Posts by Marty Schupak

“The sounds, the smells. Did you ever hold a ball or a glove to your face?”            Ray Liotta aș Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams      Some major league baseball players have used the same gloves for years. This, despite having lucrative contracts with glove companies that provide freebies…

  When a parent becomes a t-ball coach, mostly it is usually the first time they dip their toe coaching a youth sports team. Some will take to it right away; others will struggle as to what needs to be done. Here are ten things all new t-ball coaches should do from an organizational standpoint.…

 Player development in youth baseball can also be part of team and league development. Years ago when I first became manager of the 9 & 10 year olds in our league, it was a rude awakening. This particular league was the first real competitive league for me, full with playoffs and an All Star team.…

  On April 13, 2019 Angels’ Justin Bour got a hit on a liner down the right field line. He rounded first with a wide turn but went back and the throw from right fielder Ben Zobrist hit off of Bour’s foot. Bour got up and tried for second. Catcher Wilson Contreras hustled down the…

 This article will address what a typical t-ball practice may look like. Everything is a suggestion and the head coach should have his practice written out before ever taking the field. With all the modern technologies available to us such as smart phones, i-pads etc. my choice to have my practices written out has always…

 One thing I learned in my 25 years coaching youth baseball is that there is no perfect way to coach hitters. I never considered myself an expert at teaching young 7-12 year-old ball players the most refined hitting techniques. The most success I’ve had with improving hitters’ techniques is when I didn’t over coach them.…

    If you ever attend a national baseball or softball convention, one interesting part of it is the display tables. Besides the large companies that manufacture pitching machines, batting cages, bats and more are the smaller tables with the individual entrepreneurs. Your heart has to go out to these people who are trying to…

  When I began coaching my kids in youth baseball, I could not wait for the next season to start. It was only two years into my coaching career that I suggested starting a Fall league while I was on the board of directors. I learnt quickly that being part of any decision making group,…

  Growing up in New York I began a love affair with baseball that has not stopped. There were a combination of influences. My grandfather was a huge baseball fan. He lived and died first with the Brooklyn Dodgers and then the New York Mets. I was at his apartment in Brooklyn every Sunday either…

  Branch Rickey was a baseball player and executive who is probably best remembered for breaking the color barrier signing Jackie Robinson. This was his greatest feat but if you look closely at the man himself, it is incredible what an innovator he was. Rickey was born in Portsmouth Ohio. After high school he went…