitching manual. Enroll in one of Coach Dan’s online pitching courses or his mental skills course. Use code BASEBALL GODS to save 20% on any course, just for being a listener. Sign up for Dan’s Email list and get a free pitching checklist, and follow up with him on the interwebs: YouTube Channel | Twitter | Danblewett.com





Transcript: EP98 – Year Round Throwing Do’s and Don’ts; Does Hand Size Matter in Throwing a Changeup? Plus: Pick Offs



You’re listening to the deer baseball gods podcast. I’m Dan Blewett. And on this show, you’ll learn advanced concepts in baseball. Explain simply I’m here to guide you on your baseball journey and help you paddle through. What’s now an ocean of misinformation, guru ism, an overly technical diamond babble.



Welcome back to the dear baseball gods podcast. I’m Dan Blewett. This is episode 98 and today’s episode. We’re gonna cover number one year round throwing. What does that look like? Obviously right now it’s the fall. So hopefully you’re listening to this episode in September, October. Uh, if you’re not, it’ll still be relevant next year, but it’s a great time to talk about what you should be doing in the fall.



And should you be tapering down your throwing? Should you be taking a break? All that sort of stuff. So we’ll cover that today. We’re also going to cover a major change up myth, which is, do you have to have big hands to throw a change up effectively? I just listened to a youth baseball podcast. I heard a pitching guy.



Perpetuating this myth. So we’re going to kind of come back at him here. Uh, and lastly, let’s talk about pick offs. Pick offs are overlooked, underrated, something that needs to be practiced.



Okay. So first thing, if you’re a parent or if you’re an athlete and you are a pitcher or your son is a pitcher, Throwing and your year long throwing regimen is important. It’s important to map out your year and understand when you’re going to take breaks when you’re not what you want to do. And also sort of like,

If a young pitcher has command but is way below average on velocity, is that at least a bit of solace? Is journaling a good, reasonable thing to ask a young player to do? And, what about yoga – is it effective for baseball players?



To submit a question for the Q&A segment, email a voice recording to Dan at hello@danblewett.com. Want to support the show? Buy a copy of Dear Baseball Gods on Kindle or Paperback, or listen on audiobook. Or, pick up Pitching Isn’t Complicated, his advanced-but-understandable pitching manual. Enroll in one of Coach Dan’s online pitching courses or his mental skills course. Use code BASEBALL GODS to save 20% on any course, just for being a listener. Sign up for Dan’s Email list and get a free pitching checklist, and follow up with him on the interwebs: YouTube Channel | Twitter | Danblewett.com





EP97 – Velo or Command for Young Players? Journaling & Yoga for Baseball Players



Hey, welcome back to dear baseball gods. I’m Dan Blewett. And on today’s episode, I’m going to cover three topics. And to be perfectly honest, I’m going to kind of do away with a 92nd mindset, which was never really a thing. Um, I’m gonna continue to sort of, uh, answering questions on the third segment. But today we’re basically just going to hit three topics.



Some weeks we’ll hit two. I just want to cover short quality informative and a topical ideas. So number one today, is it better to have Vilo or command at a young age? So this is from a question I got on the web recently. Um, a parent asked me, he said, Hey, my son doesn’t throw real hard. Uh, but you know, parents have kind of remarked that it’s good, that he can throw strikes that that’s probably a better thing to do I have now.



So, you know, we’ll talk about through whether or not that is actually the case. Number two, we’ll talk about journaling and the idea I’ve seen this a kind of, I kind of roll my eyes out. I see it on the web coach is like, Hey, you know, players, if you’re not keeping a journal, then blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.



Talk about the idea of whether young athletes should be using a journal to track their progress, track their workouts, all that stuff. Or if it’s unrealistic, lastly, we’ll talk about yoga for baseball. Um, this is something I talked about on my softball podcast. Yoga can be really important, but we’ll talk about whether it’s actually good for baseball players or not.



So let’s get started, uh, first here tonight, uh, velocity or command. So if your son is a young pitcher and he’s, you know, 12, 13, 14,

Learn strategies to pitch with runners on 3rd base – the bases loaded, 2nd & 3rd, and runner on 3rd only. Then, Dan covers how to mentally recover from a bad start. Lastly, does throwing a slider put extra stress on a pitchers’ arm? Is a slider more harmful than a curveball or other pitch types?



To submit a question for the Q&A segment, email a voice recording to Dan at hello@danblewett.com. Want to support the show? Buy a copy of Dear Baseball Gods on Kindle or Paperback, or listen on audiobook. Or, pick up Pitching Isn’t Complicated, his advanced-but-understandable pitching manual.Enroll in one of Coach Dan’s online pitching courses or his mental skills course. Use code BASEBALL GODS to save 20% on any course, just for being a listener.Sign up for Dan’s Email list and get a free pitching checklist, and follow up with him on the interwebs: YouTube Channel | Twitter | Danblewett.com





Transcript: Dear Baseball Gods Podcast EP96 – How to Pitch with Runners on 3rd; How to Bounce Back After a Bad Start; Is a Slider Bad for Your Arm?



You’re listening to the dear baseball gods podcast. I’m Dan Blewett. And on this show, you’ll learn advanced concepts in baseball. Explain simply I’m here to guide you on your baseball journey and help you paddle through. What’s now an ocean of misinformation, guru ism, an overly technical diamond babble.



Welcome back. This is the dear baseball gods podcast. I’m Dan Blewett on today’s show. We’re going to talk about pitching with runners on third base. So we’ll cover all three situations, a runner on third, no one out second. And third base is loaded. In our second segment, we’ll talk about bouncing back after a bad start.



And lastly, we’ll talk about, is a slider bad for your arm? Cause there’s some weird myth about this. I’m not really sure where it comes from. So first let’s talk about pitching with runners on third base. Cause this is I think tough. It’s something that you learn. There’s different approaches to all three different situations.



First off let’s talk about the base is loaded. Number one, the base load, scary. Obviously this changes with the different outbase or the out situations. So if there’s no one out, one out, two out it’s different, however, I’m just gonna talk genuinely cause generally, because I don’t want to talk about every possible out scenario for each of these three.



It’s just going to get overwhelming. So number one, when you have the bases loaded, the biggest thing you have to do is suck it up and throw a pitch,

What’s the right arm slot for a pitcher, and what should be considered in adjusting arm slot? Plus, is it good to yell instructions? Well, no. It’s not. And, should young pitchers be allowed to throw knuckleballs?



To submit a question for the Q&A segment, email a voice recording to Dan at hello@danblewett.com.Want to support the show? Buy a copy of Dear Baseball Gods on Kindle or Paperback, or listen on audiobook. Or, pick up Pitching Isn’t Complicated, his advanced-but-understandable pitching manual.Enroll in one of Coach Dan’s online pitching courses or his mental skills course. Use code BASEBALL GODS to save 20% on any course, just for being a listener.Sign up for Dan’s Email list and get a free pitching checklist, and follow up with him on the interwebs: YouTube Channel | Twitter | Danblewett.com





EP95 Transcript – Proper Arm Slot For Pitchers, Yelling Instructions to Players & Can Youth Players Throw a Knuckleball?



You’re listening to the dear baseball gods podcast. I’m Dan Blewett. And on this show, you’ll learn advanced concepts in baseball. Explain simply I’m here to guide you on your baseball journey and help you paddle through. What’s now an ocean of misinformation, guru ism, an overly technical diamond babble.



Hey, welcome back to the dear baseball gods podcast. I’m Dan Blewett. And in today’s episode, we’re going to talk about arm angle and a couple of considerations to think about. Number two, we’ll talk about, uh, yelling to your kid on the field. Is this a good or bad thing to do? And number three, a question I got recently was, um, why do you dislike the knuckle ball as far as being like another pitch that a youth pitcher can throw.



Okay. So number one, arm angle, this is something that even pitcher, even parents who didn’t play, they can kind of pick up when something looks off with their kid’s arm angle. So I used to get parents, bring their kids in for lessons and they’d say, Hey, he kind of like slings the ball. He throws from kind of a weird sidearm angle compared to his teammates.



Can you take a look? And so here are the couple things that remember about arm angle. Number one, I do think everyone has an innate arm angle that is best for them just anatomically. So if you look at the major leagues, I think it represents a bell curve and you know, most things in life do. So if you look at the major leagues most guys, or so here that, let me back up here.



The arm angles, essentially there’s submarine, which is essentially just anything below sidearm. There’s sidearm. Then a little bit higher than that is low three quarters.

Whats the best pitching repertoire for a high-spin fastball pitcher? Should he add a sinker, slider or curveball? What’s best? Dan also discusses the 80% rule of pitch development, and whether or not it’s okay to show emotion on the baseball field, such as watching or pimping a home run.



To submit a question for the Q&A segment, email a voice recording to Dan at hello@danblewett.com. Want to support the show? Buy a copy of Dear Baseball Gods on Kindle or Paperback, or listen on audiobook. Or, pick up Pitching Isn’t Complicated, his advanced-but-understandable pitching manual. Enroll in one of Coach Dan’s online pitching courses or his mental skills course. Use code BASEBALLGODS to save 20% on any course, just for being a listener. Sign up for Dan’s Email list and get a free pitching checklist, and follow up with him on the interwebs: YouTube Channel | Twitter | Danblewett.com





Transcript EP94 – Best Pitching Repertoire: Dos and Donts; 80%Rule; Is it Okay to Show Emotion on the Field?



welcome back. This is dear baseball gods episode 94. I’m Dan Blewett. And today we are going to cover whats the best pitching repertoire. So we won’t get into every little thing, but we’re going to get into a couple of different options. I put out a Twitter poll and I thought it was kind of interesting in our 90-second mindset.



We’ll talk about it. 80% rule, which is a rule I made up up for pitch development and then our Q and a portion we’ll talk about, well, is it. The right thing to do to show emotion, or is it okay to show emotion on the field? And that includes stare downs flips, all that sort of stuff. All right. So for pitching repertoire.



So what I asked Twitter, and I did cover this more thoroughly in a YouTube video, cause I’m not going to get into all this stuff. I asked, say you had a high three quarter hard throwing high spin rate, four seamer type of pitcher. So a guy that can really spin a four seam fastball, um, If you had that guy and he needed two other pitches and you could just grab him out of a vending machine.



Would you rather give him a, a in the combination we’re either cutter or sinker plus curve, ball, or slider, all possible combinations of those two pitches. Um, and this is an interesting thing to discuss because when looking for a repertoire, it takes a good amount of time. This is something I didn’t figure out until I was in my mid to late twenties, what you do well and what you don’t do well and how you should shape your repertoire to suit.



And can you shape your repertoire to suit? Like, can you even learn a new pitch? Well, um, everyone should be able to,

How fast do ballplayers develop? Is baseball skill related more to absolute skill? Or size and strength PLUS a requisite amount of skill? Is it better to be small and have great mechanics, or big with lesser mechanics? Plus, Dan discusses what scouts think about wearing a cap backward and whether ballplayers can be big-boned and still perform well.



To submit a question for the Q&A segment, email a voice recording to Dan at hello@danblewett.com. Want to support the show? Buy a copy of Dear Baseball Gods on Kindle or Paperback, or listen on audiobook. Or, pick up Pitching Isn’t Complicated, his advanced-but-understandable pitching manual.Enroll in one of Coach Dan’s online pitching courses or his mental skills course. Use code BASEBALL GODS to save 20% on any course, just for being a listener. Sign up for Dan’s Email list and get a free pitching checklist, and follow up with him on the interwebs: YouTube Channel | Twitter | Danblewett.com





Transcript: EP93 – Developmental Age of Ballplayers; Wearing Your Cap Backwards; Can Baseball Players Be…Fat?



Hey, welcome back. This is dear baseball gods. I’m Dan Blewett and this is episode 93. So in today’s episode, we’re going to cover three topics first. How does developmental versus biological age play into your development as a player? Uh, in our 92nd mindset, we’ll talk about wearing your baseball cap and how that is important or not important.



And lastly, we’ll talk about body types and do you have to be really fit to play baseball? Well, So first let’s, uh, be philosophers here a little bit about what does it actually mean to be skilled at baseball or any sport in general? So a really good example here is women’s basketball versus men’s basketball.



So we all know that women have the ability to be as skilled at anything as men, but we know that there’s a difference biologically, and that they’re less. Able to develop the same level of strength. So when we start comparing the NBA to the WWE MBA, we know that the female players and the NBA, or as technically proficient at basketball as any of the men, they can shoot, they can pass, they can, you know, do all the basketball thing.



I’m certainly not a basketball expert. Um, but. Their skills. As far as basketball skills go are absolutely as good or can be as good or better than any comparable man, but given the physicality of the game and how many men or towering over them height-wise are more physical. Basketball is pretty rough at times as is like even non-contact sports like soccer, obviously lacrosse is like a medium contact sport, even though these sports aren’t like football, right.

In this episode, listen to a sample chapter of my new book, Clean Your Cleats: Advice on Baseball and Life for Ballplayers. It’s available everywhere you buy books online. Get your copy today!

Does a pitching leg kick increase velocity? Do higher leg kicks = faster fastballs or better mechanics? Dan also talks through the idea that what a pitcher throws 2-2, he should also throw on a 3-2 count. Lastly, the question of the week is about pitching through pain, and when it’s time to pull the plug and come out of the game.



To submit a question for the Q&A segment, email a voice recording to Dan at hello@danblewett.com.Want to support the show? Buy a copy of Dear Baseball Gods on Kindle or Paperback, or listen on audiobook. Or, pick up Pitching Isn’t Complicated, his advanced-but-understandable pitching manual.Enroll in one of Coach Dan’s online pitching courses or his mental skills course. Use code BASEBALL GODS to save 20% on any course, just for being a listener.Sign up for Dan’s Email list and get a free pitching checklist, and follow up with him on the interwebs: YouTube Channel | Twitter | Danblewett.com





EP92 Full Transcript – Does a Pitching Leg Kick Increase Velocity? What to Throw in a 3-2 Count, and How NOT to Pitch Injured



You’re listening to the Dear Baseball gods podcast. I’m Dan Blewett. And on this show, you’ll learn advanced concepts in baseball. Explain simply I’m here to guide you on your baseball journey and help you paddle through. What’s now an ocean of misinformation, guru wisdom, and overly technical diamondbabble.



Hey, welcome back. This is the Dear Baseball Gods podcast. I’m Dan Blewett. And on today’s episode, we’ve got three great topics. Number one for pitchers does a higher leg kick mean higher velocity. Number two: when we’re talking about 2-2 and 3-2 counts, there’s a common wisdom that says what you throw to two is what you should also throw three, two.



So we’re going to discuss why that is in fact valid. And number three, when should you remove yourself from a game due to injury? So I wrote an article about playing through pain and. The difference between being hurt and being injured, which is a common sentiment. We’ll talk a little bit about when you should alert your coach as to when you’re going to be essentially hurting the team.



Okay. So first topic: pitching leg kicks. So Nolan Ryan is famous for saying that if he could lift his leg higher, he would have thrown harder. And of course that’s just his own anecdote and him sort of knowing his own body, but he also had a super highlight gig. So if you are a younger person and a don’t know what Nolan Ryan’s mechanics look like, he had a really highlight kick and he was, I’d say reasonably explosive.



Um, With that leg kick in general.

In episode 91, Dan discusses what parents should look for in a strength coach via the exercises they prescribe in a training program. In the 90-second mindset, he discusses the FIRST thing every player should do this offseason. The question of the week is about bullpen length for youth pitchers – how many pitches should be in a bullpen?



To submit a question for the Q&A segment, email a voice recording to Dan at hello@danblewett.com.Want to support the show? Buy a copy of Dear Baseball Gods on Kindle or Paperback, or listen on audiobook. Or, pick up Pitching Isn’t Complicated, his advanced-but-understandable pitching manual.Enroll in one of Coach Dan’s online pitching courses or his mental skills course. Use code BASEBALL GODS to save 20% on any course, just for being a listener.Sign up for Dan’s Email list and get a free pitching checklist, and follow up with him on the interwebs: YouTube Channel | Twitter | Danblewett.com





EP91 Full Transcript – EP91 – Safe Strength Exercises & Optimal Bullpen Length for Pitchers



You’re listening to the deer baseball gods podcast. I’m Dan Blewett. And on this show, you’ll learn advanced concepts in baseball. Explain simply I’m here to guide you on your baseball journey and help you paddle through. What’s now an ocean of misinformation, guru wisdom, an overly technical diamondbabble.



Welcome back. I’m Dan Blewett. This is the dear baseball gods podcast in today’s episode. We’ve got three great topics. Number one. We’re gonna talk about the safety of lifting exercises and what the standards should be for you as a parent or coach a number two, we’re going to talk about what should the first focus be when you’re approaching your next off season, which is actually rapidly coming up, even though we’ve had sort of a, a nonexistent in season this year in 2020.



And lastly, my listener question is what should be a proper bullpen length for a 14 year old? And I will cover a couple of other ages as well. Okay. First thing. So if you’ve been on, uh, Twitter recently, and of course this is July 28th ish, 2020. If you’ve been on my Twitter recently, you noticed, I re posted a, one of my videos called our front squats safe for pitchers.



And the front squat is a unique exercise in that there’s three different ways. You can do it as far as your arms go. So the, the way you hold the bar on the front of your shoulders. So if you’re not familiar with the front squat, Um, definitely look it up on, on YouTube, but basically the bar sits on the front of your shoulders and it’s butted up against your throat.

In this episode Dan discusses whether youth pitchers should vary their leg kick timing to disrupt hitters – is it good or harmful for their development? Should college pitchers take a gap year in 2020? And, are sports drinks a good nutritional choice during a game?



To submit a question for the Q&A segment, email a voice recording to Dan at hello@danblewett.com. Want to support the show? Buy a copy of Dear Baseball Gods on Kindle or Paperback, or listen on audiobook. Or, pick up Pitching Isn’t Complicated, his advanced-but-understandable pitching manual. Enroll in one of Coach Dan’s online pitching courses or his mental skills course. Use code BASEBALL GODS to save 20% on any course, just for being a listener. Sign up for Dan’s Email list and get a free pitching checklist, and follow up with him on the interwebs: YouTube Channel | Twitter | Danblewett.com





Full Transcript: Dear Baseball Gods EP90 – Should You Take a Baseball Gap Year? Is Gatorade Bad for You and Should Pitchers Vary Leg Kick Timing?



You’re listening to the deer baseball gods podcast. I’m Dan Blewett. And on this show, you’ll learn advanced concepts in baseball. Explain simply I’m here to guide you on your baseball journey and help you paddle through. What’s now an ocean of misinformation, guruism, and overly technical diamondbabble.



Hey, welcome back to dear baseball gods. This is Dan Blewett. So today we’re going to cover three pretty interesting topics. Number one, should you take a gap year as a young athlete? Who’s head off to college next season, which is something that we’ve really never talked about before, but it’s a. So the question originally posed to me.



So I want to cover that a little bit today in our 90 second mindset segment, we’re going to cover sports drinks and whether these are actually necessary and healthy things. And then in our final question, we’re going to cover whether changing your timing as a pitcher. So like different speed, delayed kicks, pausing, different stuff like that, which you see a little bit more in majorly baseball today, whether or not that’s a good thing.



So let’s start with taking a gap year. So obviously with coronavirus, this is such a weird unprecedented time and there might not be baseball at a lot of college. I think it’s still up in the air. And I know there’s some colleges that have said, Hey, we’re not doing fall sports, or we’re not doing sports at all in 20, 20, 20 slash 2021 seasons.



So this is obviously really concerning. And it’s an interesting time. Um, I appreciate Jason, you asked me this question. But,

The principle of charity is about giving the benefit of the doubt to someone in an argument or claim. In coaching, often we don’t give coaches the benefit of the doubt, even when their decision may be based on information we don’t have access to. Dan also talks about umpires and the best way to approach the good and bad calls they make. Lastly, does adding body weight mean you’ll throw with greater pitching velocity?





To submit a question for the Q&A segment, email a voice recording to Dan at hello@danblewett.com.Want to support the show? Buy a copy of Dear Baseball Gods on Kindle or Paperback, or listen on audiobook. Or, pick up Pitching Isn’t Complicated, his advanced-but-understandable pitching manual.Enroll in one of Coach Dan’s online pitching courses or his mental skills course. Use code BASEBALL GODS to save 20% on any course, just for being a listener.Sign up for Dan’s Email list and get a free pitching checklist, and follow up with him on the interwebs: YouTube Channel | Twitter | Danblewett.com



Full Transcript – Dear Baseball Gods 89 – Principle of Charity; Approaching Umpires who Make Bad Calls & Does Mass = Gas?



You’re listening to the dear baseball gods podcast. I’m Dan Blewett. And on this show, you’ll learn advanced concepts in baseball. Explain simply I’m here to guide you on your baseball journey and help you paddle through. What’s now an ocean of misinformation, guru wisdom, an overly technical diamond babble.



Hey, welcome back. The dear baseball gods. I’m Dan Blewett in today’s episode, we’ve got three topics. We’re going to cover the first in more detail. That’s going to be today, the principle of charity and how we can apply that to coaching decisions and, uh, kind of reduce some of maybe the animosity and some of the conflicts that we find ourselves in as baseball parents.



Then we’re going to talk a little bit about. Blame and where we attribute good and bad luck and the umpires. And then lastly, we’re going to cover the question of the week, uh, which was sent in, um, by a former student of mine, Nick, who is now a division one baseball player. And he asked a little bit about how weight plays into pitching velocity.



So let’s get started with our main topic here today, the principle of charity. So if you’re not familiar with this, this is a philosophical, um, concept, which is basically just saying that, look, we need to interpret any, um, speakers statements in the most rational. And altruistic way possible. So this is saying like, Hey, if you read an email or you see me do something, not immediately assuming that I did that just to b...

In this episode, we discuss the separation between parents and their players in the dugout. Some coaches recently were arguing on twitter about handing off drinks during a game, so Dan weighs in. Also discuss how much extra work to do following a bad outing, and should 11 year olds learn sliders?



To submit a question for the Q&A segment, email a voice recording to Dan at hello@danblewett.com.Want to support the show? Buy a copy of Dear Baseball Gods on Kindle or Paperback, or listen on audiobook. Or, pick up Pitching Isn’t Complicated, his advanced-but-understandable pitching manual.Enroll in one of Coach Dan’s online pitching courses or his mental skills course. Use code BASEBALL GODS to save 20% on any course, just for being a listener.Sign up for Dan’s Email list and get a free pitching checklist, and follow up with him on the interwebs: YouTube Channel | Twitter | Danblewett.com





EP88 – Parents Giving Their Kid a Gatorade in the Dugout? Is It a Big Deal?



You’re listening to the deer baseball gods podcast. I’m Dan Blewett. And on this show, you’ll learn advanced concepts in baseball. Explain simply I’m here to guide you on your baseball journey and help you paddle through. What’s now an ocean of misinformation, guru wisdom, an overly technical diamond babble.



Hey, welcome back to dear baseball gods. This is Dan Blewett. And in today’s show, we’re gonna start a little bit about parenting and coaching and I guess, general rules as far as, uh, the separation between. Parent and coach goes, so this is spurned by a tweet that I was a little bit tuned in. I resisted the urge to comment.



Um, but it was one that I was actually surprised a bunch of my, either friends or coaches that I know were commenting on this. And so the basic of the tweet was, uh, that a, it was either a tournament company or someone else said, Hey, you know, parents bringing drinks to their kids during the game, you know, handing Gatorades into the dugout out is a bad look and, uh, I generally agree with that now, you know, as Twitter is people just love to get angry about stuff.



And a couple of coaches, again, a couple who I either know very well or just know and respect in general. Also some coaches that I know and don’t respect, but, um, They the comments vary, but they’re all like, yeah. Like imagine us as college coaches not recruiting a kid, who’s really good because his mom handed a Gatorade, you know, into the dugout.



Now that wasn’t certainly what the tweet was about. The tweet was just in general that, Hey, this is something that doesn’t need to happen. You know,

To submit a question for the Q&A segment, email a voice recording to Dan at hello@danblewett.com.



Want to support the show? Buy a copy of Dear Baseball Gods on Kindle or Paperback, or listen on audiobook. Or, pick up Pitching Isn’t Complicated, his advanced-but-understandable pitching manual.



Enroll in one of Coach Dan’s online pitching courses or his mental skills course. Use code BASEBALL GODS to save 20% on any course, just for being a listener.



Sign up for Dan’s Email list and get a free pitching checklist, and follow up with him on the interwebs: YouTube Channel | Twitter | Danblewett.com



Dear Baseball Gods EP87 Full Transcript – Finding the Right Pitch Mix; Being a Good Teammate on the Bench; Why Pitching to the Corners is Bad Strategy



You’re listening to the dear baseball gods podcast. I’m Dan Blewett. And on this show, you’ll learn advanced concepts in baseball. Explain simply I’m here to guide you on your baseball journey and help you paddle through. What’s now an ocean of misinformation, guru wisdom, an overly technical diamond babble.



Welcome back. I’m Dan Blewett and this is the dear baseball gods podcast. And today’s topic. We’re going to talk about how many pitches should a pitcher throw and why? So this is a really important thing to discuss because what I see it’s analogous to having a really, really big family. So if you had say five, six, seven, eight children, Uh, how are you going to spread out your attention as a parent?



Right? You’re just going to have to divide your time in smaller chunks to every kid. Like, they’re just not going to get as much one on one time when you have such a big family, right? Just like anything, the more tasks you have, the more friends you have, the more sports you play, you have to evenly divide your time towards it.



Right. So in pitching. Sometimes people have this mentality that more pitches is better. And in reality, you suffer from the same problems that a big family suffers from that a really big corporation suffers from. And that’s again, dividing all of your time amongst your employees, your relationships, your kids, your activities, your sports, whatever it is.



Right. So. If you look hard at high level college baseball or pro baseball, what you see is the vast majority of those pitchers at that very high level, throw three pitches. They throw three, and this is not like I know when kids list what pitches they throw. They go, Oh, I throw four seam, two seam four seam, two seam.



They’re the same pitch. It’s a fast ball.

Are olympic lifts good for baseball players–are they worth the risks? Should players swing at the first pitch of an at-bat? What does lifting look like after a baseball career comes to an end? These questions and more are answered on Dear Baseball Gods 86.





To submit a question for the Q&A segment, email a voice recording to Dan at hello@danblewett.com.



Want to support the show? Buy a copy of Dear Baseball Gods on Kindle or Paperback, or listen on audiobook. Or, pick up Pitching Isn’t Complicated, his advanced-but-understandable pitching manual.



Enroll in one of Coach Dan’s online pitching courses or his mental skills course. Use code BASEBALL GODS to save 20% on any course, just for being a listener.



Sign up for Dan’s Email list and get a free pitching checklist, and follow up with him on the interwebs: YouTube Channel | Twitter | Danblewett.com



Dear Baseball EP86 Full Transcript – Olympic Lifts for Baseball Players, First Pitch Swinging & Lifting Advice



You’re listening to the dear baseball gods podcast. I’m Dan Blewett. And on this show, you’ll learn advanced concepts in baseball. Explain simply I’m here to guide you on your baseball journey and help you paddle through. What’s now an ocean of misinformation, guru wisdom, an overly technical diamond babble.



Welcome back to dear baseball gods. So today’s topic is, uh, the Olympic lifts for baseball. So if you’re unfamiliar, obviously the, the power clean is well it’s actually not technically technically an Olympic lift. It’s a variation, but the Olympic lifts are the snatch. And the clean and jerk. So those two are the ones you’ll see again in the Olympics.



You know, guys trying to throw and gals, trying to throw hundreds of kilos over their head. And it’s an incredibly impressive, explosive lift. Uh, it’s a fascinating thing. I, I love actually watching slow motion. Um, clean and jerks and snatches, um, on one TV, like the Olympic lifting is it’s incredible how fast and strong and explosive these athletes are, but Olympic lifts get thrown into their own separate category.



Um, and it’s sort of, uh, it’s sort of a misnomer. So a lot of people think that Olympic lifting is this really important thing. And that plyometrics in general. Which Olympic lifts are not plyometrics, but, uh, these explosive type exercises. And that’s, I think what people, most associate, um, power cleans with as being explosive, that they’re essential to being a good athlete.



In reality, uh, these exercises are only essential to Olympic lifters. Now,

Diamondbabble: when baseball coaches describe things in overly complicated ways. Why is the game overflowing with it? In this episode, Dan reads examples of diamondbabble from Twitter and explains the road forward. And, what should a pitcher be thinking on the first pitch of an at-bat? Lastly, should pitchers throw two different breaking balls? Or should they stick to one?





To submit a question for the Q&A segment, email a voice recording to Dan at hello@danblewett.com.



Want to support the show? Buy a copy of Dear Baseball Gods on Kindle or Paperback, or listen on audiobook. Or, pick up Pitching Isn’t Complicated, his advanced-but-understandable pitching manual.



Enroll in one of Coach Dan’s online pitching courses or his mental skills course. Use code BASEBALL GODS to save 20% on any course, just for being a listener.



Sign up for Dan’s Email list and get a free pitching checklist, and follow up with him on the interwebs: YouTube Channel | Twitter | Danblewett.com



EP85 Dear Baseball Gods Transcript: Diamondbabble, First-pitch tactics; Pitchers Throwing Two Breaking Balls



You’re listening to the dear baseball gods podcast. I’m Dan Blewett. And on this show, you’ll learn advanced concepts in baseball. Explain simply I’m here to guide you on your baseball journey and help you paddle through. What’s now an ocean of misinformation, guru wisdom, an overly technical diamond babble.



All right. I’m Dan Blewett. And in today’s talk, we’re going to discuss diamond babble. So this is a, a, a phrase or, or not a phrase is a term that I’ve coined. because they’re becoming increasingly frustrated with the biomechanical junk terminology used to describe baseball actions. That’s really just popularized, by gurus and people who don’t really understand what they’re talking about.



And so they hide behind this fancy language. To describe things that you could, honestly, if you took the time and the care and you understood it well enough, you could describe anything in baseball to a 10 year old. This is really a sticking point for me. And a lot of my peers that I respect because.



When you are a coach, it’s your job not to make yourself look as smart as possible. What it’s your job to help other people learn and grow. And when you’re using terminology that talks above them, it just shows a disrespect, a lack of respect for their intelligence. And it also, I think, exposes what is really just a lack of depth of knowledge on your own part, because if you can’t simplify something, then you don’t understand it well enough.

I recently wrote and shared An Open Letter to Young White Athletes. This was what I’d say to a kid about what’s happening in America right now–the protests against racism and police brutality. A lot of people understood, but I also received a lot of criticism, notably a number of calls to “stick to coaching.” If you’re not aware, the role of “coach” is a profound one. In one of my worst personal moments, who did I call? I called one of my coaches. In this episode, learn the role of coach in a kids life as I see it, along with a 90-second mindset for players on speaking out to teammates, and a Q&A about when the right time is to begin teaching curveballs.



To submit a question for the Q&A segment, make a voice recording and email it to Dan at hello@danblewett.com.



Want to support the show? Buy a copy of Dear Baseball Gods on Kindle or Paperback, or listen on audiobook. Or, pick up Pitching Isn’t Complicated, his advanced-but-understandable pitching manual.



Enroll in one of Coach Dan’s online pitching courses or his mental skills course. Use code BASEBALL GODS to save 20% on any course, just for being a listener.



Sign up for Dan’s Email list and get a free pitching checklist, and follow up with him on the interwebs: YouTube Channel | Twitter | Danblewett.com

Baseball season arrived, then quit on us. But, this is a bigger heartbreak and a more confusing time than some parents may realize. Identity as an athlete is tricky, and in today’s episode we dive into why so many ballplayers are struggling, how identity as athletes comes into play, how to identify work ethic, and what to do going forward.



To submit a question for the Q&A segment, make a voice recording and email it to Dan at hello@danblewett.com.





Want to support the show? Buy a copy of Dear Baseball Gods on Kindle or Paperback, or listen on audiobook. Or, pick up Pitching Isn’t Complicated, his advanced-but-understandable pitching manual.



Enroll in one of Coach Dan’s online pitching courses or his mental skills course. Use code BASEBALL GODS to save 20% on any course, just for being a listener.



Sign up for Dan’s Email list and get a free pitching checklist, and follow up with him on the interwebs: YouTube Channel | Twitter | Danblewett.com



Full Transcript: Dear Baseball Gods EP83



You’re listening to the Dear Baseball Gods podcast. I’m Dan Blewett, and on this show you’ll learn advanced concepts in baseball. Explain simply, I’m here to guide you on your baseball journey and help you paddle through what’s now an ocean of misinformation guru wisdom, an overly technical diamond babble.



in today’s episode of dear baseball gods, the, uh, first episode back as I revive this podcast, we’re going to talk about why we need baseball. And specifically why athletes need it and how they might be feeling. Cause I know a lot of parents, more so than athletes are gonna be listening to this. And especially if you haven’t played, and especially if you haven’t been injured and especially if you haven’t retired, then you probably don’t have quite that perspective except for the, the obvious fact that your son is maybe a little sad and a little disappointed and a little not sure what he is doing with his time right now.



So I still remember the day when I woke up and I think my first thought was what my teammates were doing, and then I put my feet on the ground and I stopped. And then I walked into my kitchen and I reached up for my big jug of protein and was going to make a protein shake, and then I stopped. And then a few minutes later as I got dressed, I kind of rude around in my underwear drawer for my compression shorts and then I stopped.



And that was the first day of the rest of my life. That was the day after I uttered the words that I was retiring and yeah, it was the first day that I didn’t know what I was doing. I woke up and my routines didn’t make sense....

Dear Baseball Gods will be on pause for a few months – Dan explains why in this episode and what to expect. And, he goes into depth on the odds of making it to the Majors and why it’s not as big a longshot as the statistics indicate.



Sign up for Dan’s email list to stay updated on when the show returns, and be sure to subscribe to the show for notifications!





To submit a question for the Q&A segment, email a voice recording to Dan at hello@danblewett.com. Want to support the show? Buy a copy of Dear Baseball Gods on Kindle or Paperback, or listen on audiobook. Or, pick up Pitching Isn’t Complicated, his advanced-but-understandable pitching manual. Enroll in one of Coach Dan’s online pitching courses or his mental skills course. Use code BASEBALL GODS to save 20% on any course, just for being a listener. Sign up for Dan’s Email list and get a free pitching checklist, and follow up with him on the interwebs: YouTube Channel | Twitter | Danblewett.com

In this talk in a USA Baseball sponsored coaches’ clinic in Illinois, I discussed 10 mental training do’s and don’ts. Mental skills are critical in baseball, though it’s not always clear the best way to build them.



Watch the YouTube video version of this post here: https://youtu.be/FdZLQ96hdNg



And, get the free worksheet mentioned in the talk: https://danblewett.com//mental



For amateur coaches, a lot of it is character-building type stuff. Since most young players won’t meditate or do elaborate visualization exercises, building toughness and character remains at the core of mental training for youth athletes.

In this episode, I discuss why I’m selling my academy, moving on, and all the things I THINK I’ll be doing with my life.

Listen in as Dan Blewett shares chapter twelve from Dear Baseball Gods: A Memoir. This chapter details news he received about his first surgery, his budding meditation practice, and his changes in his demeanor over time.









Buy Dear Baseball Gods: 📖 https://amzn.to/2FT8aHf. On Kindle, Paperback and Audiobook.



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Pre-Order Dear Baseball Gods the Book on Kindle: 📖 https://amzn.to/2FT8aHf. Goes live on April 9 on Kindle, Paperback and Audiobook.



Want to sponsor the show and my work, AND get free stuff? Go here: https://www.patreon.com/dearbaseballgods 



Want to buy the shirt I’m wearing on the show? Go here: https://gumroad.com/coachdanblewett



My Books



Buy Dear Baseball Gods: 📖 https://amzn.to/2FT8aHf. On Kindle, Paperback and Audiobook.



Check out my book, Pitching Isn’t Complicated: https://amzn.to/2Kdon9G as well as Dear Baseball Gods the Book: https://amzn.to/2FT8aHf [affiliate links]



My Courses



And for pitchers and coaches, enroll today in one of my premium online pitching and softball courses: http://courses.danblewett.com



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Listen in as Dan Blewett shares chapter one from Dear Baseball Gods: A Memoir, his book on his baseball career, his battle back from injuries, and his search for identity.









Sign up for my Email Newsletter: https://danblewett.com//dan-blewett-newsletter/



Subscribe and watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/dblewett20?sub_confirmation=1



Pre-Order Dear Baseball Gods the Book on Kindle: 📖 https://amzn.to/2FT8aHf. Goes live on April 9 on Kindle, Paperback and Audiobook.



Want to sponsor the show and my work, AND get free stuff? Go here: https://www.patreon.com/dearbaseballgods 



Want to buy the shirt I’m wearing on the show? Go here: https://gumroad.com/coachdanblewett



My Books



Pre-Order Dear Baseball Gods–My Upcoming Book–on Kindle: 📖 https://amzn.to/2FT8aHf. Goes live on April 9 on Kindle, Paperback and Audiobook.



Check out my book, Pitching Isn’t Complicated: https://amzn.to/2Kdon9G as well as Dear Baseball Gods the Book: https://amzn.to/2FT8aHf [affiliate links]



My Courses



And for pitchers and coaches, enroll today in one of my premium online pitching and softball courses: http://courses.danblewett.com



Follow Me



Official website: https://danblewett.com



Medium: http://medium.com/@coachdanblewett



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Dave Fischer, pitching coach and mental skills coach from the University of Rhode Island, joined me on the show to share his journey through pro baseball. We discussed his struggles in pro baseball and how he has turned them into learning opportunities for the pitchers he now coaches.













Follow Dave Fischer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FaveDischer



Subscribe and watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/dblewett20?sub_confirmation=1



Pre-Order Dear Baseball Gods–My Upcoming Book–on Kindle: 📖 https://amzn.to/2FT8aHf. Goes live on April 15 on Kindle, Paperback and Audiobook.



Want to sponsor the show and my work, AND get free stuff? Go here: https://www.patreon.com/dearbaseballgods 



Want to buy the shirt I’m wearing on the show? Go here: https://gumroad.com/coachdanblewett



My Books



Pre-Order Dear Baseball Gods–My Upcoming Book–on Kindle: 📖 https://amzn.to/2FT8aHf. Goes live on April 15 on Kindle, Paperback and Audiobook.



Check out my book, Pitching Isn’t Complicated: https://amzn.to/2Kdon9G as well as Dear Baseball Gods the Book: https://amzn.to/2FT8aHf [affiliate links]



My Courses



And for pitchers and coaches, enroll today in one of my premium online pitching and softball courses: http://courses.danblewett.com



Follow Me



Official website: https://danblewett.com



Medium: http://medium.com/@coachdanblewett



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Ryan Faer, the Cleveland Indians’ minor league strength coordinator, joined me to talk about how he landed his job as a coach in pro baseball and his day-to-day duties. We also discussed mental health and its ramifications and challenges for athletes.



Mental health and the mental stress of pro sports is rarely discussed, often perceived as weakness. But Ryan opened up about his own struggles and some advice on what athletes can do if they need help or find themselves struggling. Listen in to this great conversation on Dear Baseball Gods.









Follow Ryan Faer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ryan_faer



Follow Ryan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryan_faer



Watch this episode on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/user/dblewett20?sub_confirmation=1



Pre-Order Dear Baseball Gods–My Upcoming Book–on Kindle: 📖 https://amzn.to/2FT8aHf. Goes live on April 15 on Kindle, Paperback and Audiobook.



Want to sponsor the show and my work, AND get free stuff? Go here: https://www.patreon.com/dearbaseballgods 



Want to buy the shirt I’m wearing on the show? Go here: https://gumroad.com/coachdanblewett



My Books



Pre-Order Dear Baseball Gods–My Upcoming Book–on Kindle: 📖 https://amzn.to/2FT8aHf. Goes live on April 15 on Kindle, Paperback and Audiobook.



Check out my book, Pitching Isn’t Complicated: https://amzn.to/2Kdon9G as well as Dear Baseball Gods the Book: https://amzn.to/2FT8aHf [affiliate links]



My Courses



And for pitchers and coaches, enroll today in one of my premium online pitching and softball courses: http://courses.danblewett.com



Follow Me



Official website: https://danblewett.com



Medium: http://medium.com/@coachdanblewett



Facebook: http://facebook.com/coachdanblewett



Instagram: http://instagram.com/coachdanblewett



Twitter: http://twitter.com/coachdanblewett

Ty Blankmeyer joined me on the show to talk about his playing career at St. John’s University, his time in the Minor Leagues, and his current job as an area scout for the Milwaukee Brewers. Ty grew up in baseball, as his father has been the St. Johns head coach for 24 seasons, so his story comes from a unique place as a both a high-level player and the son of a great baseball mind.









Follow Ty Blankmeyer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tayblanks1



Follow Ty on Instagram: https://instagram.com/tyblank0



Watch this episode on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/user/dblewett20?sub_confirmation=1



Pre-Order Dear Baseball Gods–My Upcoming Book–on Kindle: 📖 https://amzn.to/2FT8aHf. Goes live on April 15 on Kindle, Paperback and Audiobook.



Want to sponsor the show and my work, AND get free stuff? Go here: https://www.patreon.com/dearbaseballgods 



Want to buy the shirt I’m wearing on the show? Go here: https://gumroad.com/coachdanblewett



My Books



Pre-Order Dear Baseball Gods–My Upcoming Book–on Kindle: 📖 https://amzn.to/2FT8aHf. Goes live on April 15 on Kindle, Paperback and Audiobook.



Check out my book, Pitching Isn’t Complicated: https://amzn.to/2Kdon9G as well as Dear Baseball Gods the Book: https://amzn.to/2FT8aHf [affiliate links]



My Courses



And for pitchers and coaches, enroll today in one of my premium online pitching and softball courses: http://courses.danblewett.com



Follow Me



Official website: https://danblewett.com



Medium: http://medium.com/@coachdanblewett



Facebook: http://facebook.com/coachdanblewett



Instagram: http://instagram.com/coachdanblewett



Twitter: http://twitter.com/coachdanblewett



Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/coachdanblewett/boards/

Jimmy Gonzalez, Manager of the Chicago Cubs’ High-A team, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, joined me to talk about his 14 years as a pro player, his now six seasons as a coach in the Cubs’ system, and his managing style as a longtime catcher and student of the game.









Check out the new podcast artwork for Dear Baseball Gods



Follow Coach Jimmy Gonzalez on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gonzo3131



Watch this episode on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/user/dblewett20?sub_confirmation=1



Pre-Order Dear Baseball Gods–My Upcoming Book–on Kindle: 📖 https://amzn.to/2FT8aHf. Goes live on April 15 on Kindle, Paperback and Audiobook.



Want to sponsor the show and my work, AND get free stuff? Go here: https://www.patreon.com/dearbaseballgods 



Want to buy the shirt I’m wearing on the show? Go here: https://gumroad.com/coachdanblewett



Dan Blewett is a former pro pitcher who overcame Tommy John surgery twice, earning All-Star selections after both of them. He owns Warbird Training Academy in Normal, Illinois and has dedicated his life to helping young ballplayers stay healthy, avoid his mistakes and increase their baseball IQ faster than they could on their own. 



My Books



Pre-Order Dear Baseball Gods–My Upcoming Book–on Kindle: 📖 https://amzn.to/2FT8aHf. Goes live on April 15 on Kindle, Paperback and Audiobook.



Check out my book, Pitching Isn’t Complicated: https://amzn.to/2Kdon9G as well as Dear Baseball Gods the Book: https://amzn.to/2FT8aHf [affiliate links]



My Courses



And for pitchers and coaches, enroll today in one of my premium online pitching and softball courses: http://courses.danblewett.com



Follow Me



Official website: https://danblewett.com



Medium: http://medium.com/@coachdanblewett



Facebook: http://facebook.com/coachdanblewett



Instagram: http://instagram.com/coachdanblewett



Twitter: http://twitter.com/coachdanblewett

My Book, Dear Baseball Gods, is going to be released on April 15, 2019 and it was two years in the writing, but 22 years in the making. Learn about some of the challenges it posed, how it’s evolved over time, what the book is about and how the format has been shaped by my experiences.









Check out the new podcast artwork for Dear Baseball Gods



Watch this episode on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/user/dblewett20?sub_confirmation=1



Pre-Order Dear Baseball Gods–My Upcoming Book–on Kindle: 📖 https://amzn.to/2FT8aHf. Goes live on April 15 on Kindle, Paperback and Audiobook.



Want to sponsor the show and my work, AND get free stuff? Go here: https://www.patreon.com/dearbaseballgods 



Want to buy the shirt I’m wearing on the show? Go here: https://gumroad.com/coachdanblewett



Dan Blewett is a former pro pitcher who overcame Tommy John surgery twice, earning All-Star selections after both of them. He owns Warbird Training Academy in Normal, Illinois and has dedicated his life to helping young ballplayers stay healthy, avoid his mistakes and increase their baseball IQ faster than they could on their own. 



My Books



Pre-Order Dear Baseball Gods–My Upcoming Book–on Kindle: 📖 https://amzn.to/2FT8aHf. Goes live on April 15 on Kindle, Paperback and Audiobook.



Check out my book, Pitching Isn’t Complicated: https://amzn.to/2Kdon9G as well as Dear Baseball Gods the Book: https://amzn.to/2FT8aHf [affiliate links]



My Courses



And for pitchers and coaches, enroll today in one of my premium online pitching and softball courses: http://courses.danblewett.com



Follow Me



Official website: https://danblewett.com



Medium: http://medium.com/@coachdanblewett



Facebook: http://facebook.com/coachdanblewett



Instagram: http://instagram.com/coachdanblewett



Twitter: http://twitter.com/coachdanblewett



Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/coachdanblewett/boards/

Steve Marino got told no at dozens of tryouts and pro workouts. But, he kept going until one day…there was a yes. He went on to play five years of pro baseball as a respected third baseman and team captain. Listen in as he tells his story and shares insight into his transition to coaching at the pro ranks. Be sure to catch the You’re My Boy, Blew Vlog episode featuring Steve, which releases on Tuesday, Feb 5th.









Watch this episode WITH VIDEO on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/user/dblewett20?sub_confirmation=1



Want to sponsor the show and my work, AND get free stuff? Go here: https://www.patreon.com/dearbaseballgods 



Want to buy the shirt I’m wearing on the show? Go here: https://gumroad.com/coachdanblewett



Dan Blewett is a former pro pitcher who overcame Tommy John surgery twice, earning All-Star selections after both of them. He owns Warbird Training Academy in Normal, Illinois and has dedicated his life to helping young ballplayers stay healthy, avoid his mistakes and increase their baseball IQ faster than they could on their own. 



My Books



My Pitching Manual, Pitching Isn’t Complicated: https://amzn.to/2Kdon9G [affiliate link]



PRE-ORDER Dear Baseball Gods the Book (Releases on April 15, 2019) here: https://amzn.to/2MfQeaO



My Courses



And for pitchers and coaches, enroll today in one of my premium online pitching and softball courses: http://courses.danblewett.com



Follow Me



Official website: https://danblewett.com



Medium: http://medium.com/@coachdanblewett



Facebook: http://facebook.com/coachdanblewett



Instagram: http://instagram.com/coachdanblewett



Twitter: http://twitter.com/coachdanblewett



Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/coachdanblewett/boards/



Snapchat: http://snapchat.com/add/coachdanblewett



Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-blewett-4b5515140/

In this episode, Dan discusses reasons on whether throwing a football is beneficial for pitchers. Dan also gives helpful suggestions on equipment to use when working out at home.



Links: Home workout video mentioned in the episode; Try Early Work Strength Program for free here.



To submit a question for the Q&A segment, email a voice recording to Dan at hello@danblewett.com. Want to support the show? Buy a copy of Dear Baseball Gods on Kindle or Paperback, or listen on audiobook. Or, pick up Pitching Isn’t Complicated, his advanced-but-understandable pitching manual. Enroll in one of Coach Dan’s online pitching courses or his mental skills course. Use code BASEBALL GODS to save 20% on any course, just for being a listener. Sign up for Dan’s Email list and get a free pitching checklist, and follow up with him on the interwebs: YouTube Channel | Twitter | Danblewett.com





EP108 Transcript: EP108 – Is Throwing a Football Good for Pitchers? Plus Home Gym Tips



You’re listening to the Dear Baseball Gods Podcast. In this show, I help parents, players and coaches better navigate their baseball careers.



All right. Welcome back to Dear Baseball Gods. On this episode, we’re going to talk about is throwing a football. Good for pitchers. And we’re going to go into some home gym tips. So things, if you’re stuck at home, working out, what are some creative ways you can get it, you know, a little bit of workout kind of maintain your strength or maybe even get stronger.



So before we get going, make sure you check out the show notes of this podcast. Wherever you’re listening. I have my two books on baseball, my memoir, Dear Baseball Gods. Which is my story and can definitely help a young athlete or parent understand what their journey is going to look like. Also, my pitching manual Pitching Isn’t Complicated.



That’s down below. Also my online courses links to my YouTube channel. Social media handles all that stuff. And my new strength conditioning program built for ballplayers called early work. So if you’re new here or you’re a longtime listener, definitely check out the show notes, grab a book, grab some that can help you and just continue learning.



So first thing on the docket today is throwing a football. Good for pitchers. And I think the resounding answer is yes, especially if your pitcher who throws a slider. So quick thing about me. I was a curve ball, high, fast ball, like high spin rate kind of pitcher. And. Now I was never a football player. I was also never super interested in football, so I was never a good thrower of footballs.



I understand how to throw them.

Morgan Depew, assistant with the University of Jacksonville in Florida, joined me to talk about his journey from former Warbird trainee, to JUCO baseball player then to Division-2 baseball, then into the coaching ranks. Morgan has been quietly and steadily moving up in the coaching world, now with a volunteer assistant position at Jacksonville.









Watch this episode on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/user/dblewett20?sub_confirmation=1



Want to sponsor the show and my work, AND get free stuff? Go here: https://www.patreon.com/dearbaseballgods 



Want to buy the shirt I’m wearing on the show? Go here: https://gumroad.com/coachdanblewett



Dan Blewett is a former pro pitcher who overcame Tommy John surgery twice, earning All-Star selections after both of them. He owns Warbird Training Academy in Normal, Illinois and has dedicated his life to helping young ballplayers stay healthy, avoid his mistakes and increase their baseball IQ faster than they could on their own. 



My Book



Check out my book, Pitching Isn’t Complicated: https://amzn.to/2Kdon9G [affiliate link]



My Courses



And for pitchers and coaches, enroll today in one of my premium online pitching and softball courses: http://courses.danblewett.com



Follow Me



Official website: https://danblewett.com



Medium: http://medium.com/@coachdanblewett



Facebook: http://facebook.com/coachdanblewett



Instagram: http://instagram.com/coachdanblewett



Twitter: http://twitter.com/coachdanblewett



Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/coachdanblewett/boards/



Snapchat: http://snapchat.com/add/coachdanblewett



Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-blewett-4b5515140/

Ethan Guevin of http://www.KeepPlayingBaseball.org joined me to talk about baseball recruiting, and give some practicing recruiting tips and advice to players and parents. Ethan is a former D-1 assistant coach and Rawlings Gold Glove winner as a player. Today he runs his non-profit recruiting website with tons of great (free) recruiting advice.



Listen to The Keep Playing Baseball Podcast here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/college-baseball-recruiting-101-by-keep-playing-baseball/id1398431662?mt=2



Follow Ethan here: https://twitter.com/keepplayingbb











HELPFUL ARTICLES MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST



PLAYERS & PARENTSIt’s Never Too Early to Start: https://keepplayingbaseball.org/its-never-too-early-to-start/When to Contact College Coaches/seek exposure: https://www.keepplayingbaseball.org/contact-college-coaches-2018/ and https://keepplayingbaseball.org/seeking-exposure-at-the-right-time-2018/Contacting Coaches the Right Way – Writing an Intro Email: https://www.keepplayingbaseball.org/contacting-coaches-right-way-writing-introductory-email/Balancing Financial Spending and Exposure: https://keepplayingbaseball.org/parents-how-to-balance-spending-and-exposure-in-the-search-for-scholarships/



PARENTSParents’ Role in the Recruiting Process: https://keepplayingbaseball.org/parents-role-in-the-recruiting-process-part-1-2018/Parents Resource Page: https://keepplayingbaseball.org/parents/Why You Should Delay Showcases Until Your Son Is Ready: https://keepplayingbaseball.org/for-parents-why-you-should-delay-showcases-until-your-son-is-ready-2018/



How to use the KPB site: https://keepplayingbaseball.org/how-to-use-this-site-2018/



Don’t Forget! Subscribe to the Dear Baseball Gods / Dan Blewett YouTube Channel http://www.youtube.com/user/dblewett20?sub_confirmation=1



Grab my free eBook Here: https://danblewett.com/curveball



Want to sponsor the show and my work, AND get free stuff? Go here: https://www.patreon.com/dearbaseballgods



Want to buy the shirts you see me wear on the show? Go here: https://gumroad.com/coachdanblewett
—
Free Mental Game Pitching Course: https://courses.danblewett.com/p/ace-of-the-staff-lite
—
My Podcast: https://danblewett.com/dear-baseball-gods-podcast/
—
I’m a former pro pitcher who overcame Tommy John surgery twice, earning All-Star selections after both of them. I own Warbird Training Academy in Normal, Illinois and have dedicated my life to helping young ballplayers stay healthy, avoid my mistakes and increase their baseball IQ faster than they could on their own.
—
Check out my book, Pitching Isn’t Complicated: https://amzn.to/2Kdon9G [affiliate link to my book]
—
Check out my premium online pitching and softball courses: http://courses.danblewett.com
—
Follow Me!



Official website: https://danblewett.com
Medium: http://medium.com/@coachdanblewett
Facebook: http://facebook.com/coachdanblewett
Instagram: http://instagram.com/coachdanblewett
Twitter: http://twitter.com/coachdanblewett
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/coachdanblewett/boards/
Snapchat: http://snapchat.com/add/coachdanblewett
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-blewett-4b5515140/

Ryan Copeland–associate head coach at the University of Illinois Springfield–came on the show to talk about how he uses technology to build better pitchers, how his squad went 47-9 in 2018, and how he built an incredible pitching development system at UIS to create better pitchers who win games.











Follow Coach Copeland on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ryancopelandUIS



Follow Dan: http://twitter.com/coachdanblewett



Don’t Forget! Subscribe to my channel here: http://www.youtube.com/user/dblewett20?sub_confirmation=1



Grab my free eBook Here: https://danblewett.com/curveball



Want to sponsor the show and my work, AND get free stuff? Go here: https://www.patreon.com/dearbaseballgods



Want to buy the shirts you see me wear on the show? Go here: https://gumroad.com/coachdanblewett
—
Free Mental Game Pitching Course: https://courses.danblewett.com/p/ace-of-the-staff-lite
—
My Podcast: https://danblewett.com/dear-baseball-gods-podcast/
—
I’m a former pro pitcher who overcame Tommy John surgery twice, earning All-Star selections after both of them. I own Warbird Training Academy in Normal, Illinois and have dedicated my life to helping young ballplayers stay healthy, avoid my mistakes and increase their baseball IQ faster than they could on their own.
—
Check out my book, Pitching Isn’t Complicated: https://amzn.to/2Kdon9G [affiliate link to my book]
—
Check out my premium online pitching and softball courses: http://courses.danblewett.com
—
Follow Me!



Official website: https://danblewett.com
Medium: http://medium.com/@coachdanblewett
Facebook: http://facebook.com/coachdanblewett
Instagram: http://instagram.com/coachdanblewett
Twitter: http://twitter.com/coachdanblewett
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/coachdanblewett/boards/
Snapchat: http://snapchat.com/add/coachdanblewett
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-blewett-4b5515140/