Baseball Training Essay

In modern day, training for professional athletes has become more advanced. I wanted to look at some of the techniques for training that are used by professional baseball players. The reason that I chose this topic is because baseball is my favorite sport and I thought it would be interesting to see how the professionals train. The spheres that I will focus on for Physical Activity Experience is Health, and the spheres of Scholarly Study that I will be focusing on are History and Motor Behavior. “There’s a power shift underway in Major League Baseball… It’s players becoming faster, stronger and, yes, more powerful through training techniques that grow more advanced every year” (Clark, 1). We have talked about the changes in training techniques,
as well as, changes in technology in class regarding the 100-meter dash, but these advancements in technology and training are relevant in every sport not just the 100-meter dash.
In 2017 the record for the highest number of total combined home runs was set with 6105 home runs (Baseball Reference, 1). This shattered the previous record of 5,693 home runs set in 2000 (Kelly, 1). This shows that there have been changes in training in recent years. It is pretty clear how working out and exercising fits into the sphere of health. Players have to be in peak physical shape to be able to react to the speed of the game, like while batting and fielding ground balls. Some of the exercises performed by MLB players are nothing out of the ordinary and are all exercises that could be performed by the average person at the gym. In the article by Zac Clark he lists some exercises done by MLB players and why they do them. The exercises forward lunge Elbow-to-Instep, which is performed to improve “core stability and range of motion” as well as, “pillar strength and hip flexibility” (Clark, 2). The next exercise is a medicine ball speed ladder drill, which is performed to improve “body control and lateral speed” (Clark, 3). This is helpful for all the quick plays that players have to make on defense. Another exercise used by Major League Baseball players is overhead medicine ball throw. It is performed to reinforce
“the concept of pushing through the ground to generate the force needed to increase velocity” on pitches (Clark, 4). The next exercise is a backward weighted bear crawl. This exercise is performed to help generate force from the legs and transfer it through the core to increase bat speed and power (Clark 5). These are just a few of the exercises performed by Major League Baseball players, some of which are performed to work on a specific muscle group and others to improve overall health and fitness. Health is very important because if they are physically ill they obviously will not be able to perform to the best of their ability and if they are not health in terms of fitness then they will also not be able to perform to the best of their abilities. I think that health and fitness is the most important aspect relating to the performance of a Major League Baseball player because they train their fast-twitch muscles by working out so that they can react to the speed of the game.
There have been a few successful out of shape Major League Baseball players, but a majority of the best players are in peak physical condition regarding their
health. The average Major League Baseball player has changed drastically in the past hundred years. In 1903 the average Major League Baseball player was 5’9” and weighed 178.5 pounds (Weiner, 3).In 2013 the average Major League Baseball player was 6’1” and weighed 207 pounds (Weiner, 3). Some of the reasons for this increased size are “A more diverse player pool to choose from, improved training techniques, performance enhancing drugs, nutrition and genetic makeup” (Weiner, 4). Many of these things were apart of the video that we watched in class. Major League Baseball players today have a lot more time to train and also there is a lot more knowledge of how to train properly. It is obvious nowadays that being a professional athlete you make a lot of money. The average Major League Baseball player in 2012 made a little over $3.2 million this allows players to play baseball year round and not have to have another job in the offseason, instead they can focus on training (Weiner, 2). This has lead to an increase in size and strength of the Major League Baseball players today (Weiner, 2).
An interesting example that this article gives is about Jim Palmer. In 1966, he “helped lead the Baltimore Orioles to a World Series victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Less than a month later, Palmer was back at work—folding clothes, not firing fastballs” (Weiner, 2). So much has changed in the ways that players train since Palmer’s time in the MLB. In my opinion, the changes in how Major League Baseball players train is a good thing because now we get to see players at their peak potential because they can focus all of their energy on baseball and now have to worry about folding clothes in the offseason. The players are becoming more developed I think that it makes it a lot more enjoyable as a fan. This idea that players are becoming more developed because they can focus solely on baseball is related to the next sphere of scholarly study, Motor Behavior. To be a Major League Baseball player you have to be fast, you have to process things very quickly. The average major league pitch takes 0.40 seconds to get to the plate from the mound and in that time the hitter has to determine the type of pitch, determine if it is a ball or a strike, decide to swing or not, determine the speed of the pitch, and then finally go through the motion of their swing if the pitch is a strike (eFastball, 1). Major League players have prepared their entire lives they played baseball when they were kids they went through the stages of Motor Behavior from, Motor Learning, to Motor Control, to Motor development. They trained and practiced for countless hours to get where they are and that is why they are professionals. Since, they are professionals they do not need as much help to see what they are doing wrong or what they are doing right. They have intrinsic knowledge of performance and results. That is what makes them some of the best players in the world. To be a professional athlete you do not only have to be physically fit but you also have to be mentally fit. You need be able to solve problems for yourself. Training and technology have advanced tremendously since the start of the MLB and we are now seeing the best quality of athletes compete in America’s Pastime.