Are You Recruiting for a Complete Staff?

Total Reading Time: 6 minutes

In this issue we’ll dive into how to recruit to make sure you have a complete staff along with lessons from the Apple store … My passion is helping people and I hope this newsletter helps you be a better pitching coach!

Are You Recruiting for a Complete Staff?

We’re all recruiting our brains out every weekend, looking for that next great flame-throwing riseballer that’ll take us to the Promise Land.

But those are few and far between, and they’re gobbled up by those few teams not named “our school”. So then what? Keep looking? Settle for “she looks pretty good”… you know how it goes.

I’m suggesting a different approach, one that’s specifically created for your staff’s success over the long-term of your season.

Thanks to my friend Nate Walker (DiamondSolutionsLLC.com), who says you must recruit to this truth about your Pitchers. Each season:

• 1 Pitcher will UNDERPERFORM

• 1 Pitcher will GET TIRED

• 1 Pitcher GETS HURT

And you’re lucky if only 3 of your pitchers go through this…So you need to plan to always have 4 useable pitchers! Especially in today’s offensive-heavy climate, where a complete game is a rarity. What’s more common is clearing your bullpen simply to survive the game.

To start your “Recruiting for a Staff” approach look at what you already have. Let’s say you already have 1 good RH Riseballer, 2 good RH Curveballers, and a RH Screwballer.

It looks like this:

The goal of every game is to get through 7 innings - 21 outs - with pitching that matches up against your opponent. But in today’s game, data is everywhere, so use it to position your pitchers in as strong a combination for those 21 outs as often as possible.

When looking at the above graph of Your Current Pitchers, your data tells you that:

• Your Riseballer is good for about 9 outs - this comes from a combination of her speed and her movement (plus you can track this from simply charting at what point in the game she starts getting hit vs swings/misses and outs)

• Curveballer 1 is a 3-6 out pitcher

• Curveballer 2 is closer to a 3 out pitcher

• and your Screwballer is a 3-6 out pitcher

Instead of getting mad or bummed out at the fact that none of them are 18 to 21 outs pitchers, look at the Outs equation: you need 21 of them, but they all don’t have to come from 1 pitcher.

Your current staff has roughly 24 Outs worth of pitching - until you consider Nate’s warning: 1 will UNDERPERFORM, 1 will GET TIRED and 1 GETS HURT. If your 3-6 Outs pitchers suddenly struggles getting through 3 innings, and your 9 Outs pitchers gets Tired, well - you don’t have enough arms to get your 21 Outs.

So here are some IMPORTANT RECRUITING PRINCIPLES to keep in mind:

1. Never Underestimate the Power of Average - you don’t need to keep searching for the fireballer with 3 great pitches, when you can win with pitchers that fill the holes in your staff - pitchers that fill the valleys you have in number of outs, pitcher type, and depth.

2. Find 1 Unique Quality - Is it speed? Great movement in the direction you don’t have much of? Pinpoint control and longevity outs-wise? Finding someone with all of these is often a waste of time when you could find 1 of each and go a long way to completing your staff. Plus, the financial value of this type of pitcher allows you to acquire more of them.

3. A Run Saved Is a Run Earned - Keeping the opponent from scoring a run is the same as you scoring one (without having to do so). Value the pitcher who can save a run, it doesn’t need to be 4 runs. But 4 pitchers in a game that save 1 run each accomplishes the same objective.

4. Avoid “Projects” At All Costs - We’re teachers at heart and we love to think we can “fix” a pitcher. It’s a challenge to us. But you need to find pitchers that can contribute within their first 2 years, not projects that are forever in the building or rebuilding stage.

5. If They Need Help, It Needs to Be In Your Wheelhouse - What I mean is if you’re considering a pitcher who has the movement that fits your staff needs, but she needs to gain 3-4 mph to be effective in your conference, and your strength isn’t adding velo, then this won’t be the pitcher for you.

6. They Can’t All Throw the Same Speed - We’re all after that kid that throws 70. And while that’s an awesome weapon to have on your staff, if every one of your pitchers throws 70 then your opponents no longer have to adjust to different speeds and over a 3 game series, or even a close 7 inning game, your advantage is lost.

7 Lessons the Apple Store Can Teach Pitching Coaches

No, this isn’t a joke…

Recently I had to take my iPhone into the Apple Store to get the camera fixed, and since I live in overpopulated Southern California, I had to make an appointment.

Right away they welcomed my problem and were “happy to help me”. While this seems like it isn’t a big deal, it immediately gave me confidence by making me feel comfortable.

Imagine how things could change for our pitchers if we responded to their issues like the Apple Store - we see them as broken phones and we’re the Apple Store genius that’s there to help them.

The technician who met me shortly after walking in stayed with me when my scheduled technician (they call them Apple Geniuses) came over, and they tag-teamed to help me.

It was interesting to see how the salesperson knew stuff that the “genius” didn’t, and visa versa. Neither one was bothered by the other one being there, or by what the other one knew.

In fact, the salesperson said that he doesn’t even own a Mac, that he specializes in the iPhone and the iPad, while my “genius” used to be a BMW mechanic and didn’t know anything about apple products before working there.

They both cooperated to help fix my problem. And even I helped - my role was to identify the problem.

The salesperson poked at my phone from a practical point of view and noticed I had a lens cover on that had cracked. He also showed me some cool camera tricks.

The “Apple Genius” used his mechanical inclination to run a scan on my phone to ensure the issue was actual fixed. He also told me and showed me that I should update to the latest software version.

It all resulted in a pleasant experience and most importantly, a fixed phone.

But it got me thinking about how this experience applies to being a pitching coach, or a coach in general. My key take-aways are:

1. Nobody got mad at me because I had a problem. They kept telling me that’s why they’re here - they’re happy to help!

2. We don’t need to know everything.

3. In fact, we’ll know some things pretty well and barely know other things.

4. We can always benefit from someone else’s help.

5. Relax about the stuff you don’t know - trying to cover it up only makes you more tense and unapproachable.

6. Everybody’s perspective can help solve a problem.

7. You’ll naturally be drawn toward those things that are easier for you and more interesting:

   • The salesperson was drawn to design so he noticed the cracked lens protector and went over camera functions.

   • The “genius” was drawn to mechanical things so he scanned the inner workings and operational aspects.

   • And I was drawn to the fact my pictures were screwed up - so even I played a key role (as will each of your pitchers).

While it might sound like I’m trivializing this comparison, both my phone and our pitchers are VITAL to us. When either are broken it’s bad. But that doesn’t mean we have to respond like the end of the world. Our response is a critical piece of the whole experience - for anxious Apple customers and anxious pitchers.

Hope you enjoyed this Issue. If there’s something specific you want to read about send that to me at [email protected]

See You Next Week!