SEMI RANT I have been reading INSIDE THE BOX by David Epstein. It’s about how constraints are not obstacles to creativity and performance—they are often the very conditions that produce them. In today’s game of baseball we have all kinds of data to help us develop players or at least to evaluate our processes because we are able to quantify the outcomes. Take pitchers & pitching coaches for example. Some become overly reliant on the data. If they don’t have their Trackman data, their Edgertronic videos & KineTrac graphs they are often at a loss in the development process. My suggestion is restrict( constrain) the use of all those aids during a % of the development process in order to force the coaches & players to become more creative. As a coach, be able to evaluate ball flight/shape by using your eyes. Same for the pitcher’s movement pattern(s). Same for pitchers but also more in touch with FEEL(Kinesthetic Awareness). You MIGHT come up with some training methodologies that you would not have when you just lean on the data. This is not a revolutionary concept & I think many of the best players & coaches follow this path. Obviously this applies to hitters as well. I’m not suggesting that all the tools we have are not valuable because I truly think they are. They reinforce what our eyes tell us & often tell us what we think we are seeing is not really accurate. In the strength field measurable data is invaluable. IMO there is a need for both to maximize the development process & provide for maximum transfer into the game. In the game you are making pitch by pitch adjustments without access to any data so why not make that a part of your preparation plan. Just a thought worthy of considering. The bottom line is to find the sweet spot/balance point in the process to produce the best version of the athlete most consistently.

GREAT CATCHER HOT STOVE SESSION AT THE ABCA 2026 CONVENTION Michael McKenry jw Tom Griffin Xan Barksdale Jack Ferris Butch Chaffin

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