Baseball requires a series of rotational and lateral movements. Therefore, the baseball player needs a strong core to generate rotational and lateral speed and power.
The physical demands of baseball are: starting ability, acceleration, stopping, cutting, stride rate, stride length, sprinting form and speed endurance.
Most explosive movements occur after some other movement (swinging, sliding, etc.). Maximum velocity is rarely reached except in the case of hitting a triple, inside-the-park homerun or running down a long fly ball. Therefore, starting ability and acceleration should be emphasized during training.
Major League Baseball scouts use these drills/exercises/sprints (among others) to test a player's speed, agility, acceleration and power:
30 and 60 Yard Sprints - The bases are 90 feet apart (30 yards). Scouts routinely time a player's speed from home to first base during an at bat or from home to second base on a double.
Running from home to first base in under 4.0 seconds is exceptional (especially for a right-handed batter). Times of 4.1 - 4.4 are more common.
A major league average time for the 60 yard dash is 7.0 seconds, 6.5 - 6.8 seconds is good and 6.2 - 6.4 are great times.
Vertical Jump - The height of your vertical jump shows the amount of power in your lower body. A high vertical jump is also an indicator of great speed. A vertical jump of 35 is good and any jump 40 or above is exceptional.
Medicine Ball Rotational Throw - This exercise is a good indicator of core strength---especially the critical rotational power needed for baseball (swinging, throwing, etc.).
20 Yard Shuttle - This drill tests agility, explosion, postural control and quickness at high speed. The best players cover the 20 yard shuttle in about 4 seconds or less.
In the following parts of this article series, I will show you how to improve your performance in these drills and exercises. If you do this, it will improve your game on the field.
General Core Strength, Part 3
General Strength and Conditioning, Part 4
Infielders and outfielders, Part 5
Read Part 1 Of The Baseball Article Series
Download your FREE All-Star Baseball Power Workout Manual and improve your strength, power and explosiveness on the field!
Other things being equal, a muscular, powerful athlete will outperform a fat, slower or skinny, weaker athlete. Sports Fitness Hut's Fat Blaster Athletic Power Training System will give you your "lean and mean" athletic machine!
Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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Awesome stuff!
ReplyDeleteNothing beats training the core - the area where ALL movement begins.
Athletes wil become quicker, faster, jump higher, improve balance and drastically increase their power by training the core.
In good health,
Barry
www.corepowerforbaseball.com
Thanks for the visit and comment Barry! I will check out your site!
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