Jason Taulman retweeted
It is better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond.
Malcolm Gladwell
The book Outliers
This is something I would have argued against vehemently but something I have changed my mind on completely over the years.
Long term development is a puzzle that so many simply do not understand.
Searching for bigger and better usually results in diminishing returns.
Players do not have to play on the supposed best team in the best division in the best tournaments or in the best league to develop.
Usually it is the opposite.
They need to play for the right team in the right division in the right tournaments or right league.
The misunderstanding of development is why the transfer portal is absolutely overflowing with kids and parents that bit off more than they could chew.
They were always looking for the glitz glamour and more.
Jason Taulman retweeted
The party has begun! The birthday boy! Ronnie Woo Woo is 85 years young! Old Leather Lungs still has it!
Jason Taulman retweeted
“The future of Baseball is here and it looks a lot like the past”
-- Tom Verducci
40 seconds of profound, and hopefully, Prophetic words of baseball returning to its roots 👇
So well said Tom 👏
@PitchingNinja @MLBNetwork
Jason Taulman retweeted
Interesting observation. The Brewers (almost without exception), seemed to stay within the team colors for all their added gear.
There’s a reason it’s called a UNIFORM. In baseball, your cleats, batting gloves, sliding mitts, elbow guards, and sleeves should reflect your TEAM colors, not draw attention to yourself.
The name on the front matters more than the name on the back.
Look like a team. Play like a team. Win as a team.
WE over ME.
Jason Taulman retweeted
Jeter to Murphy...
“The Brewers play baseball the right way” ….
- Pat Murphy replies … “Guys today don’t understand that!”
We have gotten so far away from center as to what winning baseball is and looks like… the younger generation’s focus is on launch angle, spin rates, velocity and you only win by out slugging the opponent! Basically…. Hit more HR than the other team…. Then pimp the HR.
Well eyes have been opened. They have to be. It’s now a matter of … if pride will keep the other orgs from following. If they do… our game will skyrocket like never before.
It was literally the most beautiful baseball I have seen at the MLB level … electric!
@MLBNetwork @MLB @MLBONFOX @nextlevelbb
Jason Taulman retweeted
The majority of MLB owners and general managers have no idea why the Brewers are the best team in baseball.
I will give them a hint.
It has nothing to do with hiring Driveline employees.
It has very little to do with data and analytics.
It has a lot to do with real baseball guys and basic fundamentals.
Jason Taulman retweeted
The Brewers are being celebrated like they invented baseball.
They are doing things that have become unusual.
They have an old school tough manager who players love playing for.
They focus on basic easy to understand basic fundamentals.
They have a hitting coach that was an overachieving player for skill that played in the big leagues.
They hit the ball the other way.
They value putting the ball in play.
They adjust their approach based on situation and count.
They are not addicted to exit velocity and launch angle bullshit.
They bunt and steal bases.
They do not have selfish superstars that need to be treated like celebrities.
The Brewers simply play the game how it was meant to be played.
Jason Taulman retweeted
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Jason Taulman retweeted
“The one thing that frustrates me about our industry is I don't think we talk about culture enough…”
Former GM Dan O'Dowd lists 6⃣ keys for organizational culture and discusses what Milwaukee and Tampa Bay has built.
Jason Taulman retweeted
If you are a pitcher(Any level), a pitching coach or head coach or manager at any level, this is a MUST read. It was generated by Fred Corral who now works in development for 108 PERFORMANCE in Knoxville.
LETTER FROM “THE GAME”
A Message to the Pitcher
Allow me to introduce myself.
I’ve been around your clubhouse, your bullpen, your dugout—and most of all, your head—for a long time.
I am The Game.
I’ve seen better arms than yours.
Harder throwers. Better stuff. More talent. More opportunity.
And I’ve beaten plenty of them.
Not because they weren’t good enough.
Because eventually, I convinced them to stop doing what made them good.
That’s how I work.
I rarely beat you all at once.
I beat you one decision at a time.
I get you to stop preparing.
I get you thinking about results instead of execution.
I get you worried about velocity, mechanics, the umpire, the defense, your role, your ERA, who’s watching and what happens next.
Anything that takes you away from this pitch works for me.
Because I know something about pitching that sometimes you forget:
You are at your best when you attack.
So I try to make you defensive.
You call it being careful.
I call it winning.
I LOVE FEAR
I love when you fear contact.
When you forget that most balls put in play become outs.
When you start trying to avoid barrels instead of creating outs.
When you nibble.
When you guide.
When you hope.
When you try to make the perfect pitch.
That’s when the hitter becomes the House.
And I have you.
The great ones understand:
FAH: Fearlessly Attack Hitters.
Not recklessly.
Fearlessly.
Know your weapons.
Know the hitter.
Know where damage lives.
Know where chase lives.
Then make your pitch with conviction.
Be the House.
Establish the terms.
I LOVE 1–0
Want to know one of my favorite counts?
1–0.
Because the only path to 0–2 runs through 0–1.
So I whisper:
Be careful.
Feel your way into the at-bat.
Don’t give him anything too good.
Then you’re 1–0.
Then 2–0.
And suddenly you’re throwing what he wants instead of what you want.
That’s why I hate pitchers who understand the value of 0–0.
Win the first pitch.
Win the Race to Two Strikes.
Understand the 1–1 hinge.
Earn leverage.
Then use it.
On or off in three. Put away in four.
I LOVE INFORMATION, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH IT
This is one of my newer tricks.
I give you numbers.
Velocity.
IVB.
HB.
VAA.
Whiff rates.
Chase rates.
Heat maps.
Count tendencies.
Pitch usage.
Matchups.
More information than pitchers have ever possessed.
And information is powerful.
The man with the most information at the end wins—not the man with the most toys.
But here’s how I turn your information against you:
I get you to keep analyzing when it’s time to compete.
I get you thinking about seven possibilities instead of committing to one.
I get you chasing somebody else’s movement profile instead of understanding your own.
I get you staring at the iPad instead of seeing the hitter.
I turn preparation into hesitation.
Paralysis by analysis.
That’s when your greatest advantage becomes mine.
Study everything.
Learn everything.
Know your arsenal.
Know the hitter.
Understand movement, damage, chase, counts and tendencies.
Gather information until it creates clarity.
Then when you step on the mound:
simplify.
The information has already done its job.
Now trust it.
See the target.
Make a decision.
Commit.
Pitch.
The smartest pitcher isn’t the one thinking about the most things when the ball leaves his hand.
It’s the one who used the most information to arrive at the clearest decision.
I LOVE WHEN YOU FORGET WHAT PITCHING IS
Hitters are trying to create timing.
Your job is to disrupt it.
Pitching isn’t owning a collection of pitches.
It’s making pitches work together.
Front to back.
Up and down.
In and out.
Hard and soft.
Run and cut.
Carry and drop.
You aren’t simply moving the baseball.
Jason Taulman retweeted
Most pitchers try to force velocity. I had to learn to do the opposite — almost nothing.
For years I'd lift my leg and immediately attack. Tense up, fire hard, try to muscle through the throw. It felt powerful. It wasn't working.
The breakthrough came when I stopped trying.
I'd lift my leg, put my glove arm up around shoulder height or slightly above, and just... let my body do what it wanted to do. No forcing. No rushing.
What happened next surprised me.
My head naturally hung back over my back hip. I didn't put it there. It just went there. And once it was there, my hips wanted to open on their own. I wasn't driving them — they drove themselves.
That's the key most people miss.
Your head position dictates everything. If your head is forward too early, your hips have nowhere to go. Your body physically can't sequence right. It's not a strength problem or a flexibility problem — it's a geometry problem.
When my head stayed back over my back hip, the only natural path down the mound forced my hips to rotate exactly the way they needed to.
The mound finished the job. I just had to stay out of the way.
Patience is the whole mechanic. Not patience as a mindset — patience as a physical position. Hold your head back, hold your glove up, and let your body follow the hill.
Jason Taulman retweeted
They had an interview with the Brewers Jake Bauers on MLB today. They were discussing watching the game. He said “we have a really smart team. We pride ourselves on watching the game.” I say “if you watch the game, you will never make the same mistake ONCE.” You learn from other people’s mistakes. There are a lot of distractions in the dugout. The iPad may be #1. Don’t get me wrong the iPad is valuable. You just need to find the right time to look at it & strike a balance between the iPad & watching the game.
Jason Taulman retweeted
This should be in every locker room in the country.
Tough ass gamers can beat the hall of famers.
Pat Murphy is a JYD and his team took on his personality and not the personality of the data nerds in the office.
The people that say the Brewers are a data and analytics organization have no idea how valuable toughness and resilience and basic fundamentals are in competitive athletics.
They also do not understand team chemistry is built with the demand of accountability from the manager and coaches and most importantly players.
Brewers Ball is real baseball because of real baseball people.
“They may have a bunch of Hall of Famers, but we have a bunch of gamers. And the gamers won this week.”
@Brewers manager Pat Murphy after his team swept the Dodgers
Baseball Arm Strength Program, register asap - mailchi.mp/e1c25fd4a1d0/base…
Jason Taulman retweeted
Between the Brewers and the Rays they’re setting an example to everyone else. They’re doing it without money, with fundamentals, defense, pitching and a great manager and pitching coach to lead the guys.
Jason Taulman retweeted
I don’t know how this series is gonna end up but I sure like watching the way the Brewers play the game.
Jason Taulman retweeted
Classic Cubs clips. Bobby Murcer plays small ball and bunts for a base hit. Before launch angles and exit velocity small ball mattered. The fake stat WAR does not reflect small ball. On another note let's make Illinois great again and flip it red.
Jason Taulman retweeted
"The last time I was with the Angels, I was told they weren't even teaching bunting and baserunning in the minor leagues. It was considered superb. Just hit homers."
- @MaddHalos