Which piece of equipment do you think is most important?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Robin Rushing on January 11, 2012 at 11:20am

The proper kind of batting tee for practice.

During game..the right approach in hitting.

                    One play at a time..on defense.

Permalink Reply by John A. Baker on January 11, 2012 at 11:21am

I asked a similar question to a group of pitchers once. Each man took his turn with a short

conference like sit-down, field intro's and such. The one prospect that stuck in my mind, was

the one that responded this way:

I asked: "What's the most important thing that you'll bring to each and every game. ?

His answer: " Coach .... you're looking at it ! ".

My response: " Welcome to the rotation, son."

 

Coach B.

Permalink Reply by dave doucette on January 11, 2012 at 11:27am

i was just going to post "your body"

ya beat me to it :)

Permalink Reply by Jay Wilson on January 11, 2012 at 11:53am

Your body is not a piece of equipment.

Permalink Reply by Ted Browne on January 11, 2012 at 9:24pm

Mine is...265 pounds of Twisted Steel...

Permalink Reply by Jay Wilson on January 11, 2012 at 11:28am

Baseball players should sleep with their baseball gloves because that is the most personalized piece of equipment that they purchase.  However, what makes a player perform with confidence and at his out right potential is the over-all look and feel of his uniform and that special feeling you get when you know you look good and everything fits perfect.  Shoes also are important to performance.  They need to be light and fitted properly.  At the age of 13, my son got some new shoes from the company that sponsored our travel team.  He seemed slow and we could not figure out the problem until he opened his mouth and said his shoes were a little big.  We then got the right size and he looked faster and people commented on the difference.  I was to embarrassed to tell them we got him the wrong size cleats.  Looking good in a baseball uniform gives a person the same feeling that they get when they dress up and people compliment them on their appearance.  So, after the glove it is the entire uniform ensemble.   

Permalink Reply by Brian Scott Holman on January 11, 2012 at 11:49am

As a former pitcher, I think the best piece of equipment you can get for a pitcher to use for conditioning his lower body, core, and cardio is the PowerSlide or Slide Board. This is used by hockey players. We used this all the time in the Mariner organization during my playing days in the late 80's and early 90's. We had some pretty good pitchers on our staff at that time. We worked our tails off on this thing. During games we seldom got tired and threw lots of complete games. It is the exact side to side motion a pitcher needs to strengthen the muscles he uses in his lower half when throwing a baseball. I HIGHLY recommend this. And by the way, I get zero financial compensation for endoesing this. :-) Just a great workout. Brian Holman

Permalink Reply by Kip Gross on January 11, 2012 at 1:58pm

Brian, 

it is a great piece of equipment for not only your lower half but cardio as well. I used it many times. Another I not only used but still use is the Versa Climber, it's not hard on your joints but wow, what a workout. I bought mine in 1994 and took it to Japan with me and used it almost every day for about 20-30 minutes. I remember watching Orel Hershiser put on his Walkman and using the Versa Climber in between starts, he would alter his stride throughout the workout and he got me hooked. 

Also, the Power Slide uses a lot of the same motion a pitcher needs to throw a baseball.

And I WISH I was getting financial compensation for both but I am not either. 

Permalink Reply by Ted Browne on January 11, 2012 at 9:36pm

If you have a hardwood, sealed cement, or tile floor, you can do the same thing with furniture moving disks with a velcro strap hot glued to the bottom and then strap them on your sneakers.  Get a 2x4 cut/formed into a 2 1/2' by ?? rectangle (long enough to fit against a baseboard).  Use one baseboard as the anchor point and the opposite wall's baseboard with the rectangle against it for the other.

Wouldn't it be cool to have an xbox kinect conditioning game using something like this?

Permalink Reply by Kip Gross on January 11, 2012 at 11:17pm

That would be cool. And you can get the slides for about $100 on eBay.

Permalink Reply by Will Laurence on January 11, 2012 at 12:19pm

I'll agree with many who say that your body is most important.  Don't forget about your brain either.  Baseball is a thinking man's game.

For me it's the baseball glove.  Bats break and lose pop over time. Batting gloves wear out quickly, as do spikes.

You can have your glove for years and years and years if it's taken care of. It becomes a part of you. I've seen very tough guys cry when a glove was lost and fights break out when a prank was played involving someone's glove.

Only other serious ballplayers understand the bond between a player and his glove.

Permalink Reply by Kip Gross on January 11, 2012 at 1:51pm

The single most important piece of equipment any ball player can have is knowing the fundamentals of the game and being prepared. That goes for not only players but coaches and managers as well. 

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