Some baseball manager are tacticians, whereas others are ego-juggling players’ coaches. Some skippers turned to managing after successful baseball careers, whereas others never even made the major league. There is no formula for what makes a successful baseball manager. We can, however, analyze results and determine what baseball managers have been the most successful. Read on for our list of the ten greatest baseball managers of all-time.

Number 10: Billy Martin
Billy Martin’s first year as a big league manager pretty much encapsulated his entire managerial career. In 1969 he led the Minnesota Twins, who had had a losing record in 1968, to ninety-seven wins and a division. Nevertheless Martin was fired after the seasons for his behavior, which included a high profile fistfight with his ace pitcher Dave Boswell. Martin would go on to coach parts of eighteen seasons with the Tigers, As and most prominently the Yankees, who hired and fired him five times over a fourteen year period. Almost all of Martin’s managerial stints were the same: he quickly made the team better and then quickly wore out his welcome by fighting — often physically — with his players, ownership and the odd marshmallow salesman. Martin, who battled alcohol addiction, died on Christmas Day of 1989 as a passenger in a one car crash. The sixty-one year old had been preparing to managing the Yankees for a sixth time when he passed away.

Record: 1253 and 1013, .553 pct. four division titles, two pennants, one World Series title.

Number 9: Casey Stengel
Between 1949 and 1960 Casey Stengel managed the New York Yankees to seven World Series titles and ten pennants. It is without a doubt the greatest managerial run in the history of baseball. So why is Stengel only ninth on this list? Well, for one, he was blessed with a steady parade of Hall of Famers such as Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford. And he operated in a pre free-agency era, meaning his roster was pretty set from year to year. Then there is the matter of the other twelve years Stengel spent as manager on teams other than the Yankees. The “Old Professor” only posted one winning record during thosen seasons managing the Brooklyn Dodgers, Boston Braves and the New York Mets. Some of Stengel’s Mets teams were among the worst in baseball history. Stengel was clearly a great manager with great players, but he isn’t higher on this list because he consistently failed to elevate mediocre players out of their mediocrity.

Record:1,905 and 1,842, .508 pct. ten pennants, seven World Series titles.

Number 8: Earl Weaver
Known for his love of the three run home run and his contentious relationship with umpires, all seventeen years of Earl Weaver’s managerial career were spent with the Baltimore Orioles. He was only thirty-seven when he took over the Birds in 1968 and then led them to three straight World Series between ‘69 and ‘71, winning the ‘70 Fall Classic. During his first stint with the Orioles, which ended in 1982, Weaver never had a losing season and bested a hundred wins five times in fifteen years. He was also ejected from ninety-eight games, including three times getting tossed from both frames of a doubleheader. Weaver retired in 1982 after losing out an America East title in a one-game play off. He was brought back to the Orioles’ mid season of 1985 and saw some initial success, however he posted his only ever losing season in 1986 and retired for good after that. While Weaver was as fine a regular season manager as there’s ever been, but his legacy is somewhat held back by his postseason record and the fact that the Orioles won a World Series two years before he took over the team and another the year after he retired the first time.

Record: 1,480 and 1,060 .583 pct. six division titles, four pennants, one World Series title.

Number 7: Sparky Anderson
After a cup of coffee as a Major League second baseman, Anderson transitioned to minor ;eague manager at age 30. In 1970, the thirty-six year old was named skipper of the Cincinnati Reds. “Sparky Who?” was the local paper’s reaction to the more. They would learn soon enough as Anderson led to the Reds to 102 wins and a National League Pennant in his first year. Three more pennants and World Series titles in 1975 and 1976 would follow as Anderson’s “Big Red Machine” would dominant baseball throughout the seventies. However Anderson was fired after the 1979 season despite having finished 92 and 78. He immediately got a new job with the Detroit Tigers and declared he would led the young team to World Series title within five years and make the Reds pay for letting him go. It actually took Anderson six years, but the 1984 Tigers were a team for the ages, starting the season 35-5 on their way to a 104 win season and a world championship. The Tigers would remain contenders for most of the eighties.But the last seven of Anderson seventeen years in Detroit weren’t particularly good and detract somewhat from his otherwise sterling resume.

Record: 2194 and 1834, .545 pct seven division titles, five pennants, three World Series titles.

Number 6: Joe Torre
Before he found Joe Torre in 1996, George Steinbrenner went through managers like Elizabeth Taylor went through husbands. In fact, when Torre was hired by the Yankees the over/under on his tenure had to somewhere around one season, given Steinbrenner’s legendary impatience and Torre’s fourteen year record of fairly average results as skipper of the Mets, Braves and Cardinals. But Torre, a former league MVP with a laid back style, clicked with the Yankees’s star-studded roster and he won a World Series in his first season. He would add World Series wins in 1998,1999 and 2000. Torre never missed the playoffs during his twelve years with the Yankees. In fact, he only won less than ninety four regular seasons games twice. (And won the World Series both those years!) Steinbrenner refused to renew Toree’s contract after the 2007 season and seven years without a title so Torre moved onto to the Dodgers. In Los Angeles he extended his personal post-season streak to fourteen straight years by leading his new team to two straight division titles. However he couldn’t get the Dodgers to the World Series either, and Torre retired after a 80 and 82 season in 2010, handing the reigns to his protege Don Mattingly.

Record: 2326 and 1997, .538 pct. thirteen division titles, six pennants, four World Series titles.

Number 5 Bobby Cox
During Bobby Cox’s first managerial stint with the Braves, which began in 1978, he turned what had been the worst team in the National League into a competitive club. Nevertheless he was fired by team owner Ted Turner in 1981. He picked up immediately with the Toronto Blue Jays and did another quick turnaround job, this time culminating in a 99 win season and the franchise’s first ever postseason appearance in 1985. A tough playoff loss burned Cox out on managing and he returned to the Braves as the club’s GM in 1986. After struggling to find the right manager for the club, Cox inserted himself in the position in 1990 and the rest is history, as the Braves rattled off a record fourteen straight division titles. The knock on Cox, of course, will always be that he only won one World Series and benefited greatly from an amazing pitching staff. However such consistency during the free-agent age — and with a mid-market team like the Braves — cannot be ignored. Cox, a four time Manager of the Year winner, retired in 2010 after a ninety-one win season.

Record: 2,504 and 2,001 .556 pct. fifteen division titles, five pennants one World Series title.

Number 4: Walter Alston
Walter Alston major league career lasted exactly one game. His managerial career would last twenty-three years, all with the Dodger franchise. Nicknamed the “Quiet Man” for his calm and reticent demeanor, Alston never signed a managerial contract for more than one year. But with only three losing seasons during his career as skipper, there was really never a point in which the Dodgers thought about not bringing him back. Alston won his first World Series — and the first and only in the Brooklyn portion of the Dodgers’ history — in 1953, his second year as manager. He would oversees the team’s successful move to Los Angeles and add World Series wins in 1959, 1963 and 1965. Alston would go through the only lean period of his career with back-to-back losing season in 1967 and 1968 but had the Dodgers back on track as perennial contenders by the 1969. Alston won his final pennant and had a 102 win season in 1974. The six time Manager of the Year retired in 1976 after a ninety win season, declaring it was time to “give somebody else a chance.”

Record: 2,040 and 1,613, .558 pct. one division title, seven pennants, four World Series titles.

Number 3: John McGraw
Although it has been long overshadowed by his managerial career, McGraw was one of the better players of the deadball era, known for his speed on the basepaths and questionable tactics when the umpire wasn’t looking. (In fact, it was largely because of McGraw that baseball moved from one ump to four.) He was also also always looking for an edge as a manager and among his innovation were using relief pitchers as closers in “save” situations. After three fairly successful seasons as player manager for the Baltimore Orioles, McGraw joined the New York Giants as a full time manager in 1903 and would only have three losing seasons over the next thirty seasons. He would also ten pennant, three World Series titles and would become part owner of the club in 1919. Known to be a players’ coach, despite a sometimes gruff exterior, McGraw was no friend of umpires and was ejected 131 times. He finished his career with 2,763 wins, a figure only eclipsed by contemporary Connie Mack. However Mack, who coached for 53 years, actually had a losing record for his career.

Record: 2,763-1,948 (.586), ten pennants, three World Series titles.

Number 2: Tony La Russa
Tony La Russa has always been a smug fellow, with his sunglasses at night and his law degree. But he’s also been a helluva a manger, from when the Chicago White Sox made him their skipper as a thirty-four year old in 1979 to when he retired after his St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series in 2011. La Russa spent nine years with the White Sox, turning the struggling franchise to contenders and 1983 division winners. He joined the As in the middle of the 1986 season and led Oakland to three straight World Series between 1988 and 1990, taking the the 1989 title. It was with Oakland that his managerial style, including the use of platoons and a highly specialized bullpen, began to come to the forefront. After a decade in Oakland he moved to St. Louis and enjoyed an even more successful run. La Russa won seven division titles and two World Series with the Redbirds and always seemed to maximize his team’s talent. He retired with the third most wins in Major League baseball history.

Record: 2,728 and 2,365 .536 pct., twelve division titles, six pennants, three World Series titles.

Number 1: Joe McCarthy
The knock on Joe McCarthy, who has the best regular season and postseason winning percentage in major league history, is that he was a “push button” manager who was weak on baseball strategy and benefited from all the all the great players he skippered. And it’s true that during sixteen years he coached the Yankees, between 1931 and 1946, McGraw was able to write names such as Ruth, Gehrig and DiMaggio into his lineup card. But “Marse Joe” also won eight pennants and seven championships during that time period and seamless transitioned the Bronx Bombers from the Ruth era to the Gehrig era to the DiMaggio era. Plus McCarthy was no slouch in his other two managerial stops, snagging a pennant and posting a .579 winning percentage during his five seasons with the Cubs, which preceded his Yankee run, and winning 96 games in each of his two full seasons with the Red Sox. Like any competition, baseball is ultimately about results and no skipper in Major League history has achieved the results McCarthy was able to. That is why he was the greatest baseball manager of all-time.

Record: 2,125 and 1,333 .615 pct. nine pennants, seven World Series titles.

Managers typically get to pick their own coaching staffs, and they often select former teammates or those who they have worked with when they were coaches. Some coaches — in particular pitching coaches — become sought after commodities and command large salaries.

Learn more about each baseball coaching position and what they do in the article below.

Bench coach
A bench coach acts as a second in command and advises the manager. His responsibilities typically include setting up the team’s practice and stretching routines before games and in spring training. Then during the game, he is there to bounce strategy off of the manager. If the manager is ejected from the game the bench coach takes over. Bench coaches have often been managers in the past and they will usually take over if the current manager is fired or resigns. Don Zimmer and Alan Trammell are examples of bench coaches.

First Base Coach
The first base coach is situated in the coach’s box on the first base line. His main responsibility is advising the runner on first base on base running and relaying signals from the dugout. You will often see a first base coach with a stopwatch, which he uses to time the pitcher’s move to first. When his team is in the field a first base coach is often responsibility for the positioning of the infield or the outfield. Davey Lopes and Rusty Kuntz are examples of first base coaches.

Third Base Coach
The third base coach is situated in the coach’s box on the third base line. He has one of the most stressful coaching job in sports, as it is his job to decide whether a runner heading toward third base should be sent home. In just a split second, the third base coach has to make his choice to send the runner based on the runner’s speed, the outfielder’s arm and the position of the baseball. The third base coach is also responsible for helping a running decide if he should advance from second to third on a batted ball and also for relaying signals from the dugout. Tim Wallach and Larry Bowa are examples of third base coaches.

Hitting Coach
A hitting coach works to improve the player’s hitting skills and techniques. He does this during practices, cage sessions and during games between at-bats. The hitting coach also keeps tabs on opposing pitchers and their tendencies, which he discusses with the players. Increasingly, the job of hitting coach involves analyzing video. There has been a movement lately among major league teams to have two hitting coaches, often one for right handed and one for left handed hitters. Mark McGwire and Charley Lau are examples of hitting coaches.

Pitching Coach

A pitching coach works to improve a pitcher’s mechanics and techniques. He also advises the manager during the game on the state of the pitcher, in particular how their arm strength is holding up. During the game the pitching coach will also visit his pitchers on the mound to give advice, although if the pitcher is going to be removed it would be manager who makes the mound visit. The modern pitching coach needs to schooled in video analysis and batter tendencies. Many pitcher coaches are experts in teaching one pitch, like a changeup or cutter. Dave Duncan and Leo Mazzone are examples of pitching coaches.

Bullpen Coach
The bullpen coach helps the pitching coach with the team’s relief pitchers. He doesn’t make mound visits, however, instead staying in the bullpen the entire game where he advises the relievers and helps them in their warm ups and preparation. Like most coaches, the modern bullpen coach has to be up-to-date on video technology. Bobby Thigpen and Ricky Bones are examples of bullpen coaches.

Strength and Conditioning Coach
A fairly new position, now all Major League Baseball teams have a strength and conditioning coach. It is his responsibility to advise the players in their training techniques. He also needs to stay abreast of all the latest Major League regulations on banned substances and keep his players informed of them. Dong Lien and Phil Falco are examples of strength and conditioning coaches.

Bullpen Catcher
The primary duty of a bullpen catcher is to warm up the relief pitchers in the bullpen. Other duties of a bullpen catcher include working with the pitchers in spring training and pre-game drills, pitching batting practice and playing catch with one of the outfielders between innings. Twenty five Major League teams have an officially designated bullpen catcher. Scott Cursi and Alan Buts are examples of bullpen catchers.

Baseball is simple game. Pitch the ball. Hit the ball. Catch the ball. Throw the ball. But mastering baseball is not as simple as it seems. It is a competitive sport and everybody is trying to be the best so they can make their high school team, then snag a college scholarship and finally live the dream of being a millionaire pro athlete with their face on a baseball card.

Which means the aspiring ball player needs to get any edge he can. Baseball training aids can improve a player’s chance at greatness by honing their skills. Here is a list of baseball training aids that have proven to be beneficial in player development. Some you will recognize and others you may be learning about for the first time. They should all be available for purchase either online or at your local sporting goods store. (Make sure to comparison shop for price before you buy.)

Baseball nets
Baseball netting — netting inside a solid frame — is used for various practice purposes. Batters can hit balls into them, either from soft toss or from a tee. Pitchers can pitch into them to hone their technique and location. Fielders can use “return” netting to practice their fielding. They can also be used as portable backstops during live pitching practice. While some baseball nets serve all of these purposes, others are more specialized.

Baseball Tee
No tees aren’t just for tee-ball. The are also an important baseball training aid. By having older hitters use a tee coaches can work on their swing in a controlled environment.

Pitching machines
These automated ball throwing devices allow players to train without a coach or pitching. The more advanced ones can also throw the type of pitches a player might face in games but are difficult to produce on demand in practice. Pitching machines can be quite expensive although you can find more rudimentary models for less than 100 bucks.

Fielding machines
Cousin to pitching machines. (In fact most pitching machines can be used as fielding machines.) They fire off grounders, line drives and pop ups for players to practice their fielding.

Fungo Bats
A fungo bat is a specially designed bat for a coach to use as he self hits balls to fielders during defensive drills and warm ups. Because it’s lightweight the fungo bat has excellent control. Nobody really knows why it has such a ridiculous name.

Reaction ball
A reaction ball is a six sided rubber ball that bounces unpredictably when thrown against the ground. This helps baseball players with their defensive reactions and develops hand-to-eye coordination.

Batting trainer
A batting trainer is a tee-like base with an arm coming off of it. A baseball ix connected at the end of the arm. With the baseball hanging over the plate the batter swings at it with his bat. Batting trainers can be adjusted to different resistance levels and some can simulate pitches. They are mainly used to work on bat speed.

Radar guns
Used to record pitching speeds. There are also baseball with built in radar records but they tend not to be as accurate.

Bungee based hitting tools.
This is a ball with straps through the middle that is propelled toward the batter while the strap is both anchored to the ground and being held by the coach. Since the ball remains attached it it stays close after the batter strikes it. It can also be easily manipulated to “throw” pitches like curveballs.

Arm resistance trainer
A baseball attached to a bungee with a hooking device on the other end. Used to develop wrist, rotator cuff, shoulder and forearm strength in pitchers.

One handed training bat
At about two-thirds the length and weight of a full-sized bat, this training aid can be used to work exclusively on either your top or bottom hand during soft toss drills.

Agility ladders/trainers
Not baseball exclusive, but a useful hardball training aid.

Pitch counter
Device used to count pitches. Usually comes with more than one counter to track multiple pitchers (or home and away) at once.

Did you know that over 100 college baseball programs offer baseball camps for high school and youth players? The close to 50,000 baseball players each year who attend college baseball camps do. Just about wherever you are in the country you should be able to find a college baseball camp where campers will receive instructions from college coaches and players.

At these camps younger players will be drilled in the fundamentals of the game by trained experts who already have them down pat. Older players will have their game tweaked and refined and prepared for the challenges of high school and then college ball.

College Baseball camps go on during the college baseball off season. Besides the late summer, when many camps are offered, most potential campers will be in school during this time period. So college baseball camps are often held over the weekend or during the week at night. Thanksgiving and the time between Christmas and New Years are also popular times to have college baseball camps.

The college camps coaching staff will be made up of the coaches from the host college as well as coaches from smaller college programs and junior college programs in the area. College players from the host school as well as other area college players will also assist as coaches and counselors.

Now the purpose of a college baseball camp isn’t just to learn new baseball skills, although that’s what they all advertise. For older players it is an opportunity to showcase their talents to the coaches in hopes of receiving a college baseball scholarship. (This is why going to a camp which has coaches from multiple schools is a good idea.) Some of the more prestigious college baseball camps will also have pro baseball scouts in attendance looking to check in on high school baseball players they might want to recommend to their team for Major League Baseball’s 40 round entry draft.

College camps can big pretty big, with some hoarding in 400 to 500 campers a session. Before picking a college camp you should inquire upon the coach to player ratio. Big camps are fine if they are well staffed.  But since the name of the game is getting instruction and exposure there will be plenty of campers who get lost in shuffle if there are not enough coaches.

There are all different types of college baseball camps, including some that are just for hitters or pitchers. They also have quite a price range. Some camps from top college’s like Arizona State can run $1000 for a two day seasons. However you might get a three or four day camp at your local community college for less than half of that.

Choosing a college baseball camp, particularly for older players who want to showcase their talents, should have a lot to do with the player’s skill level. If the teenager has no chance of playing college ball at a top Division 1 school they would probably be better off attending a camp at a Division 3 or NAIA school. Not only will the camp likely be cheaper but by meeting the coaches at a college the camper has the skill set to attend it builds the kind of relationships that may actually led to them playing college ball and even getting a scholarship to do so.

If you are interested in a college baseball camp the first step should be to check to see if the colleges in the area offer them. If they have baseball programs, the chances are they do.

The chances are you are never going to be paid to play professional baseball. This is especially true if you are in your mid-20s and you haven’t been paid yet. But there are still ways to make your living in America’s pastime. Coaching for one.

It wasn’t so long ago that most Division 1 college baseball coaches made less money than the school’s assistant professors. That started to change during the last few decades when college baseball stopped being an afterthought and began to evolve into an important cog in the development of a good chunk of the players who end up in the Major Leagues.

Granted baseball is rarely a big revenue sport for a university, like football and basketball are. So there are no college baseball coaches with Nick Saban-like five plus million dollars a year compensation packages. In fact, the average four-year college baseball coach makes around $55,000. However top college coaches like the University of Texas’s Augie Garrido and Miami (Fl.)’s Jim Morris can pull in close to a cool million a year.

But we are getting ahead of ourselves here. Reaching that level on the college coaching chain takes years of hard work and is even more unlikely than reaching the majors as a player. If you want to get a job in college coaching you have to start at the bottom as an assistant coach at a not particularly prestigious program.

To be an assistant coach on the college level you first have to be a college graduate. The school will also likely require that you have at least a year of coaching on the high school level, although experience with a competitive youth baseball team may suffice. It would also help greatly if you had played baseball at the college level.

The duties of an assistant coach are to help the head coach in preparing, organizing and conducting individual and team practices, training, and competitions. The AC will provide guidance to student-athletes and perform any miscellaneous duty assigned to them by the head coach. Assistant coaches are also typically very involved in the recruiting process and they will be dispatched around the area, if not the country, to connect with potential recruits.

Of course the question is how much do assistant coaches make. Well, the answer is not an easy one. And obviously there is a big difference between what Garrido’s number one assistant at Texas makes and what the assistant coach at the local community college pulls in.

The website Simply Hired, which compiles salaries using data from their jobs available board, has the average salary of any college coach — including the head coach — at just 36,000 a year.

Our own research suggests that unless you are working in Division-1 the assistant college baseball coach barely makes minimum wage and some even make what would amount to be a sub-minimum wage stipend. (And some are just volunteer position.)

If that hasn’t ruined your assistant college baseball coach job dream, the best places to find college baseball coach jobs are on general job boards, such as Monster.com, or specialty job boards, like the NCAA’s site or jobsinsports.com.

Kids love playing baseball. But they aren’t always so hot on learning its fundamentals. However the right kind of youth baseball drills can teach kids the ABC’s of the game in a way that doesn’t turn them off to the sport.

Here are four simple drills that will get youngsters playing baseball “the right way.”

* Back foot drill to prevent a youth player from stepping out of the hitting zone.
There is something about beginning youth baseball players which causes them to step away from the a pitched baseball and out of the hitting zone when they swing. Some of is obviously fear: they don’t want to get hit by a flying object.

But even when they clearly stop being afraid of the ball many youth players continue to this out of habit. A very simple drill to keep a youngster in the hitting zone is to have the player practice swinging with his back foot raised and only his toes touching the ground. If you hold that position it is almost impossible to jerk your front foot away from the ball without losing balance. Not only does this drill keep the batter in the hitting zone, but it also shortens the stride and requires the batter to focus on pivot and rotating and not lunging at the ball.

*Tee 1-2-3 drill
This easy drill only requires a bat, a ball and a tee. The player sets up next to the tee with his bat in hands like he is facing a live pitcher. The coach will then yell out one, two or three. If he yells one the player will coil and hold. Two, and the player will go into his stride and pause after he moves his bat back. If the coach yells three the player will complete his swing.

What this drill allows the coach to do is break down different aspects of the players swing. Since the player doesn’t know what number the coach is going to call out his effort will be from long term muscle memory — which is what needs to be fixed to improve during games — rather than just short term rote mastery that may not transfer beyond the drill.

* Follow the ball all position training drill
While eventually baseball players become first baseman, shortstops, catchers, etc, during youth baseball participants should get as much exposure to every position is possible. This not only helps them learn all aspects of the game but it reveals each players’ fielding talents. (Or lack there of.) The follow-the-ball drill is a great way to get young players experience all around the infield.

The drill starts with a player at every infield position but pitcher and the rest of players lined up behind the shortstop. The coach or parent hits a ball toward the shortstop who throws it to first. The first baseman then throws the ball to the second baseman, who throws it to the third baseman who throws it to the catcher. Then each player rotates to the base he just threw to, the next player in line assumes the shortstop position and the drill repeats.

* Base running situations drill
To set up this drill two lines of players form at home plate with one slightly ahead of the other. When the coach bangs his bats together the first players in both lines run toward first base, with the player in the closer line running through it like on an infield single and the other player rounding first and heading for second. Next time the coach cracks his bat the player on second scores and the player on first goes to third, allowing the next two players in the front of the lines to repeat what the first two players did.

With the bases now loaded two players will score every time the coach cracks his bat and one will go to third. This will open first and second up for two new runners. When a player does score he should get in the opposite home plate line as he was before.

Typically, batting drills take place in either batting practice or batting stations. This is a time honored way of doing things and it has clearly yielded some pretty good results. But that doesn’t mean one shouldn’t try to look outside the box a little bit and try some new types of batting drills

The problem with these old fashion rote drills is that while they may help a player with his mechanics and lead to technical mastery they don’t necessarily transfer into game skills. Often a player can tear the cover off the ball in the cage or is a terror with with tee, but looks weak and feeble when he faces game pitching. This is because the player hasn’t learned how to transfer the skills he has seemingly conquered with traditional batting drills into the tactical situations he will face during game time.

So why not take a game approach to batting drills, meaning try to make the drills as much like a game as possible. Now this doesn’t mean you have to drill with nine fielders, a hitter, and somebody in the on deck circle. By changing the number of players, the scoring system, the size of the field or even the equipment used you can create a competitive baseball environment that hones skills just like you do in the rote drills we are trying to get away from.

The key is that during these “game” drills the coach always has the choice of stopping the play and teaching. Let’s say during a drill about advancing the runner from second to third on a ground ball a player hits the ball to the left side of the infield, which is a no-no in that scenario. The coach can then stop the drill and explain where the player erred. Did he swing at the wrong kind of pitch? Did he get the bat head too far behind his hands?

Then when the player is in a game situation in which he needs to move a runner over to third the drills and the instruction will suddenly come to life so much more than if he had merely been practicing the old fashion rote way, which would probably be hitting the ball the other way off of a tee.

But beyond giving players the tools to deal with real-time baseball scenarios, a game approach to drills is just fun. In short, a game approach to batting drills will help a player with mechanics and coordination and raise his baseball IQ while also being really good time. Sounds like a winner.

The key to pitching is having a strong arm. By building arm strength not only can you add miles per hour to your fastball but you will have the stamina to pitch deeper into games and be less likely to suffer an injury while on the mound. Here are four exercises that should help any pitcher develop good arm strength.

45 Degree Raises
You use a four pound dumbbell for this exercise. With the dumbbell in your pitching hand stand with your hands to your sides and your thumbs out. While keeping your elbow straight raise your arm to shoulder height — which makes a 45 degree angle. Then with the elbow still straight slowly lower the arm back to your said on a three second count. This deceleration on the way down mimics the deceleration that takes place when you throw a baseball and strengthens the rotator cuff for this motion. Do three sets of ten with three second pauses between each. Do not do more than one session during a 24 hour period.

Resistance band work
This exercise is simple enough. Buy a resistance band, which is just a giant rubber band. The D2 flexion is a resistance band that works well for pitching arm strength drills. Now stand up with one side of the resistance band in your hand and the other attached the floor a few feet in front of you. The key is to position the band in a way that it provides resistance. Raise your hand to your side repeatedly, strengthening all the muscles that are used when you throw a baseball.

Long Toss
Long Toss is an oldy but a goodie. Just about every Major League pitcher long tosses, and some will do it up to 300 feet. Now  Little League or High School pitcher doesn’t have to throw that far to benefit from long tossing. To get the most out of long toss program you should start by doing a light catch. Then throw at 60 feet for four minutes. Up that to 90 feet for three minutes. Next 120 feet for 2 minutes and after that see if you can get up to 180 for a couple minutes. Finally cool down at 45 foot for a minute. During the long toss, try to throw with as little arc as possible. If you have to bounce it at first that’s OK, but don’t move in. The youth pitcher should try to long toss about 175 days a year to maintain arm strength.

Weighted balls
Weighted balls is another classic way to increase arm strength. While a regular baseball weighs 5.25 ounces weighted balls come between 7 and 12 ounces. 7 ounces should be used for Little Leaguers, 12 ounces for college players and those in between for the ages in between. A typical weighted ball drill would be to throw 15 pitches with a weighted ball from about 50 feet with your back leg back, every other throw as hard as you can. Then ten pitches with regular ball from that distance and with your back leg back, again alternating between a hard regular thow. Next ten more with the weighted ball using the same technique and finally ten pitches with a regular ball but this time with your back leg in a more regular position.

A baseball manager does more than just sit there and look ridiculous in an uniform designed for a much younger man. He has all sorts of strategic decisions he has to make before and during the course of the game which can mean the difference between winning and losing.

In this article we discuss some common baseball strategy and analyze whether or not they are sound. As you will soon learn, just because something is tradition it doesn’t always mean it is a good idea.

Bunting
A bunt is a strategy in which a hitter loosely holds the bat in front of home plate, usually before the pitch is delivered, and then attempts to tap it lightly into the field of play. The purpose of a bunt is generally to sacrifice your own out for the purpose of advancing the runners on base. Sometime a player will try to bunt for a base hit — exploiting either his own speed or baseman who are playing deep. In that case the hitter will wait until the last moment possible to show bunt to maintain the element of surprise.

Over the past decade there have been many sabermetric findings which suggest bunting to advance a base runner is not an optimal strategy. This has began to influence how major league managers approach bunting and the strategy is on the decline. Hower, in certain scenarios — such as when a pitcher or an extremely weak hitter is up — bunting is still a solid mathematically-approved strategy.

Batting order
The batting order is the sequence in which the offensive players come to bat. Traditional lineup construction includes a speedy player with good on-base skills batting first, a good contact hitter batting second, the team’s best average hitter third, the team’s best power hitter fourth and the second best power hitter fifth. The rest of the line up is filled in descending order of hitting skills, and in the National League the pitcher will almost always bat ninth.

This, however, is not the optimal major league lineup. Since each batting slot in the lineup will get 18 more plate appearances over the course of season than the the next there is an argument for simply batting all your hitters in order of on-base percentage, thus maximizing the the number of baserunners over the year.

Using more advanced mathematical formulations some sabermetricians suggest batting the best hitter second, and, in the National League, always hitting the pitcher eighth instead of ninth.

Another thing to consider when constructing a lineup is the handedness of the batters. By alternating right and left handed hitters as much as possible it makes it more difficult for the opposing manager to employee left handed or right handed relief pitching specialist.

Although many Major League team’s lineup construction leaves much to be desired it doesn’t necessarily hurt them much. Unless a manager does something really dumb — like bat the pitcher first — the difference between a perfectly optimized lineup and a sloppily put together one is only about ten runs a year.

Closer
A closer is a pitcher that typically only appears in the late innings of close game with his team ahead and with the intention that he will finish the game. Other names for a closer include fireman, stopper or short reliever. The strategy of using a closer stretches to the early 1900s but it wasn’t until the 70s when teams started using designed closers only TO finish out games and not during other regular relief appearances. The closer is almost always the team’s best relief pitcher, and in modern baseball it’s unusual for a closer to pitch more than an inning during an appearance.

Sabermetricians have long questioned the value of a designated closer. They argue you should always use your best relief pitcher in the highest leverage late inning situation and their formulations suggest this could very well come in the seventh or eighth inning, depending on what players are coming to bat and how many runners on base. A study from Baseball Prospectus found that big league teams could win about four more games a year if they dictated closer use by leverage rather than what inning it happened to be. Another study of every game from 1930 to 2003 found that designating a closer for the ninth inning hasn’t changed the overall percentage of games the average team wins when they are ahead by one, two or three runs..

Double switch
The double switch is a player and lineup substitution which typically involves the pitcher. It almost always happens when the team is on defense and making a pitching change and when the pitchers spot is due up the next inning. Along with the new pitcher, to execute the double switch the manager also sends out one new position player and this allows him to swap the new position player’s and the new pitcher’s positions in the batting order.

Thus in the following batting inning the pitcher’s spot is avoided, and this makes it easier to keep the just inserted pitcher on for another inning. The optimal player to double switch with is the eighth hitter. (Assuming the pitcher’s spot is still ninth.)

Disadvantages to the double switch can be that you are sending in a weaker defender — although that doesn’t have to be the case. Also, if you double switch closer to the middle of the lineup and the game goes into extra innings you have an offensive dead spot where you typically would have a good hitter.

While it rarely happens, confusion surrounding a double switch can lead to a team batting out of turn and an automatic out.

Hit and run
Hit and run is a high risk baseball strategy used by the offensive team to both increase the batter’s chance of getting a hit and the base runner’s chance of advancing on a batted ball. During a hit and run the runner on first base releases to second on the pitch. It is then the batter’s responsibility to at least foul the ball off because if the pitch gets to the catcher the runner will most likely be thrown out. If the hitter does get the ball in play there will be an extra area of the infield open for a ground ball base hit since either the shortstop or second baseman has been forced to leave their position so they can cover the second base bag.

If a single hit does go through the runner on first should be able to make it to third because the baserunner is already in motion. Among the other advantages of a hit and run is that ground balls that are fielded are less likely to result in double plays because the base runner head start.

The risks of a hit and run involve the aforementioned swing and miss caught stealing scenario. Forcing a batter to swing may also lead to weakly hit balls, as the hitter hacks at pitches that he would otherwise leave alone. Then there is the dreaded line drive double play.

Because of those risks, hit and runs should only be attempted with a batter who has enough bat control that he can roughly guide the ball toward the vacated infield spot and who doesn’t swing and miss very often.

Infield positioning
Infield positioning depends on both the batter at the plate and the situation in the game. Infielders will typically shift slightly from side to side and forward and backward based on the batter’s tendencies on batted balls. Additionally, if the hitter is fast and a decent bunter the third baseman and to a lesser extent the first baseman will be forced to come in toward the infield grass until the batter has two strikes on him. Certain left handed power hitters are defensed with extreme infield shifts to the right.

There are also general situations which call for different types of infield positioning. With a runner on first base and less than two outs the middle infielder’s pinch toward second base, making it easier to turn a double play. With a runner on third base and less than two outs sometimes a manager makes a decision to play the infield in to cut off the run at the plate. Late in the game when a team is either ahead by one or tied a manager will typically have the corner infielders guard the lines to prevent extra base hits.

Infield shift
An infield shift is an extreme defensive alignment in which typically three infielders are on one side of the diamond. It is almost always employed against left-handed pull hitters, meaning the shortstop sets up to the right of second base, the second baseman plays in shallow right field and the first baseman hugs the line. The third baseman typically sets up where the shortstop would be, although in some shifts the shortstop remains in position and the third baseman skips over to the infield’s right side.

Ted Williams was the first player to be shifted on a regular basis. Lumbering left handed power hitters such as Willie McCovey, Ryan Howard, Mark Teixeira and David Ortiz have been consistently shifted over the years, and recently the strategy has been extended to relatively fast left handed pull hitter like Joe Mauer, Robinson Cano and Chase Utley.

The biggest drawback to the shift is that it’s very easy to bunt for a base hit against it. But, beginning with Williams, power hitters have been reluctant to bunt against the shift for reasons of macho-ness that frustrate most statistical-oriented baseball observers. They would argue that a few bunts here and there would make a shift untenable and improve the player’s overall offensive numbers.

Over the last couple years some teams have been experimenting with shifting right handed pull hitters, which is a more difficult proposition because the first baseman always has to stay fairly close to the bag

Intentional walk
In intentional walk is a pitching strategy in which the catcher stands up and moves away from the batter and the pitcher delivers four straight pitches that have no intention of being strikes and that the batter should have no chance of being able to hit. Intentional walks are usually issued with a base open and less than two outs to set up a force, with two outs and a pitcher on deck, in the bottom of the ninth or extra inning when the batter’s run is meaningless, or when a hitter is so fearsome (like career intentional walk leader Barry Bonds) they would just rather risk putting him on base so the can instead face the next hitter.

While some have argued that the intentional walk is a waste of time and should be granted automatically — as it is in college baseball — once every ten years or so a major league pitcher throws an intentional ball too close to the plate and the hitter smacks it for a hit. There is also a chance a pitcher could throw a wild pitch or the catcher suffer a passed ball during an intentional walk

Other drawbacks to the intentional walk are that it can throw the pitcher out of rhythm and that it could motivate the next batter up, who might feel like he had been disrespected.

Left-handed specialist
Left-handed specialist are typically relief pitchers who come in to face left-handed hitters. The most extreme of these specialists are called LOOGYs (Lefty One-Out GuY.) Since left handed hitters are less likely to face left handed pitchers than right handed hitters right handed pitchers most lefty hitter struggle against lefty pitching. This makes the strategy of subbing in a left-handed pitcher — even if just to face one left handed batter — generally sound. Of course the other team can counter by pinch hitting a righty for the left hander.

Hitters can be left handed specialist too, and they would come in to pinch hit against a right handed pitcher. Just like in the reverse scenario, the opposing team would have opportunity to counter this move with a same handed pitcher.

Outfield positioning
Outfield position is dictated by the batter at the plate and the stage of the game. Outfielders will be set back if a power hitter is up, and moved in when there is a slap hitter at the plate. A player who tends to pull fly balls will have the outfielders shift over toward the batter’s side of the plate, and against an opposite field hitter the outfielders will move away from the hitter. The amount of shifting each outfielder does in response to a batter is rarely uniform, and the differences in how much each outfielder shifts from his normal position should be based on more intricate batter tendencies.

Less batter-specific shifts include moving the outfielder’ slightly in when there is a runner on second base. This is so they have a better chance of throwing him out at home on a single. A “no doubles” outfield defense is employed late in games — typically when a team is tied or ahead by one — and it has the outfielders sanding almost against the wall so that no balls can make it into the gap. Another extreme outfield alignment is pulling the outfielders all they way in in the bottom of the ninth when the game winning run is on third with less than two outs.

Pitching around
The strategy of pitching around a batter is employed in the same situations where an international walk would be an option. But instead of tossing four intentional balls the pitcher tries to bait the hitter into swinging at bad pitches.

The inherent risk of this strategy is that a pitch isn’t bad enough and it gets struck for a hit. Deliberately having a pitcher miss his typical spots can also be bad for the hurler’s rhythm, and this is a strategy that should only be trusted to pitchers who have good control and don’t get flustered on the mound. If the hitter being pitched around runs the count to 2-0 or even 1-0 it isn’t uncommon for the pitcher to change tactics and finish the at-bat off as an intentional base on balls.

Platooning
Platooning is a strategy in which two players — usually one right handed and one left handed — share a position. They key to a good platoon is having players with opposite platoon splits, meaning they hit one handed pitcher much better than the other handed pitcher. Platooning has fallen out of vogue somewhat over the last few decades, although the Philadelphia Phillies of 1993 and the Oakland As of 2012 and 2013 were teams that successfully utilized multiple platoons.

It’s much rarer, but another type of platoon could be between a speedy player and a power hitter, with the speedy player getting the nod when a team plays in bigger ballpark. This type of platoon would work best for outfielders because that type of park based rotation would achieve both an offensive and defensive advantage. While it’s not typically thought of as a platoon, having one player consistently defensive replace another in the late innings of games in which their team is ahead is essentially a platoon.

Run and Hit
Run and hit is strategy in which a player attempts to steal a base but instead of the batter taking a pitch for him he has the option of swimming. This is different from a hit and run, in which the base runner takes off after the pitch is in the air and the runner is obligated to swing at the pitch.

The benefits of a run and hit are that one of the middle infielders will be out of position if a batted ball is put into play, there is less of chance of a double play if a batted ball is grounded at an infielder and if the batter hits a single the runner on first should be able to make it to third.

he drawback to the strategy is that a line drive will lead to a double play. The runner also has a chance to be thrown out stealing, so a run and hit should only be attempted when the runner on first is a trusted base stealer.

Stolen base
A stolen base occurs when a player successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate. Second base is the most frequently stolen base, but many base stealer will say third is actually the easiest base to swipe. Steals of home plate are very rare.

The popularity of the stolen base as a strategy ebbs and flows over time in fairly direct correlation to the number of runs being scored. This is because it is a “small ball” strategy including stolen bases works better in a 2-1 game than it does in a 7-5 one. Also, with Sabermetricians beating the drum about the high cost of having a player thrown out on the base path, these days if a player isn’t successful stealing at least 75 percent of the time they will probably be told to stop running by his manager.

Variations of the steal include the double steal, involving two base runners, and the delayed steal, in which the base runner doesn’t take off until the pitched ball is in the air in an attempt to lull the defenders into complacency.

Taking the first pitch
Taking the first pitch is a hitting strategy in which the batter decides not to swing at the first pitch of the at-bat no matter where it is located. By doing so, he is hoping to go ahead in the count 1-0, which gives him a big advantage over the pitcher.

The flipside is going down 0-1 on a hittable pitch. Batters who employ this strategy typically have above average bat control and don’t mind hitting behind in the count. Hall of Famer Wade Boggs is the most famous adherent to the taking the first pitch technique, and of current players the strategy is most associated with Joe Mauer.

Of course Boggs or Mauer or anyone who establishes themselves as a first pitch taker can still try to ambush the occasional first pitch if they want, and that just adds to the cat-and-mouse game between pitcher and hitter.

Wheel play
The wheel play is a strategy used when a defensive team is sure the hitter is going to bunt. During the play the third baseman, first baseman or both charge toward home plate and the middle infielders run to cover the bases that have been abandoned. It is almost always used when a pitcher is at bat.

The wheel play is risky because it takes a lot of timing and has the infielders playing out of their regular positions. There is also a chance the batter will pull back the bunt at the last moment and try to slap the ball over the heads of the charging fielders.

Have you ever noticed that a disproportionate number of Major League Baseball players come from the Atlanta area? Reasons for this over-representation include the Southeast’s warm climate, the Atlanta Braves success during the ‘90s — which encouraged the region’s youngsters to emulate their heroes — and the East Cobb Baseball youth facility in Marietta, Georgia.

Located on 4617 Lee Waters Rd in the Atlanta suburb, East Cobb Baseball is a sprawling multi-million dollar 30 acre campus with eight baseball diamonds and many outdoor and indoor hitting cages. The complex also features meeting rooms, offices and even living quarters for out of town players and their families.

The project was the brainchild of entrepreneur Russ Umphenhour. He had been impressed with the way the East Marietta squad had won the Little League World Series in 1983, and also impressed with Guerry Baldwin, who was one of their coaches. So he poured in an estimated ten million dollars into developing East Cobb Baseball, and then had Baldwin recruit area youth and high school coaches to staff the facility.

East Cobb baseball hosts events throughout the year, including wood bat tournaments, and competitions involving various youth age groups.

But things really heat up at East Cobb during the summer months. It is then players between 7 and 18 try out for teams. Most players end up being placed, and each age group usually has at least ten teams. The best players in each age group are on the East Cobb Astros.

Also during the summer the facility hosts players between the ages of nine and 14 from all over the country in the Travel Ball National Championship, which takes place over three four day events in July.

Another big summer event is the Perfect Game USA sponsored tournament for high school aged 17-and-under and 18-and-under teams, which generally draws more than 100 squads. This event typically has a very heave presence of Major League scouts.

Because of everything going on at East Cobb Baseball, an area kid has the chance to play up to 60 highly competitive games a summer at the facility, which gives them a leg up on players from almost anywhere else in the nation.

Atlanta Braves coach Al Goez explains: “When you look at an East Cobb kid, you’re looking at a kid that has played so much baseball that his skills and mechanics are better than a kid, say, from south Georgia or from Florida that has not played that much.” Teams from the East Cobb have won 199 national championships in various age groups.

Over 30 East Cobb players have made the Major Leagues, including 2013 All-Stars Buster Posey, Domonic Brown, Brian McCann and Brandon Phillips. Here is a list of current and prominent East Cobb Major Leaguers:

Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves
Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves
Stephen Drew, Boston Red Sox
Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants
Domonic Brown, Philadelphia Phillies
Ethan Martin, Philadelphia Phillies
Zeke Spruill, Arizona Diamondbacks
Mitchell Boggs, Colorado Rockies
Charlie Culberson, Colorado Rockies
Xavier Avery, Baltimore Orioles
Nick Markakis, Baltimore Orioles
Chad Jenkins, Toronto Blue Jays
Luke Putkonen, Detroit Tigers
Blake Wood, Cleveland Indians
Gordon Beckham, Chicago White Sox
Jeff Keppinger, Chicago White Sox
Brandon Moss, Oakland A’s
Zack Wheeler, NY Mets
Will Smith, Kansas City Royals
David Hale, Atlanta Braves
Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds
Kyle Farnsworth, Tampa Bay Rays
Dexter Fowler, Colorado Rockies
Jeremy Hermida, San Diego Padres
Kris Benson, retired
Adam Everett retired