"Ask Sam" Returns - More of Your Baseball Questions Answered By Phillies 1B Coach Sam Perlozzo

Philadelphia Phillies 1B coach and PBI advisor Sam Perlozzo periodically answers your baseball-related questions. Email Sam directly - AskSam@baseballclinics.com. Here's the latest from the "Ask Sam" mail bag.

Q: Sam, I have a 16 year old who plays high school and summer travel ball. He had a short session with you at PBI last December and that few minutes with you made a very noted postive impact on his pitching. He now has a problem at the plate. He has always been an accomplished left handed batter, with power. He had a terrible accident where a foul tip came up, hit him in the face broke his nose and eye socket. He has healed but since has had a very difficult time at the plate. He is lunging at the ball almost every pitch and with that pulls his head off the ball. Do you have any hint as to what he can do to stop this bad habit. I don't think it's related to the injury. I have had his eyes checked etc. Please help!!! Thank you and best wishes. Jack

A: Jack, the injury to your son sounds as if it has affected him mentally and he may be shy of getting hit again. Hence, why he is pulling out away from the ball. You must remember that this is a natural reaction, especially to younger kids. Give as much positive reinforcement as possible and have patience. The last thing you want to do is scare him off. It takes time and everyone is different. In the mean time, when he is practicing his hitting, try and pitch on outside of the plate and make him practice steppping into the ball and hitting it to left field. This should help him get back to normal and not as much pulling out. Like I said before, BE PATIENT, and best of luck.

Sam

Q: Sam, if you had a 10 year old son with strong aspirations of playing college and maybe even in the majors, what would you be doing with him or for him? For what it's worth, he is often the best or one of the best players on the field in any game he plays in.

Thank you in advance, George.

A: George, if your son is only ten years old and has big aspirations....then good for him. Sounds as if he is a good player at his age level. Let's hope his skill level grows with his age and his does get the chance to play college ball. My advice is just let him play as much as possible. Repetition is key at any level. When he gets into high school there are alot of camps and tryouts that help slot your son into college. I would be able to help better at that time. Let him play,play,play. Best of luck.

Sam


Q: Hi Sam,

My 8-year old son is a great hitter. However, he was hit twice in his first 2 games by the pitcher and now he is petrified of the ball. He steps out of the box and doesn't even swing his bat. I've been pitching to him as well as his coaches and he has no problems. He gets scared when a kid his own age pitches, I guess from lack of trust. It's taken a big toll on his game and playing time. What can I do to help him overcome his fear of the ball?

Thanks,
Laura

A: Laura, this is similar to Jack's issue above. I will tell you the same thing. He is definitely shy of getting hit with the ball. Have patience!! This happens to alot of kids and it just takes time for the fear to go away. Give plenty of encouragement and positve reinforcement. Each kid is diferent and each one takes his own time. BE PATIENT ! Hopefully he will come around sooner or later. Sounds like if he was good before he will be good again. Just hang in there and continue to give him chances. Good Luck !

Sam

Q: Sam, a rather fundamental question here. In what situations should a catcher run down to back up first base? Thanks.

A: The catcher should back up first on all ground balls to infielders with no one on base. Anytime there is a runner on base there is always a chance that the ball could kick around and the runner try and score. There are times that he can cover with man on first as long as he tells the pitcher to cover home.... General rule is never to leave home plate uncovered. Hardly ever will he back up first with a man on second. There are different angles and balls hit that backing up first by the catcher would be a wasted effort..ie bunt to 3rd baseman. Situations change during play, but generally, as long a a runner is on, he has a chance to come around and score. Hope this helps!!

Sam

Thanks to everyone for all the great questions. Hope you all have a great New Year and I look forward to hearing from you. Send your questions to me via email - AskSam@baseballclinics.com.

Registration is now open for the PBI Baseball League's 2012 spring season.

This is a Sunday league. Game times are determined by coaches. Games may be played on another day by agreement of both teams, but if you are not able to have a team of at least nine players on Sundays in the fall, this might not be the best choice for your team.

AGE LEVELS -

8U 40/60 - A, AA
9U 46/60 - A, AA, AAA
10U 46/60 - A, AA, AAA
11U 46-60 - A, AA, AAA
11U 50/70 - AA, AAA
12U 46/60 - A, AA, AAA
12U 50/70 - A, AA, AAA
13U 50/70 - A, AA, AAA
13U 60/90 - A, AA, AAA
14U 60/90 - A, AA, AAA
JUNIOR VARSITY - incoming freshmen and sophomores
VARSITY (wood bat) - incoming juniors and seniors

SKILL LEVELS -

AAA (formerly American Division) - top travel teams, including club
AA (formerly National Division) - talent equivalent to a town All-Star team
A (formerly Garden State Division) - talent level equivalent to a town recreation team

Please specify age, skill, and field size when registering.

NOTE - your team should pick the appropriate level based upon the combined skill of your players, not where they are from.

BAT REGULATIONS - On December 30, 2010 Little League International issued a moratorium on composite bats from the Majors Division on down. The PBI Baseball League will follow suit for the 2012 spring season at the 46/60 and 40/60 field levels. For ALL 50/70 divisions (11U through 13U), the PBI Baseball League will follow the guidelines that Little League International will be using for either their Junior League level or "transitional" 50/70 Pilot Program. Up-to-date information is available on the PBI home page.

PITCHING REGULATIONS - 9U through 14U uses a pitch count through all divisions. 8U has a 2-inning per pitcher rule. For the sake of clarification, an inning pitched consists of 3 outs. There is NO pitch count rule at either of the high school levels (JV or varsity). NOTE - New York public schools began using a pitch count at the high school level in 2011. If New Jersey public schools follow suit, the PBI Baseball League will then do the same. Until that happens, there will be NO pitch count at the high school level.

AGE CUTOFF - The age cutoff for the 8U through 14U levels of the PBI Baseball League's 2012 spring season is April 30, 2012. Whatever age a player will be on April 30, 2012 is that player's "league age." A player may "play up" an age level; he cannot "play down" under any circumstances.

REGULAR SEASON - The regular season for all age levels (8U through high school) will begin Sunday March 25 and continue through Sunday May 20 - 8 game schedule.

THIS IS A SUNDAY LEAGUE. IF YOU CANNOT COMMIT TO SUNDAYS, THIS IS PROBABLY NOT THE LEAGUE FOR YOUR TEAM.

PLAYOFFS - The top four teams in each skill division of each age level will meet in a single elimination tournament. Playoffs and championship games will take place Sunday June 3 and 10 respectively. PBI provides individual awards for players on the first and second place teams.

COST - REGISTRATION FEE - EARLYBIRD PRICE $200 if paid by FEBRUARY 1st.

AFTER FEBRUARY 1 - $225 if paid by MARCH 1.

AFTER MARCH 1 - the registration fee is $275.

NO REGISTRATIONS WILL BE TAKEN WHATSOEVER AFTER MARCH 9.

The league fee includes free insurance for teams that are in need. PBI cannot hold a space for you; teams are taken on a first-paid, first-served basis.

INSURANCE - FREE from PBI. If you need insurance, or for more information on the league, please contact Jim Monaghan directly - jim@baseballclinics.com

TO REGISTER CLICK HERE - https://www.skiltech.com/orders/pbi/leaguereg.html

"How Does My Son Get To the Next Level?"

Your son has been playing baseball for a few years; he's progressed from his town team to a summer town travel team or maybe even a club team. Each time he's moved up the ladder you've noticed that he steps his game up to match the new level of competition. You're starting to look ahead to high school, maybe even college and beyond. How do you balance your expecations with his talent, his own level of interest in baseball and the desire to take his game to the next level?

That's a question we think about all the time here at Professional Baseball Instruction. Obviously we're in the business of training baseball players. But we're also in the business of being realistic. The chances of playing baseball at the Major League level are so small as to almost be ridiculous. Think about it - there are only 750 jobs at the Major League level. But for someone who wants to play at the high school level, or even in college, the odds are more in favor of the player.

With that in mind, here are some suggestions on how to help your son get to the next level of his baseball career.

First, have a conversation with your child. Find out how much he really likes the game of baseball. Find out what his own expectations are. It's very easy to live vicariously through our children. A child's expectations shouldn't necessarily be the same as a parent's, but it helps if each understands the other.

Second, consider professional training. That does not always mean private lessons. They certainly work, but they can also get VERY expensive VERY quickly. Our winter training clinics here at Professional Baseball Instruction have a low enough player-to-coach ratio that your child will get the needed repetition of the basic core skills needed to play the game as well as some personalized attention. Baseball is a game of repetition. Major League hitters work off a tee all the time, in fact some hitters do tee work every single day. The reason? The constant repetition of the skills needed to hit a baseball.

Third, let your child know that it's OK to fail. Baseball is a game of failure. Former Major League pitcher David Wells says that the reason he was as successful as he was during his professional career was that he wasn't afraid to fail. Think about it - a hitter with a .300 batting average in effect failed 70% of the time.

70%!

But hit .300 for 10 years at the Major League level and you stand to make an insane amount of money and hear whispers about making the Hall of Fame. Pittsburgh Pirates manager (and PBI advisor) Clint Hurdle is very fond of saying that there are two kinds of people in baseball, "those who have been humbled, and those who are about to be humbled." How your child reacts to that experience will help him not only on the baseball field, but in life, too.

And finally, let him have fun. Baseball is hard enough to play - Ted Williams believed that hitting a baseball is the single hardest thing to do in sport - without the added pressure of having to succeed. Kids have a difficult time living up to not only their own expectations, but also what they think our expectations as their parents are (never mind what a parent's actual expectations may even be). Maybe he's ultimately good enough to play at one of the local parochial power house high schools, or maybe his skills are better suited to the town high school. Further down the line, maybe a D3 college might mean being able to continue playing baseball while getting a good education. Keep the options open and the expectations reasonable.

We'd love to hear your thoughts. Comment below or call us at 800-282-4638 with your thoughts.