fall issue

FA L L I S S U E

IN THIS ISSUE:

WILLIE RANDOLPH:THRIVING IN A COACHING ROLEPAGE 8

OLYMPIANSCOMING TODIAMONDNATIONPAGE 14

PATRIOTSWIN 5THCHAMPIONSHIPPAGE 34

JACK CUSTTALKSABOUTHITTINGPAGE 20

DIAMOND NATION MAGAZINEFLEMINGTON, NJ 08822

PUBLISHERERIC CITRON

CREATIVE DIRECTIONISLAND COAST PRODUCTIONS

HEAD WRITERBEN MASUR

PRINTINGHAIG GRAPHICS

TO ADVERTISE CALL908.455.1613

CONTENTSDIAMOND NATIONM A G A Z I N E

Diamond Nation Magazine is de-signed as a resource guide for thebaseball community. Its intent is topresent all types of businesses thatcater to families. When you purchaseor utilize a product or service that yousaw within the pages of DNM letthem know you found it in DiamondNation Magazine. Thank You!In order to provide the Diamond Na-tion Magazine free to consumers thatadvertisements and this publicationare paid for by the advertisers. Unlessspecially noted, no services, ideas,columns or concepts in Diamond Na-tion Magazine are endorsed by thepublisher. Diamond Nation Maga-zine reserves the unrestricted right torefuse, edit or otherwise alter any ad-vertisement submitted for publication.All information in the magazine iscopyrighted, including the text, thelogo and the layout. All the content ofthe magazine or the website www.diamondnation.com may not becopied or distributed without the writ-ten consent of the publisher. The pub-lisher of the publication does notwarrant or make any representationsconcerning the accuracy or reliabilityof the information contained herein.For information about having Dia-mond Nation Magazine distributed inyour location or to advertise or submita story contact 908-455-1613.

6 WILLIE RANDOLPH A Life In Baseball

8 WILLIE RANDOLPH Thriving In The Coaching World

10 THE OLYMPIANS ARE COMING

12 SIDE OF THE FENCE Softball Rule Change

14 FINCH’S ACES

16 THE NPF

18 STRENGTH & CONDITIONING Tony Tierno N.D., C.P.T. C.S.N.

22 PLAYER PROFILE - JASON KNAPP

24 HITTING WITH JACK CUST First Of A Four Part Seriess

28 CATCHING - TRAVIS ANDERSON 30 CATCHING SCHOOL

32 SOMERSET PATRIOTS WIN #5

34 SCOTT BRADLEY

38 PROBLEMS WITH YOUTH ARMS Rick Peterson & Gary Armida

40 SOMERSET LITTLE LEAGUE

44 WOOD VS. METAL

46 SPORTS MEDICINE John P. Kripsak, DO

48 PLAYER PROFILE - EVAN DELUCA

50 DN SITS WITH JENNIE & JACK

54 DN BOOK CLUB

57 AFTER THE GAME

58 HALL OF FAME NEWS Modern Medicine

58 HALL OF FAME NEWS 90 Fot Thieves

66 MUSCO LIGHTS UP DN

68 WINTER LEAGUE

elcome Back…

Well, it’s been a month since our last issue of Diamond Nation Magazine premieredand we have had tremendously positive feedback from countless numbers ofpeople. It is always gratifying when you work hard on a project and people thatyou never met come up to you and tell you how much they enjoy it.

Looking back over the last month, we had some weather challenges, but still man-aged to get in most of the games. The high point for us at Diamond Nation had tobe the Jennie Finch Aces Invitational on October 10 and 11. It was a tremendoussuccess as Jennie was here. She signed autographs, posed for photos and evencoached one of the Aces games. We were doubly lucky to have Jack Cust returnfrom the Oakland A’s and spend the weekend with us. Although he is a constantpresence here, the players and coaches were seeking out photos and autographsall weekend long.

Now that we are in November, most athletes have hung up their gloves for the win-ter and look forward to some rest or picking up another sport. For those diehardbaseball/softball players who want to continue playing all winter long, you shouldcome to our HealthQuest Sports Dome, the largest amateur sports dome in America.The action inside the dome is nonstop all winter long with baseball, softball andlacrosse. It’s truly an amazing place to be during the cold winter months.

We are also very excited to bring to this area the Jennie Finch Softball Extrava-ganza. This is a two-day event featuring Jennie Finch and some of her fellowOlympic teammates in a coach’s convention and player’s clinic. This is all takingplace inside our dome on December 5 and 6. For more information, go towww.diamondnationconvention.com.

We are thrilled to have brought you our cover story on Willie Randolph. You canlook forward to many more exciting feature stories throughout the upcoming year.If you have an interesting story you would like us to consider for publication, dropus a line at: [email protected] value your input!

Also, make sure to check out the Diamond Nation Magazine blog athttp://blog.nj.com/diamond_nation/index.html. It will link you to stories from themagazine as well as other stories going on in the baseball and softball world, atthe amateur and professional level. It will give incite to what is going on aroundDiamond Nation and will hopefully spark a discussion on current baseball/softballevents and issues.

Time to get ready for the holidays and we look forward to bringing you breakingnews, articles and tidbits all winter long. Remember to visit our website:www.diamondnationmagazine.com to get up to the minute informationon everything that is baseball and softball in New Jersey and the surroundingareas.

Thanks,

Eric CitronPublisher

Eric Citron

W

Willie Randolph grew up in Brooklyn,NY and graduated from Samuel J. TildenHigh School before being drafted by thePittsburgh Pirates in the seventh round ofthe 1972 Draft. He made his MajorLeague Debut three years later and wasat the age of 21 the sixth-youngestplayer in the National League. Over thecourse of his 18-year playing career, hewould play for six teams but was bestknowna for his 13 seasons with the NewYork Yankees (1976-88). When Ran-dolph’s playing career was over, heranked fifth in Major League history ingames at second base (2,152), ninth inputouts (4,859), seventh in assists(6,336), eighth in total chances(11,429) and third in double plays(1,547).

In December 1975, Randolph wastraded by the Pirates with Ken Brett andDock Ellis to the Yankees for DocMedich. In 1980, Randolph led theleague in walks (119) and was secondin the AL in on base percentage (.427),eighth in stolen bases (30) and ninth inruns (99) and won the Silver Sluggeraward at second base in the AL. In1987, he batted .305 and led theleague in at bats per strikeout (18.0),was fourth in the AL in OBP (.411) andninth in walks (82). He also batted .366in tie games and .345 in games thatwere late and close.

The following season, he was signed asa free agent with the Los AngelesDodgers. Then in May 1990, he wastraded by the Dodgers to the OaklandAthletics for Stan Javier. In 1991, he

signed as a free agent with the Milwau-kee Brewers. That year, Randolph wassecond in the AL in OBP (.424) and thirdin batting average (.327). In Decemberof that year, he signed as a free agentwith the New York Mets. And in 1992,at 37 years old, he was the eighth-oldestplayer in the NL. In his last career gamewith the Mets, lifelong second basemanJeff Kent moved to what has been hisonly career start at shortstop to allowRandolph to play his final game atsecond base.

After all was said and done as aplayer, Randolph was a six-time All-Starselection (1976, 77, 80, 81, 87, 89),two-time World Series champion (1977,78) and won the Silver Slugger Award(1980).

Randolph stayed in the game, becominga Yankee base and bench coach for 11seasons, where he won four more WorldSeries championships (1996, 98, 99,2000). In 2004, Randolph was namedthe Mets manager for 2005 season.Randolph ended his first season as man-ager with an 83-79 record, the first timethe franchise had finished above .500since 2001 and 15 games better thanthe previous season. The followingseason, Randolph managed the Mets toa league-best 97-65 record and the NLEast Division title (the team’s first divisionchampionship since 1988). The Metscame within one game of reaching theWorld Series, losing the seventh gameof the NLCS to the eventual worldchampion St. Louis Cardinals.

WILLIE RANDOLPH

FOR ADVERTISING CALL: 908.455.1613 . ON LINE: WWW.DIAMONDNATIONMAGAZINE.COM6

-A Life In Baseball-

For Your Next Real Estate Transaction, Put Us On Your Team!

CORTES AND HAY, INC.TITLE INSURANCE AGENCY OF NEW JERSEY

ABCO OF NORTHAMPTON, LLCTITLE INSURANCE AGENCY OF PENNSYLVANIA

WWW.CORTESHAY.COM

464 NEWARK STREETHOBOKEN, NJ 07030(201) 714-7900

110 MAIN STREETFLEMINGTON, NJ 08822

(908) 782-8850

101 SOUTH 3RD STREETEASTON, PA 18042(610) 258-6208

ExperienceProfessional

Accurate

Randolph was the first manager in MajorLeague history to have his team’s recordimprove by at least 12 games in each ofhis first two seasons. He came in secondplace in the 2006 NL Manager of the

Year Voting, losing to Florida Marlinsskipper Joe Girardi. The following yearwasn’t as joyous for Randolph, whoseMets lost a seven-game first-place lead tothe Philadelphia Phillies in the NL Eastwith 17 games to play. Then on June 17,2008, Randolph was fired, with the Metsrecord at 34-35, which was 6.5 gamesbehind the Phillies in the division. Afterthe 2008 season, Randolph was inter-viewed by the Milwaukee Brewers fortheir managerial position. He was one ofthe three finalists, but the job ultimatelywent to Ken Macha while Randolph wasgiven the bench coach position.

Next season, Randolph will be joined, ashe was with the Mets, by Rick Peterson,who signed with the Brewers as thepitching coach during the offseason.

Randolph currently resides in FranklinLakes, New Jersey and has four children.

By KEVIN KERNAN

Willie Randolphcontinues to learnand continues topass along the les-sons that weretaught to him bysecond basemenBilly Martin, ChuckCottier and formerNegro Leagues starGene Baker, who

was a coach with the Pirates, Randolph’s firstorganization.

Want to improve your hand speed for hitting anddefense? Randolph has the perfect exercise foryou. It’s how he became the kind of hitter andsecond baseman that played 18 seasons in themajors with four trips to the World Series andtwo World Championships.

“Billy was a fighter and he taught me to hit thespeed bag,’’ says Randolph, the bench coachfor the Milwaukee Brewers. “And I was good atit. You start out slow until you get the feel for it.It’s a tremendous way to improve eye-hand co-ordination as a fielder and a hitter. Not onlythat, it builds strength in your hands and yourwrists and it helps you focus.’’

Randolph learned much from Martin, who wonfour World Championships with the Yankees,playing alongside his good friend Mickey Man-tle. As a manager, Martin, brought the WorldChampionship back to the Yankees in 1977. Hisbattles with George Steinbrenner were leg-endary. “Billy was something,’’ Randolph sayswith a smile. “He had a great passion for thisgame.’’

Randolph retired after the 1992 season. The six-time All-Star played 13 years with the Yankeesafter coming up with the Pirates, but also hadstops with the Dodgers, A’s, Brewers and Mets.He was a Yankee coach for 11 years and be-came manager of the Mets in 2005, leading theMets to within one game of the World Series thenext season. After Randolph was fired by the

Mets in June of 2008, he could have stayedhome and collected a paycheck, but he wantedto get back on the field and took a job with theBrewers last season. The Mets haven’t been thesame since he left. Randolph loves coaching, the one on one workwith the players, and went back to it so he couldbecome a better manager. It will not be too longbefore he gets another chance to manage amajor league team and he is looking forward tothat opportunity. “You keep growing in thisgame,’’ he says. When he arrived at the Brew-ers, Randolph made it a top priority to improvethe fielding of second baseman Rickie Weeksand big first baseman Prince Fielder. “I don’tbelieve in changing styles,’’ Randolph says. “Iwatched Rickie and worked with his style. Iwanted him to understand the rhythm of the po-sition. With him everything was fast speed,when you are an infielder or outfielder you haveto field the rhythm of the position. You have tohave a clock inside you and realize some playsyou have to speed up, some you have to slowdown, you have to let the play materialize be-fore you, and then you react to it. It’s basicallyknowing when to speed up, and slow down,knowing how to charge a slow roller and howto get rid of it. Knowing when to eat a ball andnot go for it.’’ Randolph pointed to the errormade by Angels second baseman Maicer Izturisin Game 2 of the ALCS that gave the Yankees akey victory. Explains Randolph, “I watched thatand said, ‘What are you doing, son, the win-ning run is on second base.’ ’’

Randolph loves everything about Weeks. “He’sgot a football mentality,’’ he says. “When Rickiegot hurt in May it really took away a lot of thepersonality of our team.’’

Fielder is such a slugger that not much emphasiswas put on his defense. Randolph changed thatby bringing a sense of humor to the situation.“With a name like Fielder,’’ Randolph told thePrince of Milwaukee, “How can you not pick it?’’To improve defense, Randolph says, “You haveto learn to dance a little bit. It makes the transi-tion smoother. Then you play and play and play,any type of ball helps you become more athleticand develop that rhythm.’’

WILLIE RANDOLPHTHRIVING IN THE COACHING WORLD WITH THE MILWAUKEE BREWERS


Randolph says it’s imperative that players take“ownership’’ of both sides of the ball. “Princedid that this past year,’’ he says. “In baseball wedon’t do that enough, we just think offense, of-fense, offense. So I try to challenge my playersfrom Day 1 to buy into defense and playing bothsides of the ball, dedicate yourself to your field-ing as much as your hitting.’’

On the offensive side, Randolph likes to start bat-ting practice a certain way. “I very much like itwhen a guy is doing BP that he starts out bygoing from line to line,’’ Randolph explains. “Aright-handed hitter would start by hitting to theright field line and then coming around. Reallywork hard at trying to hit the ball the other way.You also hit through the middle. I think so muchof what hitting is about is strengthening yourhands, wrists and your forearms.’’

There are relative simple ways to strengtheningthose areas, including squeezing hand grippers.“Those are great to use while watching TV,’’he says.

Another fundamental hitting drill that Randolphlikes is “spreading out, a little bit more thanshoulder length, so you feel comfortable, andjust using your hands,’’ he says. “Very littlestride, stretch out your feet, get a little weight

shift, when you rock back on your weight shift,just transfer your weight and use your hands.Those drills always seemed to help me when Iwas really out of kilter. What it does is it helpsyou wait on the ball and you are not as vulner-able to breaking stuff. Spreading out and usingyour hands forces you to get your body out ofthe way.

“Sometimes you can get in a lot of bad habitswhen you start using too much of your body, youjump out, your hips start flying out, your shoul-ders come out,’’ he says. “This way you staysquare to the middle and let the ball travel andjust be quick with your hands and then you geta little rhythm going.’’

You also get a better view of what the pitcher isthrowing you and that translates into more hitsand walks. Randolph led the American Leaguein walks in 1980 with 119.

“I’m not a big tee-guy, I like soft toss,’’ Randolphsays. “When I do soft toss, I like to keep it undercontrol, not swing too hard. You just want to pep-per the ball back through the screen with nicecontrolled rhythm and not trying to hit the ballthrough the net.’’

Then when you’re done, go hit the speed bag.

THE

OLY

MPIA

NS

ARE

COM

ING


INAUGURAL EXTRAVAGANZA

THE OLYMPIANS ARE COMING! THE OLYMPIANS ARE COMING!

Tired of sitting at coach’s clinics bored, listeningto endless power point presentations? How aboutbeing stuck at a hotel or in a conference or ballroom without a softball field insight? Rememberthat time you received instruction on things youalready knew and left complaining how pointlessit was?

Well, worry no more.

On December 5 and 6, Diamond Nation proudlypresents Jennie Finch’s 2009 Softball InauguralExtravaganza. The two-day exhibit show willtake place at the HeathQuest Sports Dome inFlemington, NJ.

Along with Finch, the featured presenters willinclude Doug Finch, the father and pitching coachof Jennie and inventor of the Finch Windmall,Olympic Silver Medalist Andrea Duran and three-time Olympic Gold Medalist Leah O’Brien-Amico .

But they won’t be just standing behind a podium,lecturing you while you try to take notes as fastas possible. There won’t be hand outs of paperswith drills on them that get crumpled or thrownout. The best softball players in the world will beshowing you through demonstration how it shouldbe done. It will be an interactive and engagingexperience. You will be watching Olympians intheir element -- on the field. Coaches will get tosee softball skills, drills and demonstrations in asoftball environment.

More than 65 percent of the population are visual learners. Think of allthe valuable information that gets lost when you are just a non-activelistener. Coaches will have the ability to see what they are being taughtput in motion. And if the coaches want to ask complicated questions,about mechanics for example, will get to see their answers demon-strated so when they relay all of the information back to their team, theywill know exactly what to teach.

The first day will highlight coaching tips through demos of skills and in-structional drills. Some of the topics covered will include new drills andgames to keep practice interesting, how to teach the bunt & slap, what

JENNIE FINCH

ANDREA DURAN

LEAH O’BRIEN AMICO

is glove work and why it’s important, TheBackyard Pitching plan, communicationdrills and reading the play, learning threepitches off one group and Q & A with ameet and greet with the presenters.

The following day will be a clinic just forplayers, whom will break up into groupsand stations and learn; not by watching,but by doing. At the culmination of the day,there will be a Q & A, autograph andphoto session.

All of this will take place in the HealthQuestSports Dome, which is the largest airstructure in the nation and is consideredthe east coast’s premier indoor facility forwinter athletic programs. The approxi-mately 140,000-square-foot, heated domewill allow plenty of room for the clinic.No cramped spaces in hallways or ina gym at a high school. No sitting in

bleachers texting and zoning out.

The Jennie Finch Softball Academy staff willbe on hand to help facilitate the demonstra-tions and the camp. The Finch’s Aces willbe aiding in demonstration and will be at-tending the Player’s Clinic.

The registration deadline is November 30and you can register online at www.dia-mondnationconvention.com. The price forcoaches/adults for the first day is $99 and$49 for students. The price for the Sundayclinic is $99 per player, limited to the first150 only. And all registrants are welcometo return as a spectator for Sunday’s clinic.

The weekend will be brought to you byDiamond Nation, the premier tournamentand training complex for softball in thenation. For more information, check out:www.diamondnation.com.

TIME IS RUNNING OUT...VISIT:diamondnationconvention.com

SignUpToday!

Don’t Miss The Convention of the Year!


SIDE

OF

THE

FENCE SOFTBALL RULE CHANGE

HIGH SCHOOL PITCHING DISTANCE STEMS HOT DEBATE

There are four changes the NationalFederation of State High School As-sociations (NFHS) is making to itssoftball rules for 2010. But there isone in particular that has left the soft-ball community with mixed feelings.Rule 1-1-2b reads: “Changed the fe-male fast-pitch pitching distance to43 feet effective with the 2010-11academic year.”

Although the new pitching distanceis mandatory beginning with the2010-11 school year, NFHS-mem-ber state high school associationsmay adopt the 43-feet distance in2009-10, if desired.

New Jersey was one of those statesthat have decided to make it manda-tory this spring for freshman, juniorvarsity and varsity teams.

“New Jersey had been proposingthis for about eight years and itnever passed,” said Carol Parsons,the Associate Director of the NewJersey State Interscholastic AthleticAssociation (NJSIAA). “Since weplay in the spring, we chose toadopt it for the upcoming season. Ifthe softball season was in the fall,we probably wouldn’t have hadenough time to implement thechange, but since we did have time,it didn’t make a difference if wechose this year or next year so wedecided it was best to start thisspring.”

The number of feet moved back wasbased on what it is at the collegelevel, but matching the high schooland college distance was not thesole reason for the change.

“There were two major things thatplayed into this change,” Parsonssaid. “One was pitchers were be-coming so proficient that it reallywasn’t much of a team sport as the

NFHS had liked. If you had onedominant pitcher, you had a greatteam. The other reason was safety.Pitchers are throwing harder and theballs are coming off the batspowerfully. There is more reactiontime now.”

What the NHFS also likes about therule is that it creates a better balancebetween offense and defense, get-ting everyone involved and enhanc-ing skill development.

“I think it’s long past due, I’m reallyglad to see it,” said Ken Fry, headsoftball coach of the 18U East CoastElite Gold.

Pat Spirito, Amateur Softball Associ-ation (ASA) of New Jersey JuniorOlympic Commissioner polled mostof her travel team coaches whowere also in favor of the change.But she does understand how therecould be some concern amongcoaches.

“A lot of high school coaches havegrave concern about this and how itwill change the high school seasonin the state of New Jersey,” Spiritosaid. “A lot of teams with pitchingtalent at the 40-feet distance maynot hold true now.”

“Pitchers might not put as muchspeed on the ball, but also it will bethat much more distance that pitchercan move the ball around,” saidPete Fick, the head softball coach atHunterdon Central Regional HighSchool. “Now they have a few morefeet to play around with the actionon the ball.”

While Fick was confident in his teambeing able to adjust, a lot ofcoaches have concerns that girlswho are 14 years old will strugglewith the change. Barney Eskin, the

head coach of the 14U Top Gun softball teamisn’t a fan of the rule change for that agegroup.

“At the 14U level, it’s hard enough for them tothrow strikes at 40 feet,” he said. “At 40 feet,girls are walking five batters a game. Thegood pitchers can pitch from anywhere, but ittakes away from the average team. At the 14Ulevel, I think it should stay at 40 feet. Morethan half of the teams don’t have that style ofpitchers.”

Fry, however, disagrees.

“I coach 14-year-old kids and yes, there’s aninitial struggle but repetition, repetition, repeti-tion will improve that,” he said. “It’s not aquestion of not being strong enough; it’s aquestion of working hard on it. It’s a combina-tion of mechanics and finesse.”

No matter what side of the fence you are on,pitchers are going to have to adjust their gamein the coming year.

“I’m going to have to work with them on theirarm strength and changing release points,”

Eskin said. “It’s about control. The worst thingis when you have fielders sitting there while thepitcher is walking two girls an inning.”

“We’re encouraging coaches to get theirplayers in programs this winter before the highschool teams get started,” Spirito said.“Address the issue now.”

Here at Diamond Nation, the 16U and 18Utournaments have the pitching mound at 43feet. They are not pushing back the 14Umound until they hear from the ASA.


GOLDENOPPORTUNITIES

MORE THAN JUST SOFTBALL, FINCH’S ACES HELP SHAPE YOUNG ATHLETES

The Pink and Black Provides aGolden Opportunity:

While walking around DiamondNation in Flemington, NJ, you’ll seea group of girls wearing black andpink uniforms. The team stands out,not just because of the colors theywear, but what they represent.

They are the Finch’s Aces at theJennie Finch Softball Academy.

Finch’s Aces provides an excitingand positive learning environment forthe physical, social, and personal de-velopment of young athletes. Thegoal of the program is to help tal-ented student-athletes realize their fullpotential on and off the field, givethem the opportunity to play at thenext level and achieve their ultimategoals.

The Finch’s Aces currently has oneage group, 14U, but this winter, therewill be tryouts for 12U, 14U and16U.

“What we have to offer is a dedi-cated and professional coaching staffcoupled with a state of the art facility-- our Academy provides a softball en-vironment that is unparalleled in theNortheast,” said Kathy Shoemaker,

director of the JennieFinch Softball Academyat Diamond Nation andone of the coaches ofthe Finch’s Aces. “We arelooking for players whodream big, practice hard,want to be the best andwant to play against thebest.”

But Finch’s Aces is morethan just about softball.The program hopes to ad-vance the level of play ineach of its students while

teaching life lessons through softballthat help shape young athletes intoproductive members of society.

“We prepare our athletes to handlesuccess as well as failure, and indoing so teach them how to copewith the realities of life as an adult,”said Shoemaker.

But along with the players, even theadults reverted back to kids when theFinch’s Aces got a chance to meetwith Jennie Finch in early Octoberduring the Finch’s Aces Invitationalheld at Diamond Nation.

At the Invitational, which you canread more about on www.diamond-nationmagazine.com, the Finch’sAces finished in third place with a2-1 record. A great showing in its firsttournament, the girls were more justas focused on what they could gettheir hero to sign. Whether it was atee shirt, softball, picture or evencell phones and ipods, Finch wasswarmed, but was more than happyto sign everything.

FIN

CH’S

ACES

When not pursuing Finch around DiamondNation or getting something signed, all ofthe teams listened and watched Finchteach a pitching lesson. She not onlytalked about techniques and things to doand not to, but talked about her life andhow to not only make girls better softballpitchers, but better people.

Always a hit with fansfrom all over the world...

8 spring street, flemington, njopen sunday and everyday

www.flemingtonfurs.com

(Less than a 5 minute ride from Diamond Nation)

The name Finch’s Aces is really a double enten-dre, not only named after Finch’s son, Ace, butalso because the Jennie Finch Softball Academyis a first-class program.

You can contact the Academy directly to discusshow they can help you reach your full potentialas a top flight softball player at www.diamondnation.com.


5 TEAMS MAKE UP THE NATIONAL PRO FASTPITCH LEAGUE

National Pro Fastpitch (NPF), which wasformerly the Women’s Pro SoftballLeague (WPSL), is the only professionalwomen’s softball league in the UnitedStates.

The NPF is currently made up of fiveteams: Akron Racers, Chicago Bandits,Philadelphia Force, Rockford Thunderand USSSA Pride. There was a sixthteam, the New England Riptide, butthey announced they would not be play-ing at the beginning of the 2009 sea-son, citing economic reason. And 2009was the first year for the Pride, a re-placement for the Washington Glorywho folded outright.

“I find it personally and professionallymotivating to be involved with the foun-dational development of women’s pro-fessional softball,” said Cheri Kempf,Commissioner/President of NationalPro Fastpitch. “Further, at the end of theday, to have been a contributing partin the establishment of another viableprofessional sport option for women,will be something that each owner, staffmember, and player, will always beproud of.”

The idea started in 1989, when formerUtah State University softball playerJane Cowles and her collegiate coach,John Horan, developed a plan for awomen’s professional fastpitch softballleague. Eight years of research andplanning finally culminated in May1997, with the launch of Women's ProFastpitch (WPF).

After completing two seasons as theWPF, officials changed the name to theWomen's Professional Softball League(WPSL) in 1998. Play was suspendedduring the 2002 season to restructurethe organization and allow the leagueadditional time to develop and explorenew expansion markets. On Nov. 21,2002, WPSL announced a rebrandingstrategy and official name change toNational Pro Fastpitch (NPF). MajorLeague Baseball partnered with NPF asits Official Development Partner as a

continuation of MLB's efforts to connectwith female athletes and women ingeneral.

In 2004, the league re-launched in sixmarkets and in December 2004, own-ers of the NPF teams announced a planintended to transition operations of NPFfrom the founding Cowles family to anoperating group consisting of teamowners. The efforts of the new owner-ship group in 2005 focused on solidify-ing broadcast agreements locally andnationally, soliciting sponsorship sup-port and aligning with national soft-ball associations to bring meaningfulcompetition to each team market andvarious grassroots events across thecountry. The group continues to recruitnew teams and strengthen team owner-ship in each market, hoping to continu-ally build the NPF name.

The New York/New Jersey Juggernauttook home Cowles Cup Championshipin 2004, followed by the Akron Racersin 2005, New England Riptide in2006, Washington Glory in 2007,Chicago Bandits in 2008 and RockfordThunder in 2009.

The now defending champion Thunderdefeated USSSA Pride 2-1 in the best-of-three series. The Pride, which wentjust 16-24 in the regular season, tookthe first game of the series before fallingin the next two. While the NPF SpringTraining Camp for all teams doesn’tbegin to mid-to late May, with leagueplay beginning in June, there has beensome offseason news already this fall.The most recent being that two-timeOlympic softball gold medalist CrystlBustos will be the new manager of theRacers. Bustos, who retired as a playerfor Akron over the summer after leadingthe league with a .382 average, is re-garded as the top power hitter inwomen’s softball history.

“The time is now for this league,” saidKempf. “The time is now for profes-sional softball to move to the forefrontand gain the admiration, support, fanfollowing, and worldwide attention thatcomes with any entertainment pro-duct that produces excitement andenthusiasm.”

SOFTBALL

THE NPF

Wins:1. Lisa Norris 122. Catherin Osterman 113. Eileen Canney 104. Sarah Pauly 95. Kristina Thorson 7

Strikeouts:1. Catherine Osterman 1482. Lisa Norris 993. Eileen Canney 984. Sarah Pauly 855. Kate Robinson 77

ERA:1. Catherine Osterman 0.422. Eileen Canney 1.543. Sarah Pauly 2.194. Lisa Norris 2.395. Allison Kime 4.30

BELOW ARE THE LEAGUE LEADERS FROM THE 2009 SEASON:

The Series has been awarded to Sulphur Louisiana and will be held August 26-29 at McMurray Park inSulphur. The event will be hosted by, and with the cooperation of, the Sulphur Parks and RecreationDepartment and the support of the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention &Visitors Bureau.

The top four Team finishers in the regular season League standings qualify for the Championship Series.The format is a best of 3 series between the #1 and #4 seed, along with a best of 3 series between the

#2 and #3 seeds, with the winners of those two series’ facing off in a best of 3 Championship final.This will be the first time the event will be held in the state of Louisiana.

2010 NATIONAL PRO FASTPITCH CHAMPIONSHIP

Average: 1. Crystl Bustos .3822. Amber Patton .3623. Kelly Kretschman .3504. Jackie Pasquerella .3425. Tammy Williams .340

Home Runs:1. Samantha Findlay 112. Crystl Bustos 103. Kelly Kretschman 84. Oli Keohohou 75. Amber Jackson 6

Runs Batted In:1. Samantha Findlay 271. Crystl Bustos 273. Jenny Topping 244. Nicole Trimboli 235. Kelly Kretschman 22

By Tony Tierno N.D., C.P.T. C.S.N.

Director of Fitness and Human Performance HealthQuest Fitness Center.USPF Certified Official.

Part 1: Strength and Conditioning

Baseball and softball are sport’s that requireshort bursts of speed, power and agility. Inbetween these bursts of activity are usuallyrelatively long periods of inactivity. Forexample, a batter at the plate may take anexplosive swing (hip/torso rotation andcore stability) at a fastball and miss. Strikeone! For that at-bat, the athlete may notswing at another pitch for one to two min-utes or even longer. The same is true for thedefensive position players. If they’re lucky,they’ll make a play on a ball (total bodypower, accelerating from a stationary posi-tion) once every five minutes. Even thoughthese bouts of activity are intermittent, theathlete needs to be prepared to swing, run,jump, react, move laterally and changedirections with maximal effort.

You lift weights to improve performance andreduce the risk of injury. All gains devel-oped in the weight room must be functional.If your training program doesn’t help youmove quicker, throw faster, swing harder,and avoid injury, it’s not functional. Don’ttrain for just the sake of getting bigger orstronger. Strength and size without a func-tional purpose are worthless.

Baseball and softball players don’t need tolift huge amounts of weight to be successful.Functional strength and muscles symmetryare more important than absolute strength.

Strength is functional if you can swing thebat with authority, throw with zip, and moveyour body more efficiently. Symmetry im-proves function and helps protect you frominjury. Work to achieve a balance betweenthe muscles on opposing sides of the bodyand between the opposing muscles groups.

How you train, what exercises you do, theorder you do them, how often you work out,how much you lift, how long you rest be-tween sets, and how long you recover be-tween workouts determine whether yourtraining will be useful. Training should bespecific to baseball and softball. The bodyfunctions as a whole, not as the sum of itsparts. In baseball and softball, the “powerzone” includes the hips, legs, trunk, andback. Sport-specific movements (lunges,step-ups, leg curls, calf raises, sit-ups, latpulls, and rowing) should be trained moreoften.

For an athlete to achieve the highest level ofpotential his fitness program should includestrength and conditioning, speed andagility, nutrition and supplementation, totalcore stabilization and flexibility and last butnot least structured rest.

Anyone can play baseball or softball, somehave more talent; others have less. Talent,your genetic potential, is a gift. You can’ttake credit for it. You didn’t earn it, you in-herited it. Being born with talent is like win-ning the lottery. But having talent, even lotsof it, is no guarantee for success. Successdepends on how you use your gift. If youtake it for granted and are content withbeing on a team and making occasionalcontribution, you’ll never achieve your truegenetic potential and be successful.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SPORTS SPECIFIC TRAINING AND NUTRITION

STRENGTH &CONDITIONING


Skills are learned. The mechanics of running,sliding, hitting, fielding, and throwing areskills acquired through hard work, repetition,and practice. Skills, like talent, can affectyour level of success. Poor skills limitperformance. Excellent skills enhance it.

The strength and conditioning program forbaseball and softball is designed to improveperformance and reduce the risk of injury. Toimprove performance you have to increasesport-specific strength, speed, endurance,flexibility, and power. To prevent injuries youhave to condition the total body to performthe explosive and repetitive tasks encounteredin the game. How you train is important. Formaximum results and steady gains, use acomprehensive, year-round program basedon a periodization model that systematicallyvaries the exercises performed, intensity ofthe work, and volume of work done fromweek to week and month to month throughoutthe year.

There is no off season this applies to bothmale and female athletes. A supervised pro-gressive training program should include pre-season, in season and post season phases.The program has to be designed so the ath-lete can move freely and spontaneouslythrough the three planes of motion and fouraxes, in a game or practice situation the ath-lete starts to respond to this action in 1/100of a second. The importance of specializedtraining program that strengthens tendons,ligaments and connective tissue plays a veryimportant role in injury prevention and fasterrehabilitation. Functional training bridges thegap between the training room and playingfield.

Part II: The Female Athlete

Female athletics are increasing in popularityevery day. Because of this, female athletesmust prepare their bodies for the demands oftheir sport just like any other athlete. In myopinion, strength training is the most powerfultraining tool that a female athlete can per-form. Not only does strength training help toimprove their performance, but more impor-tantly, increased strength drastically helps toprevent inherent injury risks in females.

Strength development is especially importantfor females because they have an increased

FOR ADVERTISING CALL: 908.455.1613 . ON LINE: WWW.DIAMONDNATIONMAGAZINE.COM 19

TROY GLAUS OF THE ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

JACK CUST OF THE OAKLAND A’s


risk of ACL tears and knee problems due totheir hip to knee “Q-angle.” A strong“core,” hips, quads, and hamstrings candrastically decrease stress on the knee jointwhen female athletes land from a jump orchange direction on the athletic field.

Females also have an imbalance betweentheir hamstrings and quadriceps. This im-balance is yet another contributor to theirgrowing incidence of knee injuries. Correct-ing this imbalance with proper exercise se-lection is yet another way to drasticallyreduce a female’s risk.

Participating in sports such as softball, fieldhockey, volleyball, soccer and basketballwhere there is a great deal of jumping, cut-ting, twisting, turning, stopping and starting,increases the risks. There are many reasonswhy; conditioning factors, environmental is-sues, neurological and biological condi-tions. Girls need to get stronger, learn howto move in their sport, learn how to jumpand land and run more efficiently.

In 1972, only 294,500 females were play-ing high school sports compared to 2.6 mil-lion males. Thirty-some years later, thefemale and male participation are aboutequal in number on the high school level atabout 2.6 million each.

Of course, with an increase in women’s par-ticipation, there has been an increase inwomen’s injuries. One injury that hasgained the national attention of sports med-icine providers, coaches, parents and ath-letes is the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)injury.

The instability that results from ACL injurycan result in significant knee impairment anddisability. The associated sequela with thisinjury can include meniscal damage, chon-dral surface damage and eventual os-teoarthritic conditions. The economic resultof ACL injury can be staggering. It isestimated in 1995 that the cost of ACLsurgical reconstruction and rehabilitation is$17,000 per injury. It is estimated thatthese injuries can result in a staggeringannual cost today of two-billion dollars.

An estimated 10,000 ACL injuries occurannually in women’s intercollegiate athletics

and another 25,000 occur at the highschool level. Study after study has indicatedthat women suffer ACL injury at anywherefrom 2.5 to eight times more frequently thantheir male counterparts, a truly amazing dis-parity. Most female ACL injuries are non-contact in nature. They usually occur inactivities requiring rapid cutting, pivoting,and decelerating maneuvers. The riskfactors are divided into four categories,anatomical, environmental, hormonal andbiomechanical variables.

Part III: Diet and Exercise

Since the beginning of mankind, the idea ofdiet and exercise has always been in place.From the time when the ancient Greeks andRomans started the Olympic Games, the ath-letes had their own special regimen for greatperformance revealing the importance ofcombining proper nutrition and exercise.Scientists are continually interested in learn-ing more about this abiding subject.

Sports nutrition is the study and practice ofnutrition and diet as it relates to athletic per-formance. Sports nutrition is a science thatproduces or provides and maintains thefood (or dietary ergogenic aids) necessaryfor health, growth and physical per-formance. It deals with nutrients suchas vitamins, minerals, supplements andorganic substances such as carbohydrates,proteins and sugars in serious athletes of allsorts who want to make use of nutritionfor their benefit.

An athlete’s dietary regimen plays a vitalpart in accomplishing his/her goals becauseit allows the athlete to reach his/her maxi-mum performance. An athlete should applythe necessary nutrition in order to benefitfrom training and to maximize his/her ca-pability during exercise and activity. Thus,every sport and type of physical activityvaries in its appropriate diet which benefitsthe athlete. Sports nutrition also consists ofmany different concerns such as the amountof certain foods and fluids one should con-sume that are specific to training. Withoutproper nutrition, the full potential of the ath-lete will not be realized because perform-ance will not be at its peak, training levelsmay not be sustained, recovery from injury

will be slower, and the athlete may becomemore susceptible to injury and infection.

Understanding sports nutrition leads to opti-mal athletic performance and lifetime healthbenefits and can be evaluated by the intakeof certain nutrients and supplements whenexercising. Sports nutrition has many goalsto enhance performance. First, it improvesperformance by improving body composi-tion, which increases speed, quickness, mo-bility, and strength. Second, it will help thespeed of recovery, which in turn createmore capacity for practicing and competi-tion as the body is becoming more fit andadjusted to the coupling of the good nutri-tion incorporated into the workout regimen.Third, it will allow one to increase energyfor both practice and competition, whichwill definitely help one’s performance.Strategic sports nutrition will also increaseimmunity, allowing one to stay healthy andbe able to continue and intensify practiceand training. Most importantly, it will im-prove your overall health as proper healthis essential to all aspects of life.

A proper balanced nutritional program musthave the proper percentage of the threeimportant macro nutrients, protein, carbohy-drates and fat in every meal and snacks. Abalanced sports nutrition program will be re-sponsible for 75 % of your success. Missingmeals will store fat and slow down your me-tabolism. This will greatly affect your per-formance and recovery while raising yourpercentage of risk for injury. You will neverreach your peak performance with poor nu-trition and lack of important vitamins andminerals and hydration. An example I al-ways use is if you were a corvette with ahigh competition horse power engine whatfuel would you put in the tank at the gasstation? Regular or high octane? Answerwould be high octane! If you put regularfuel it will still run but it will run poorly andnot even come close to performing at its op-timal horse power. The same holds true foryour body. You need to fuel with propernutrition. It’s your choice if you want to bean average player or be the best you canbe by combining proper sports relatedtraining and nutrition.


Jason Knapp was taken in the second round, 71st overall,by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2008 Draft, right afterhe graduated North Hunterdon High School. An alumnusof the Jack Cust Baseball Acad-emy and the Diamond Jacks,Knapp is currently taking classesat Glendale Community Collegein Arizona before continuinghis pursuit to get to the majorleagues.

The 6-foot-5 right-handedpitcher hit a small speed bumpin his path, as he underwentarthroscopic surgery in mid-Sep-tember, just weeks after beingtraded to the Cleveland Indiansorganization from Philadelphia.He had planned on beginning his academic journey thisoff season anyway. But shoulder surgery created a situa-tion where he can actually take classes for two semestersbefore reporting to spring training next year.

An MRI detected bone ships in his throwing shoulder andrehabbing will take him deep into the winter before hecan even think about throwing again. So instead of throw-ing away much of his time after rehabbing at Cleveland’sspring training facility in Glendale, he’s beginning to worktoward a degree in either business or marketing.

His professional baseball career began in the Gulf CoastLeague, and this past season he played Class A ball inthe South Atlantic League. He started the year withPhiladelphia’s Lakewood BlueClaws and after the trade --which sent 2008 Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee toPhilly -- Knapp finished with the Lake County Captainsin Ohio.

Combined, Knapp finished 2-7 with a 4.18 ERA in 21starts, struck out 123 and walked 47 in 97 innings. Onlythree games into the year, he had an impressive outingfor Lakewood, striking out 14 while going seven innings.Soreness began to surface later in the season, however,and the diagnosis was tendonitis. Eventually shut down,he was actually on the disabled list when the tradewas made.

“Obviously it doesn’t make me happy,” Knapp said aboutthe interruption of his career. “But stuff like that happens.Things were great up until then. You don’t expect to havesurgery and sit out, but it didn’t surprise me too much be-cause I’m a hard-throwing pitcher. Other than that, I think

this is a minor hiccup and my career will pick back up onthe same track it was. Hopefully I’ll come back strongerthan I started.”

Until he’s back on themound, he’ll be carryingbooks across campus.

“I took an online class lastyear, but I was not a fan ofit,” the 19-year-old said. “Ireally wanted to take advan-tage of the opportunity totake classes in person. Ispoke to the team and theyset things up for me.”

In negotiations with thePhillies, his contract included

a generous package to complete his college degree. “Igrew up in a house where education was always impor-tant,” Knapp said. “It’s just how I was raised -- the sameas my sisters (Tara, 17, and Heather, 9).” Knapp passedup a scholarship to the University of North Carolina lastyear, but he wasn’t choosing professional baseball overa college education. He was choosing pro ball overcollege ball.

“It was a tough decision,” he said about passing up thecollege experience at UNC. “But again, I wasn’t skippingcollege. I just made the decision to skip college baseball.”

His parents, Jeff and Susan Knapp, had no doubts hewould eventually get around to pursuing a college degree.

“I do believe, and my wife as well, that education is animportant ,” Mr, Knapp said. “We did try and reinforcethe importance of focusing and doing the best he can nomatter what he was pursuing, academically as well as ath-letically. I think he may not be giving himself enough creditin regards to his own motivation and commitment.

“He’s always been very capable and now as he’s matur-ing. I think he understands the benefits and value associ-ated with an education. We’re very proud of him, with hislevel of commitment to baseball and academics.”

So where does Knapp see himself after all of this in fiveyears?

“I hope to be in the big leagues, pitching in a rotation andhelping the Indians win a pennant,” he said.

Don’t be surprised if he also has the diploma.

PLAYER PROFILEJASON KNAPP

EDUCATION STILL TOP PRIORITY FOR INDIANS TOP PROSPECT

First of a Four-Part SeriesBy Jack Cust, Oakland A’s

Part I: MechanicsPart II: Approach (Mental)Part III: Hitting for Power to All FieldsPart IV: Dealing with Pitchers

Hitting is a process that takes many years toperfect. You should approach learning how tohit with patience, determination, and an under-standing that failure provides opportunities tolearn from your mistakes. When I was young,my father devised a plan for me that I still useto this day. In fact, it is usedat our academy and has beenthe foundation for success formany of our students.

There are many differentstyles of hitters. Some hit forpower, some hit for average,and exceptional completehitters like Albert Pujols hitfor both. Additionally, thecircumstances of hitting canimpact your approach: hittingwith two strikes versus hittingwith less than two strikes andsituational hitting such as hit-ting a ball to the right side to advance a runneror hitting a fly ball with a man on third to pos-sibly score on a sacrifice fly. Situational hit-ting should be learned after you develop asolid foundation.

We will now discuss developing your founda-tion. Please bear in mind that because of thelimitation on the length of these articles, I can’tgo into as much detail as I would like. Thesewritings are simply an overview that you can

use under the advice and direction of anexperienced hitting instructor.

To be a successful hitter, you must understandthat there are three parts of hitting that must beworked on to enable a player to play and suc-cessfully compete in high school and beyond.

The three areas of hitting that must be masteredto be able to succeed at the highest level areas follows:

1) Physical side of hitting (mechanics)2) Approach to hitting (mental)3) Dealing with the pitcher

A fourth area is hitting forpower to all fields. Playersthat achieve this type of abil-ity are very valuable to theirteam. This will be covered inmore depth in a subsequentarticle.

For now, in this first of fourparts, we will deal with me-chanics, or the physical sideof hitting. When we teach me-chanics, we try to make it sim-ple. With young players, weemphasize that it is important

to understand the proper movements of theirbody. I should point out here that the mechan-ics we stress are designed to ultimately providethe player with the foundation to hit for powerto all fields. We believe this is critical becauseoffense is so important in the game. With theadvent of the aluminum bat, there is no reasonwhy every player with a little strength trainingand good eye/hand coordination should notbe able to drive a ball to any part of the fieldwith power.

JACK CUST OF THE OAKLAND A’s BEGINS A 4 PART SERIES ON THE ART OF HITTING


Hittingwith... JACK

CUST

Mechanics have been taught many differentways by thousands of hitting coaches. Good,knowledgeable hitting coaches say many ofthe same things. However, how they present orexplain a technique can often confuse a younghitter trying to learn. For example, somecoaches like to emphasize the hips or thehands. Our approach deals with how your en-tire body should work to allow you to see theball, hit the ball hard and achieve consistentquality at bats.

We teach the mechanics of hitting by breakingit into three parts: the lower body, upper bodyand swing. Being able to execute the follow-ing is essential to becoming a good hitter.

Lower Body

Balance -- Having great balance is a require-ment of all good athletes. In hitting a baseball,maintaining your balance throughout yourswing is imperative to achieving good results.Think of an imaginary pole running through thecenter of your body that you never want to tiltthroughout your swing.

In order to keep the pole straight, you need

great balance. The easiest way to accomplishthis is to start with your feet being shoulderwidth apart with your knees slightly bent. Youshould also have the weight on the balls ofyour feet and you should bend at the waist ina comfortable athletic position.

Rhythm -- Creating rhythm and movement inyour stance is important and will help you re-duce tension, help to make a proper weightshift and keep you balanced on the balls ofyour feet. It is important that your head remainstill, even though your body and hands mightbe moving. Everyone has a different rhythmand movement and the easiest way to figureout what works for you is to experiment byimitating some of your favorite major leagueplayers.

Weight Shift -- As the pitcher starts to throw theball and extends his arm back, you need toslightly shift your weight to your back foot.Think: “I go back when the pitcher reachesback.”

Stride and Loading Action -- Your stride shouldbe four to eight inches, depending on yourheight and how wide of a stance you start with.

Your stride should start as thepitcher releases the ball and youshould land on the ball of yourfront foot with your front toeclosed. As you stride, you should“load your hands.” This is very im-portant: Loading your handsmeans to pull your hands backslightly at the same time as youstride. You should now be in thelaunching position for a split sec-ond (hands cocked and back, withyour top hand closer to the pitcher,creating a 45° bat angle at theprecise moment your foot lands).Pivot -- Your back foot pivots as youstart your swing. This is commonlyreferred to as squashing the grapeor bug.

Upper Body

Hands -- The bat should be held in the fingersmore than the palms of your hand in an areathat is 4-6 inches off your back shoulder ata 45° angle. Grip should be relaxed andcomfortable.

Elbows -- The back elbow can be either upor down and will depend on your strengthand where you are most comfortable. Thefont elbow must be down and relaxed,which will help you achieve a short, quickswing.

Shoulders -- Front shoulder should be slightlylower than back shoulder.

Head -- Look at the pitcher with a full face,with two eyes on the pitcher and never tiltyour head. Head should start on front shoul-der and stays down on swing and finisheson back shoulder (simply replace shoulders).Think about keeping your nose pointed atthe ball until contact is made. This will helpyou from pulling off the ball.

Swing

Hands -- Hands lead swing keeping barrelof the bat above the ball until contact. Swingshould be short to the ball. Hands are palmup and palm down at contact which allowsyou to create backspin and carry on the ball.

Contact Points -- Your point of contact will de-pend on the location of the pitch. In order tobe able to drive each type of pitch with back-spin, you should strive to make contact at thefollowing points:

Inside pitch -- in front of plateMiddle Pitch -- center of plateOutside pitch -- off your back knee

After contact, continue your swing and makesure the barrel of the bat is extended right atthe pitcher before you finish your swing. Thisis known as extension and is important soyou don’t cut off your swing. After you haveextended your bat, you should followthrough and complete your swing with ahigh finish. If you’re an advanced hitter, tryreleasing your top hand for better extensionand balance.Remember to maintain your head in a goodbalance position. Your body will follow yourhead, so if you move your head, your bodywill get out of balance and cause variousproblems.

I’m sure reading this article can be confusingto some of you and sounds like a lot to ab-sorb. Actually, it’s not. I have to credit mydad for coming up with a simple chart forhitting that we call “one page hitting.” The following template was devised afterstudying hundreds of hitters and reading andwatching most of the video tapes and booksavailable on hitting. Breakdown the areas,work on the lower body first, then the upperbody, and finally the swing. If you can suc-cessfully execute everything on this chart,you are on your way to developing a solidfoundation for hitting!

Next month we will cover the mental side ofhitting.

Practice, practice, practice!!!


TheJackCustHittingChecklist

LOW

ER

BO

DY

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4

UP

PE

RB

OD

YS

WIN

G

Bala

nce

–fe

etsh

ould

besh

ould

erw

idth

apar

twith

the

knee

ssli

ghtly

bent

.W

eigh

tsh

ould

beon

the

balls

ofth

efe

etw

ithth

ekn

ees

sligh

tlyin

side

the

ankl

es.

IMPO

RTA

NT

–D

on’t

tiltt

hepo

le!

Han

ds–

Bats

houl

dbe

held

inth

efin

gers

mor

eth

anth

epa

lmso

fyou

rhan

din

anar

eath

atis

4-6

inch

esof

fyou

rba

cksh

ould

erat

a45

degr

eean

gle.

Grip

shou

ldbe

rela

xed

and

com

forta

ble.

Han

dsle

adsw

ing

keep

ing

barr

elof

the

bat

abov

eth

eba

llun

tilco

ntac

t.Sw

ing

shou

ldbe

shor

tto

the

ball.

Rhyt

hm–

Mai

ntai

na

com

forta

ble

body

mov

emen

tto

allo

wgo

odw

eigh

tshi

ftan

dtri

gger

mec

hani

sm.

Elbo

ws

–Th

eba

ckel

bow

can

beei

ther

upor

dow

nan

dw

illde

pend

onyo

urstr

engt

han

dw

here

you

are

mos

tcom

forta

ble.

The

front

elbo

wm

ust

bedo

wn

and

rela

xed,

whi

chw

illhe

lpyo

uac

hiev

ea

shor

t,qu

ick

swin

g.

Ha

nds

are

palm

upan

dpa

lmdo

wn

atco

ntac

tw

hich

allo

ws

you

tocr

eate

back

spin

and

carr

yon

the

ball.

Con

tact

Poin

ts:

•In

side

Pitc

h–

Infr

onto

fpl

ate

•M

iddl

ePi

tch

–C

ente

rof

plat

e•

Out

side

Pitc

h–

Off

your

back

knee

Wei

ght

Shift

–Sh

iftw

eigh

tba

ckto

gofo

rwar

d.Sh

ould

ers

–Fr

onts

houl

dbe

sligh

tlylo

wer

than

the

back

shou

lder

.A

fter

cont

act,

cont

inue

your

swin

gan

dm

ake

sure

the

barr

elof

the

bati

sex

tend

edrig

htat

the

pitc

her

befo

reyo

ufin

ish

your

swin

g.A

dvan

cehi

tters

tryre

leas

ing

top

hand

for

bette

rex

tens

ion,

bala

nce

and

follo

wth

roug

h.Sw

ing

path

–Th

epa

thof

your

actu

alsw

ing

shou

ldbe

leve

lto

asl

ight

Cw

itha

high

finis

h.

Stri

dew

ithth

efr

ontt

oecl

osed

and

land

onth

eba

llof

the

front

foot

–st

ride

atpi

tche

r,ha

nds

shou

ldm

ove

totri

gger

orla

unch

ing

posi

tion

asyo

ust

ride.

(Loa

ding

Act

ion)

.IM

PORT

AN

T-Y

ouno

wsh

ould

bein

the

laun

chin

gpo

sitio

nfo

ra

split

seco

nd(h

ands

cock

edan

dba

ck,

top

hand

shou

ldbe

clos

erto

the

pitc

her

then

the

botto

mha

ndat

the

prec

ise

mom

entt

hefro

ntfo

otla

nds)

.

Hea

d-L

ook

atth

epi

tche

rwith

afu

llfa

ce,w

ithtw

oey

eson

the

pitc

her

and

neve

rtil

tyou

rhe

ad.

Hea

dsh

ould

start

onfro

ntsh

ould

erw

ith2

eyes

onth

epi

tche

r.H

ead

stay

sdo

wn

onsw

ing

and

finis

hes

onba

cksh

ould

er(s

impl

yre

plac

esh

ould

ers)

.

Thin

kno

seon

the

ball

atco

ntac

t!

Mai

ntai

nyo

urhe

adin

ago

odba

lanc

epo

sitio

n.Yo

urbo

dyw

illfo

llow

your

head

.If

you

mov

eyo

urhe

ad,

your

body

will

get

outo

fbal

ance

.

Pivo

ton

the

back

foot

-Sq

uash

the

Gra

pe!!

TM

At most baseball training and instruc-tional facilities, you hear and readmostly about hitting and pitching.Throw in some lessons on how to turna double play and how to get readyto throw a runner out who is taggingup from third, and that’s the outlineon what’s taught. But in addition toall of those things, Diamond Nationwill now feature a catchers program.

Enter Travis Anderson.

Anderson, a 25th round pick in the2001 Draft by the Atlanta Braves,played nine seasons of professionalbaseball. After spending his first twoyears with the Braves, he playedseven years in the IndependentLeague; three seasons with the Cam-den Riversharks and four seasonswith the Somerset Patriots. After the2009 season ended last month, An-derson decided that it was time to re-tire.

“The goal is to get signed and to getout [of the Independent League],” An-derson said. “For me, I’m just goingto step away. I have a wife and wehave a baby on the way and I wantto have a little more time for them.Now, I just want to help kids getbetter.”

Anderson knows a thing or twoabout getting better. His first seasonwith the Patriots, in 2006, Andersonstruggled. He batted .248, his lowestsince his first year in pro ball in2001, and slugged just .333. Healso struck out 53 times, the most inhis career. Anderson worked ex-tremely hard in the offseason and theresults showed the following year.

In 2007, Anderson improved inevery statistical category. He batted.295, slugged .474 and hit 10 homeruns, more than tripling his home runtotal from the year (3). While Ander-son’s numbers improved, so did the

Patriots, as theywon the SouthDivision Cham-pionship enroute to beingdefeated in theAtlantic LeagueChampionshipseries.

The followingyear, the Patri-ots won the Freedom Division Cham-pionship and faced Anderson’sformer club, the Riversharks, in theAtlantic League Championship. An-derson struggled with injuries in2008 and had just three homers thewhole year entering the best-of-fivechampionship series. But he savedhis best for last. With the Patriots up2-1 in the series, Anderson hit awalk-off home run to break a 2-2 tieand give the Patriots its fourth At-lantic League Championship. It wasthe first time in the history of theAtlantic League that the champi-onship series ended in that fashion(remember Bobby Thompson?).

“The home run, that’s a dream cometrue,” Anderson said. “That’s whatyou dream about as a little kid andwhen it actually happened, that wasa total shock. It was a really hardyear for me and to end it like that,that’s the way you dream about it.”

Anderson’s timely bat carried overinto 2009, as he had the best offen-sive season of his career. He batted.306 with eight home runs and 58RBIs. And as Anderson continued toput up big numbers, the Patriotsagain found themselves Freedom Di-vision Champions again and back inthe Atlantic League Championshipseries. No last-minute heroics wereneeded this time as the Patriots wonback-to-back Atlantic League titles.

In just four seasons with the Patriots,


THE ATLANTIC LEAGUES’ BOBBY THOMPSON

TRAVIS ANDERSONCATCHIN

G

Anderson had three division titlesand two league titles. It’s an im-pressive feat for a guy who couldhave given up after being releasedby the Braves after the 2002 sea-son, which Anderson’s calls thelow point of his career. That relent-lessness is one of many messageshe will pass along to young ath-letes as he begins his coachingventure at Diamond Nation. An-derson’s focus won’t be on playersat the plate, but behind it.

“I want to spread the word ofcatching and help kids get betterat it,” he said. “To do that, youhave to show them and you haveto teach other coaches what’sgoing on. Most coaches just throwthe big kid behind the plate andthat bothers me. Catching is a position that ischanging and we have to open the doors andinvite them in because it’s not always a positionkids want to play.”

Anderson went through a lot over the course ofhis career. But whether positive or negative, it’s

all of those experiences that have helped himshape who he is today as a person and aplayer. And he is hoping that in the future,when catchers start to make the same journeyhe did, they see how Anderson and DiamondNation helped shape them.

CATCHING SCHOOL:

CATCH LIKE THE PROS

TRAVIS ANDERSON TO TEACH AT DIAMOND NATION INDOOR FACILITY


Travis Anderson will give youan introduction to catching in afour-part series, special to DiamondNation Magazine. In Part 1 Anderson reviews the beginningsteps to becoming a great catcher.

Part 1: THE SET UP

This is where a lot of people getmessed up. The set up is all about thefeet. It’s like building a house; you haveto start from the ground up and havea strong foundation. Most kids hear:“Just get down on the balls of yourfeet.” But that is not what we want.

My goal for you is to get into acomfortable position. If you’re notcomfortable, you can’t succeed as acatcher. What we want is your feet tobe in the area about as wide as yourshoulders. And what you do is takeyour feet, point them straight aheadand then duck them out a little bit.What that will do is give you somerange, moving to your left and to yourright. You have to be comfortablewhen you are down there and youhave to be able to move. You don’twant to be locked into one spot. Ourfoundation is our feet.

Next are your knees. You want yourknees wide. Pitchers are instructed tothrow to our glove so what you wantto do is get those knees wide andgive the pitcher a big backdrop be-hind your glove. Your glove should beabout as high as your knees. Youwant to make sure to keep that gloveopen and between the knees becauseI see a lot of kids keeping the glovetoo high. The pitchers are throwing tothe glove, which is exactly where youwant them to throw it, for strikes.

Now that you are all set up andready for the pitcher to deliver, wewill discuss in Part 2 about receivingand blocking the ball. These are bothnot only key elements to being acatcher, but blocking will help you getover the fear of the ball. We will talkabout the cure for that as well assome of the same drills professionalcatchers use in the big leagues thatyou can also do.

REMEMBER:Always play catch with your catcher’sglove. I see a lot of catchers playingcatch with their normal glove, but youaren’t using the normal glove behindthe plate. You want to get used to thatcatcher’s glove and use it as much asyou can.

Travis Anderson will be teaching clinics at the Diamond Nation indoorfacility along with Princeton headcoach Scott Bradley. Email [email protected] tosign up today!

The Catching School will take place on:

Thursday, 12/3, 7:30pm-9:30pm

Sunday, 12/6, 2:30pm-4:00pm


Sunday, 12/13, 2:30pm-4:00pm


Sunday, 12/20, 2:30pm-4:00pm

Sunday, 12/27, 2:30pm-4:00pm

Thursday, 12/31, 9:00am-10:30am


THE PATRIOTS BECAME THE FIRST-EVER BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPIONS IN ATLANTIC LEAGUE HISTORY.

Patriots Win Fifth Championship

The Somerset Patriots won their recordfifth Atlantic League Championship thisseason by defeating the Southern Mary-land Blue Crabs 3-1 in the ChampionshipSeries.

Following a record breaking regularseason that saw the team win 86 games,the Patriots were the favorites to take thetitle once again. In doing so, the Patriotsbecame the first-ever Back-To-BackChampions in league history.

Somerset clinched a playoff berth by win-ning the Freedom Division First HalfChampionship in early July. Despite al-ready earning the playoff spot, the Patri-ots continued to dominate the league andfinished the second half in first placeagain.

Since the Patriots won both halves, aWild Card team was selected to roundout the four playoff teams needed for thepost-season schedule. The Patriots wouldtake on the Newark Bears in the FreedomDivision Championship Series. Somersetwas 12-8 over the Bears during the regu-lar season and hosted the first two gamesof the Division Series at TD Bank Ballpark.Patriots ace Jim Magrane took the mound

in Game 1 and was true to form, shuttingdown the Bears for seven scoreless in-nings of one-hit ball to lead Somerset toa 2-0 victory. The Patriots broke a score-less tie in the bottom of the eighth inningon a suicide squeeze by shortstop An-thony Granato that scored left fielder El-liott Ayala, who walked earlier in theinning.

Somerset’s pitching once again overpow-ered Newark in Game 2, shutting out theBears 5-0 behind another gem by starterJoel Kirsten, who allowed two hits inseven scoreless innings. The Patriots of-fense was led by second baseman MattHagen, who went 3 for 4 with two runsscored, two doubles, two stolen bases,and three RBI.

The series then shifted to Bears and Ea-gles Riverfront Stadium, where Newarkfought back from a nine run deficit toovercome the Patriots 13-12 in Game 3.The Bears scored four runs in the bottomof the ninth inning to secure the win.Hagen continued being an offensiveforce in the series, slugging a three-runhome run in the first inning to kick off thescoring.

Despite the heart-breaking loss in Game3, the Patriots regained their composure

PATRIOTS WIN #5

with lefty star Brian Adams on the mound in Game4. Center fielder Sean Smith led off the game witha solo home run and the Patriots never looked back.Adams picked up the win in the deciding game, al-lowing two runs on six hits while striking out sevenand walking one in seven innings of work. With thewin, the Patriots advanced to the Atlantic LeagueChampionship Series against the Blue Crabs.

The Championship Series once again began at TDBank Ballpark and it didn’t take long for the Patriotsoffense to get rolling, scoring five runs in the bottomof the second inning of Game 1. Catcher JasonBelcher and first baseman Travis Anderson hadclutch hits in the inning and Magrane got the winafter allowing two earned runs on five hits andseven strikeouts in seven innings pitched.

The Blue Crabs evened up the series with a 10-4win in Game 2. Third baseman Jeff Nettles crusheda two-run home run in the bottom of the third inningto close the gap to 5-3, but Southern Marylandcontinued to power past the Patriots in the game.

The final three games, if necessary, moved to South-ern Maryland and began with another post-season

classic for the Patriots. Trailing 4-0 after the first in-ning of Game 3, the Patriots chipped away at thelead with a solo home run by Anderson and later agame-tying three-run home run by Nettles. Patriotsreliever Josh Miller worked 5.1 innings and allowedjust one run on eight hits to put Somerset back ontrack and earned the win in the Patriots 8-6 victory.

The Patriots weren’t given much of a chance inGame 4 with Blue Crabs ace John Halama on themound. However, it was Patriots starter Jason Stan-dridge who proved to be the star in Somerset’s 11-1 victory over the Blue Crabs to clinch the title.Standridge picked up the complete game win, al-lowing one run on five hits while striking out sevenand walking six. Nettles hit his third home run ofthe series during the blowout and Mike Rodriguezand Noah Hall each drove in two runs.

Nettles won the Championship Series MVP, hitting.281 with nine runs scored, three home runs, andseven RBI in the post-season. It is the second time inhis six-year Patriots career that he has received thehonor. It was also Nettles' third Atlantic LeagueChampionship with Somerset.

MVP JEFF NETTLES


Princeton University is consistently one of the topcolleges in the Nation. From 2001-08, it wasranked first by U.S. News & WorldReport. After a year at secondplace in 2009, Princeton returnedto the No. 1 spot in 2010, sharingthat honor with Harvard University.But Princeton isn’t just front pagenews in US News, TIME andForbes. The University is making aname for itself on the baseball fieldas well.

The transformation from books tobats is thanks to head baseballcoach Scott Bradley. While thePrinceton baseball team has seen39 of its players taken in the MLB draft since itbegan in 1965, 16 of those have come sinceBradley took over in 1998. And of the Tigers’ 10players taken in the top 10 rounds of the Draft, sixhave come under Bradley’s tutelage. Of those six,three are now playing in the big leagues: ChrisYoung and Will Venable arewith the Padres while RossOhlendorf is with the Pirates.

Princeton also currently hasseven players at the MinorLeague level, four of whomwere taken in the 2009draft. Tim Lahey (Triple-A,Twins), Christian Staehely(Class A, Mariners) and ErikStiller (Double-A, Indians) allhave at least a year undertheir belts while Dan DeGe-orge (Class A, Indians),Brad Gemberling (Class A, D-Backs), David Hale(Rookie ball, Braves) and Jack Murphy (Rookie BallBlue Jays) are all getting started.

No matter what level they are currently playing at,the ball players still have one thing in common:Scott Bradley was their college coach.

Bradley’s career record with the Tigers is 263-258-1 and has registered at least 10 Ivy League wins in

every season. Prior to Bradley taking over, Prince-ton had a total of three Ivy League titles which game

in a 10-year span. Then Bradleystepped in and led Princeton tofive Ivy League titles and fiveNCAA Tournament appearancesin six years. The baseball programmakeover was complete.

Bradley played college baseball atthe University of North Carolina,graduating in 1982, and wasnamed to the ACC’s 50th Anniver-sary Team in 2004. Bradley wasdrafted as a catcher in the thirdround, 64th overall, of the 1981Draft by the New York Yankees

(The round before, the Yankees selected John Elwaywith the 52nd overall pick). Bradley spent nineyears in the big leagues, also playing with theChicago White Sox, Seattle Mariners and Cincin-nati Reds. On June 2, 1990, while playing for theMariners, Bradley caught Randy Johnson’s first no-

hitter. Bradley played 604games in the big leagues,hitting .257 with 18 homeruns and 184 RBIs in1,648 at-bats.

Bradley then served as aMinor League coach in theAtlanta Braves and Col-orado Rockies organiza-tion. He then was theassistant coach at RutgersUniversity before taking onthe head coaching posi-tion at Princeton.

Bradley’s Tigers fell just short of the Ivy LeagueChampionship series this season, losing to Cornellin the Gehrig Division Playoff Game.

But Princeton will compete for the Ivy League Cham-pionship every year. Something that couldn’t besaid when Bradley took over 13 years ago and theTigers were known more for their work in the class-room than on the diamond.

SCOTT BRADLEYIVY LEAGUE PIPELINE TO MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL By D.P. Benjamin

DIAMOND NATION, FLEMINGTON, NJ

WWW.DIAMONDNATIONMAGAZINE.COM

Rick Peterson is a major league pitching coachformerly with the A's and Mets and now withthe Mil. Brewers.

With an increasing number of leagues aroundthe country, the amateur-level pitcher is asked topitch much more than a pitcher who grew up 20years ago. This increased use, while providingyoung players with increased opportunities tohone their skills, has led to increased risks ofmajor injuries.

The concept of overuse is difficultto measure as every youngpitcher is different. Some youngpitchers may mature morequickly than others. But, in gen-eral, youth pitchers are widelyoverused. When one looks back20 or 30 years ago, a childwould simply play Little LeagueBaseball. Now, many baseballplayers, especially the elite-levelprospects, are playing baseballall-year round. The school ofthought in this era of specializa-tion is: the more repetition andexperience you get, the betterpitcher you will become.

Overuse and Fatigue

When a pitcher throws with increased velocitywithout proper conditioning and training, he isput at an even greater risk for injury. The hardthrowing youth pitcher is often asked to throwmore games, pitch more innings and is used dur-ing more stressful situations in order for a teamto win more often. The focus at the amateurlevel, especially in Little League and other youthleagues, needs to shift from winning to helpingkids develop appropriately and safely. It’s veryimportant that parents and youth coaches under-stand that while it’s exciting to be competitive

and win games, proper development and train-ing of a pitcher is more important.

Over time, if the kid is not managed properly,he will have an arm injury. The statistics provethat. Parents must be realistic if they really wantto take care of these precious arms. Whilewinning amateur level championships is excit-ing, those trophies do not compare to the healthof an aspiring pitcher.

This overuse eventually leads tofatigue. And fatigue is one ofmain reasons for the rise of pitch-ing related injuries. Fatigue hurtscoordination. Think of a runner;once the runner is fatigued, heloses his stride. It’s the same withpitching. When a pitcher is fa-tigued, his delivery begins to de-teriorate. His front leg begins tocollapse; his arm is late, meaningthat when the foot hits theground, the arm is not in theproper position. Then there areissues with accelerating properlythrough the delivery. Finally,

young pitchers will have problemswith the deceleration phase. Thedeceleration phase is the all-impor-

tant follow through. For a person without exten-sive training, the easiest indicator for fatigue isthe lack of a follow through. If you see a pitcherwho is suddenly throwing everything high in thezone, it means that the pitcher is fatigued.

Distance and Velocity

Dr. Michael Axe conducted a study regardingdistance and velocity. Dr. Axe conducted re-search using pitchers, ages 8-14, from allaround the world. This international researchfound that distance and velocity are directlylinked. This means that youth pitchers who threw

PETERSON’S PITCHING PERSPECTIVES: PREVENTING INJURIES IN YOUNG PITCHERS

PROBLEMS WITHYOUTH ARMS


By Rick Peterson andGary Armida

RICK PETERSON WITHPEDRO MARTINEZ

the hardest also threwthe farthest.

The implications of thisstudy are great for theproper training of ayouth pitcher. First,one should know thatvelocity equals power.Power is the summa-tion of speed andstrength. If a pitcher isto throw with high ve-locity, he needs speed

and strength. The speed comes from the arm mo-tion and the proper delivery. The strength comesfrom proper conditioning. Without properphysical conditioning, injury is likely to occur.

The Importance of Long-Distance Throwing

Long-distance throwing, or long toss, is a key in-gredient to building a pitcher’s arm strength (orany other thrower). Part of my conditioning pro-gram is regular long-distance throwing. The bestactivity for building arm strength is long distancethrowing. With Dr. Axe’s study that the hardestthrowers throw the farthest in mind, long-distancethrowing builds strength which therefore in-creases velocity. The value of increased strength,

obviously, is one measure of preventing injury.Proper execution of long-distance throwing isthrowing the ball on an arc, not on a straightline. Throwing on a straight line is a speed com-ponent. Take a look at other distance sports likethe javelin. The javelin travels on an arc to gofarther. In other words, long tossing on a straightline does not build up strength. It is building dis-tance that increases strength. The proper execu-tion of long distance throwing is when a playertakes a crow hop and throws the ball as far ashe can within his delivery, meaning a properdelivery with about 80 to 90 percent effort.

While the concept of long-distance throwing hasbeen around for ages, it is far too underutilized.A regular program must be in place to build armstrength. It is not an everyday exercise as itshould be part of a cycle with other conditioningwork.

Rick Peterson is the current Major LeaguePitching Coach for the Milwaukee Brewers.In addition to his 30 years of professionalexperience, Peterson is the founder of 3P Sports,a company whose mission is to eliminate pitch-ing injuries in young pitchers. For more informa-tion, visit the website, 3psports.com.


When the 10 players of the Somerset LittleLeague reported to Bernardsville MiddleSchool on Thursday, Sept. 10, they remainedin the spotlight. No TV cameras, of course, butteachers and classmates were still talkingabout the young celebrities who came withinone win from competing in the Little LeagueWorld Series in Williamsport, Pa.

They had lost, 4-0, to South Shore National ofStaten Island in the Mid-Atlantic Regional fi-nals, completing a 21-2 sea-son that at one time was a20-game winning streak.They had won districts, sec-tionals and the New Jerseystate championship.

The day before schoolopened, they had shared de-livery pizza in the schoolcafeteria with the principaland vice-principal.

And there they were on the first day of school,having all agreed to wear new, red SomersetHills LL collared shirts.

Still a team.

“A lot of kids were saying they saw us on TV,’’said 13-year-old Eddie Pavlini, a second base-man/pitcher. “It was kind of weird. And myart teacher was going nuts, saying, ‘It’s socool!’ There was still a buzz all throughschool.’’

Pavlini and 13-year-old Jonathan Iainoe,along with 12-year-olds J.P. Tantleff and LukeBowerbank, sat down with their coach, DougOliver, at the Bernardsville Library in late Sep-tember. The previous week, the team hadbeen honored in Bernardsville, NJ, riding

through town on a fire truck and receiving aproclamation from the mayor.

Pavlini, an engaging kid who smiles easily,had brought a reading assignment -- a paper-back of “And Then There Were None” byAgatha Christie -- in case he arrived early atthe gathering. Iaione, with perhaps the enter-taining sense of humor, more than once saidunder his breath that his friend was in a hurrybecause, “He has a date tonight.”

Pavlini just smiled andshook his head.

The four of them were play-ing fall baseball, an exten-sion of a season thatbegan in early spring. Theywere playing on the “bigfield’’ now, having gradu-ated from Little League di-mensions. Bowerbank andTantleff were also playingflag football. Pavlini talked

about playing ice hockey in the winter andBowerbank would be playing basketball.

All the usual stuff kids their age do.

However, there was nothing usual about thissummer.

Tantleff had to miss out on a camping trip toPennsylvania. Bowerbank and his family weresupposed to be at the Outer Banks for 10days, but son and dad wound up stayinghome due to the tournament. His mom didn’twant to cancel the trip, so she and the rest ofthe family headed off to North Carolina.Iaione’s family was also supposed spend aweek at the beach in the Outer Banks, but in-stead the vacation wound up being revised tojust a few days in Baltimore. Oliver, too, had

LITTLE LEAGUEBACK TO SCHOOL, BUT WHAT A SUMMER!Somerset


to eat more than a week on a rental in SouthJersey, but eventually was able to spend afew days.

In other words, no one really expected the un-expected.

“At the beginning of the year, we neverthought we would get this far,’’ Iaione said. “We knew what the odds were. We neverthought we’d even getclose.’’

“There was a lot of pres-sure in the districts,’’said Oliver, a standoutwrestler at PiscatawayHigh School and then atRutgers University. “Wehad been practicing al-most every day since weselected the team onJune 15th, so there wasa great commitment from the kids. I think weall knew we had a talented group and had anopportunity to do some special things.’’

It would begin with a 15-3 victory over Bed-minster in District 17 and include two victoriesover North Hunterdon National for the districttitle. At Section 1, two of Somerset’s winswould come by a combined 28-4, and wouldculminate with a 4-3 extra inning win in the fi-nals against Tri-Town (Boonton/MountainLakes). In that game, as Tantleff recalled,“[Pavlini] bombed one over the fence to tie it.’’

And Bowerbank would double and score thewinning run in extra innings.

“When you get to the states, at that point, youneed to be talented and you need to be a littlefortunate,’’ Oliver said.

In the states up in Garfield, the SomersetCounty entry needed both. It would get pastNorth Wall, 4-3, and then would get solo

home runs from Tantl-eff and Bowerbankand a three-run shotby Connor Kirst, todefeat Haddonfield,10-5, in the champi-onship game.

In Bristol, Danny Mc-Donnell hit a three-runhome run to powerthe team past D.C.in the opener and

Iaione would hit a three-run homer to carrythem past Delaware. Kirst would provideanother three-run homer to lift them pastPennsylvania.

But Somerset’s dream would end with twolosses to South Shore National, including a4-0 defeat in the final game.

“I felt after that [first] game, we could beatthem,’’ Iaione said. “They were like a normalteam. They had a lot of hitters, but theyweren’t anything special. We were winning

[email protected] 908.803.2635Graduate Gemologist in residency from G.I.A.

Registered Jeweler from G.I.A.Certified Gemologist appraiser from A.G.S.

specializing in...• Diamonds • Natural Colored Diamonds

• Custom Design Work • Watches• Finest Quality Colored Stones

• South Sea Pearls ... and much more!

Nancy Apriceno Personal Jeweler


the first game, 2-1, and then we gave up atwo-run shot.’’

“I was really stiff and really nervous,’’ Iaioneadded. “We just didn’t hit.”

“We tried to be confident in the finals,’’Pavlini said. “But we had a huge crowd root-ing for us. People came up from home andthey were cheering for us.’’

An estimated 500 peoplemade the trip.

“The families are a verytight-knit group,” Oliversaid. “They enjoyed social-izing together and that wasone of the key reasons wewere so successful. The par-ents were willing to do asmuch as they could to see itthrough.”

The town had not won a Little League districttitle since 1981, when the team consisted ofplayers from Bernardsville and Basking Ridge.That team also won the state championship.In the summer of 1981, Oliver was 22 andone year out of college.

For this team -- Alex Baratta, Carter Klein, KyleOliver and Kyle Verduin rounded out theroster -- the memories from the summer of2009 will resonate long after they’re 22.

They will remember the game room in Bristol,with its air hockey, ping pong, music and thepool. They will remember their tour of theESPN studios, where they sat behind the largedesk in the studio and met on-air personalityMike Golic. They will remember Tantleff’sNana being shown rooting in the stands sooften on TV that she was actually being askedfor autographs. They will remember playingbaseball on live television, especially for thefirst time. They will remember having no cableTV for 10 whole days, clowning around andbeing unable to fall asleep from laughing somuch in their bunk beds. They will rememberIaione not being pleased when coach took all

their cell phones away after a couple of days. “I couldn’t text my girlfriend,’’ he lamented.And of course they will remember their coach. “He was really inspirational,” Pavlini said.“He always believed in us and he gave us mo-tivational speeches. When one of us wouldgive up a home run, he’d come out [to themound] and make jokes to try and keep usloose. Like, if it was a bomb, he’d say, ‘Thatball was hit so far, it’s a two-movie flight.’’’

Mostly they will remembereach other, playing thegame they love and comingwithin a few key hits toreaching the national stagewith teams from around theworld.

“I had such a tough timewatching the games fromWilliamsport,” Pavlini said.“I just couldn’t watch. I was

thinking, ‘I can’t believe I didn’t get there.’”

He’s watched replays of the wins, “about 500times.”

“I’ve watched them about twice,” Bowerbanksaid.

“I haven’t watched them at all,’’ Iaione said.

The games, all of them, will be there forever,of course. And as time passes, the memorieswill become sweeter, the bonding moresecure. State champs. National TV.

After all, they were among the final 16 teamsstanding in the Little League Baseball Tourna-ment. And according to Steve Barr, Media Re-lations Director of Little League International,there are roughly 6,500 U.S. teams who enterthe tournament. In other words, these kidswent further than 6,484 teams throughoutthe country.

“When we were in Bristol, I knew it was ahuge accomplishment,’’ Pavlini said, holdinghis novel, looking at its cover. “But I think it’sstill going to take some time to sink in.’’

conferences galas weddings

Featured onDavid Tutera’s

My FaiR Wedding

Featured onPlatinum Weddings

palacesomersetpark.com 877-palace4

333 Davidson Avenue, Somerset, NJ 08873

Situated in Central New Jersey, the conference center at The Palace is the ideal venue for your corporate meeting.

Explore the timeless elegance of a wedding at The Palace,

a 2009 Best of Weddings pick by “The Knot.”

By Steve DiTrolioCurrently Instructor and Coach for Diamond Nation.Head baseball coach for Wardlaw-Hartridge Prep2007-2009.Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator forBloomfield College 2004-2006.

An ongoing debate with few resolutions

There is no better sound in the worldthan walking through Diamond Na-tion and hearing the crack of awood bat echo through the com-plex. It’s the sound of pure baseball;a crisp thwack that screams, “This isthe way the game ought to beplayed.” Well, at least to somebaseball puritans. There are otherswho don’t see the debate as beingas simple as fair or foul.

Recently there has been a big pushfor the wood bat to return as themain weapon of choice in today’sgame. There’s no question it’s thewinning stick for the pros. Butshould its use be considered for alllevels, and if so, will it make for abetter game?

The rallying cry for wood bats hasrecently germinated from all fields -- from parents and local Little Leagueboards to high school athletic com-missions and college athletic confer-ences. The sentiment is consistent:Supporters seek a return to thegame’s roots.

Some leagues have already made the change. In2006, the North Dakota High School Activities Asso-ciation banned metal bats for baseball, primarily dueto safety. The New York City Council also banned theuse of metal bats for high school baseball in 2007.These examples, however, remain the minority. Mostyouth leagues continue to say there is not enoughdata to warrant such a move.

I was fortunate enough to be born in an era when themetal bat evolved from basically a heavy piece of alu-minum to a bat made of a metal alloy found onNASA’s space shuttles. The walls of the bat becameso thin, they created a trampoline effect, sending help-less baseballs hurtling 400 feet from point of contact.

Since then, bat companies have been required tomodify their specifications. The restrictions ranged

from the type of metal used to theweight of the bat.

The bat companies have also beenrequired to implement a BESR (BatExit Speed Ratio), which limits maxi-mum velocity a ball can travel off thebat in relation to pitch speed. Thisspeed could then be easily comparedto the BESR of wood bats.

The catch here is that while specs re-main the same for wood and metalbats, the metal bat can be swung ata faster rate. This is made possible bythe weight and balance of a metalbat. It is easier to distribute theweight more evenly in a metal batcompared to wood, making it easierto swing the bat through the hittingzone with more velocity.

All that said, what makes for a bettergame? Myriad factors apply.

First is the quality of the game, espe-cially offensive output. Plain and sim-ple, the speed and power of metalbats generate more hits, more power,more runs. It is easier for players atthe middle school and high school

levels to produce offense with a metal bat. Theseyounger sluggers are helped by the even balance ofthe metal bat, plus a generous sweet spot that affordsmore room for error and a greater chance of solidcontact.

For kids who play and follow the sport from a youngage, this increased offensive production makes the

WOOD METALVS.

THE RALLYING CRY FOR WOOD BATS HAS RECENTLY GERMINATED FROM ALL FIELDS


game more enjoyable. Young players who strugglewith hitting are likely to see more success with themetal bat. That sense of early accomplishment willlead to increased retention levels for a sport that isalready losing young children to more fast-paced,up-tempo sports such as lacrosse and spring soccer.

But what about those pure qualities of the wood bat?The craze of the wood bat has been growing eachyear, and Top Level Travel Teams have been thedriving force. You cannot walk through a summer orfall baseball tournament these days without hearingthe crack of the wood bat. It has become a staple intournament baseball for a number of reasons.

First is speed of play. A game played with a woodbat will move swiftly, with fewer hits, fewer big in-nings. This ensures each game is played in the allot-ted amount of innings. Also, while metal bats canmask hitters’ flaws, a wood bat will weed out the av-erage hitter. This is beneficial because most tourna-ments are not only attended by eager parents andfans, but also college recruiters and pro scouts. Theirjob: To hawk the fields looking for the next big player.

The wood bat makes for a pure game, each hit andrun earned by the ability of a given team and player.The wood bat’s smaller sweet spot requires more skilland better hand-eye coordination to make solid con-

tact. It teaches a hitter to play more fundamentallysound baseball while developing skills such asbunting, hitting behind runners, manufacturing runs,etc. In essence, wood becomes a great training toolto develop as a hitter.

The wood game also is less stress on the pitcher. In aday and age where pitchers’ arms are carefullyguarded and pitch counts are as commonly quotedas batting averages, a pitcher in wood bat leaguescan often expect to go deeper in games. Again,fewer hits, fewer runs, fewer big innings, lower ERA.These pitchers also enjoy more room for error. Hittersusing wood bats have a tougher time producing hitsfrom balls in and out of the strike zone comparedto the pop that metal can supply, even on a badlyhit ball.

So which produces the better game, wood or metal?Where does the debate net out? It doesn’t, of course.It rages on, and it remains in the eyes of the beholder-- or perhaps, in this case, the bat holder. Do you pre-fer instant offense, more punch and more confidencefor young hitters? Or do you sit with the old-schoolbaseball junkies who love a 1-0 pitchers duel.

My take? Swing away -- you can’t go wrongeither way.


OFF-SEASON IS KEY TO PITCHERS’ SUCCESS

SPORTS

M

EDIC

INE

By John P. Kripsak, DO

Your success on the pitching moundnext spring could depend on howyou spend your off-season. The wintermonths are an important time forpitchers to work on building theirstrength and improving their tech-niques to be in top form for baseball’sopening day.

First, it is important to give your arma rest. Take at least two months offfrom pitching and any other sport re-quiring overhead arm movement,such as swimming and volleyball.Resting the arm is especially impor-tant for children under age 16 whoare still growing. Overuse of the armmuscles can put youngsters at risk fordeveloping Little League elbow or Lit-tle League shoulder -- injuries that canruin budding baseball careers.

Use this time to build up your corestrength in your abdomen and backand improve your leg strength. Youreffectiveness as a pitcher is not duesolely to the power generated byyour arm as you throw the ball, but itis actually generated by the power inyour hips and torso. In fact, Hall ofFame pitcher Nolan Ryan, whoplayed a major league record 27seasons and recorded the most ca-reer strikeouts in baseball history,credited his dominance and longevityto the strength in his legs, not his arm.

To improve your core and legstrength, try incorporating band exer-cises, physio-ball training andweightlifting to your regular workoutroutine. Consider working with a per-sonal trainer who can help you de-velop an exercise plan to target keymuscles.

Focus on enhancing your techniqueover the next few months. Pay atten-tion to not only how you throw theball, but to your hips, back and ab-domen. A Functional MovementScreen evaluation may be helpful inidentifying problems with your tech-nique, including hip rotation and fol-low-through, so that you can fix anyissues before the season starts.

If you invest the time now in the off-season, you’ll give yourself a bigcompetitive advantage on the fieldnext year.

Dr. Krispak is board-certified in familymedicine and in sports medicine. Heis the Medical Director of SomersetMedical Center’s Sports Performanceand Rehabilitation Center located atTD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater. Thecenter offers individual and grouptraining sessions for athletes in allsports, functional movement screen-ings, specialized wellness programs,rehabilitation services and massagetherapy. The medical center is the of-ficial health care provider of the Som-erset Patriots, providing training andsports medicine services to the team.

For more information about Somerset Medical Center’s SportsPerformance and RehabilitationCenter, call 908-203-5972. For personalized exercise and nutritional plans to help you meet your fitness goals, visit thecenter’s interactive Web site at www.somersetsportsperformance.com.

In business, as in life, some things never change.

It’s always been about partnership.

For more than 100 years, the Wilmington Trust corporate family has been privileged to work

with, and support, individuals and organizations committed to creating opportunities for

businesses, large and small, in our communities.

In our second century of serving clients, our commitment to sustaining the health of the

business community remains steadfast.

Gene McCarthy—609.395.9132

© 2009 Wilmington Trust FSB.

ATHLETIC RECRUITING VIDEOS IS ALL WE KNOW,

AND WE KNOW IT ALL!

ATHLETIC RECRUITING VIDEOS IS ALL WE KNOW,

AND WE KNOW IT ALL!

Specializing in Baseball & Softball Videos

908.237.1522

[email protected]

2. Somerset Patriots3. Flemington Car and Truck7. Cortes & Hay9. Alfonso’s

13. A Turf15. Flemington Furs17. Lake Charles21. Team Capital bank23. Crown Trophy25. JG Petrucci29. Massage Envy31. Anaconda Sports33. Golden opportunities35. Interior Motives39. 3P41. Nancy Apriceno43. The Palace45. Dilts47. Wilmington Trust47. Combine Sports49. Mariott51. Williams Harley-Davidson55. Construction56. Buffalo Wild Wings65. Alco67. Bourbon Street70. Cust, Dori & Benick71. HealthQuest72. Diamond Nation Convention Ad

ADVERTISING INDEXpage


The night before Evan DeLuca was to reportto the instructional league in Tampa, he wasstill processing being a New York Yankee.He was still thinking what it would be liketo meet his favorite player, Robinson Cano.He was dreaming about what it would belike to ask Mariano Rivera for advice onhis cutter.

Fantasy continued to collide with reality onthat late September evening for the left-handed pitcher from Readington Township,NJ, who just a few months earlier had grad-uated from Immaculata High School. Whilehe was unsure of what his future wouldbring him, he was sure of one thing: he wasa professional baseball player. And thatwas the oar that continued to steady hisboat of uncertainty.

“It’s pretty uplifting, to say the least,” saidDeLuca, who was drafted in the 44th roundof the 2009 Draft. “They’ve always beenthe team I wanted to play for. I look forward

to being part of the Yankeeorganization and all the possibil-ities that lay ahead for me”.

He had met pitcher Ian Kennedyand catcher Francisco Cervelli,both whom spent time with theYankees this season, on a previ-ous trip to Tampa. For DeLuca,mature beyond his 18 years,meeting those guys reinforcedhis ability to handle beingaround the New York Yankees.

“You just have to get into themind set that you’re not a littlekid anymore,” DeLuca said.“You have to be a professionalaround these guys and they’regoing to give you that samecourtesy and not treat you likea kid.”

DeLuca first played organized baseballwhen he was five years old, taking part ina T-ball program in Whitehouse Station. Hespent his first two years of high school atHunterdon Central before transferring to theparochial school in Somerville. Throughouthis high school years he also played for theDiamond Jacks at the Jack Cust BaseballAcademy and the New Jersey Super 17.

While working on developing a cutter,DeLuca features a curve ball, changeupand a fastball that topped out at 97 whileplaying out in Washington in the WestCoast League, an independent summerbaseball league. DeLuca didn’t sign untilafter playing in the WCL, actually comingto terms with the organization just a fewminutes before a midnight deadline in lateAugust.

“That was my biggest high ever,” he said.

PLAYER PROFILEEVAN DeLUCA

YANKEE DRAFT PICK LOOKS TO THE FUTURE

“I couldn’t be happier, that’s for sure.”

Following his five weeks in Tampa, the6-foot-1, 195-pounder reported to an in-structional league in the Dominican Repub-lic. After two weeks there, he will likelybe put on an off-season program beforereporting to spring training.

His opportunity as a pro is the result of apassion and commitment to the game, anapproach he willingly shares with youngplayers aspiring to his accomplishments.

“The one thing you can never do is becomecomplacent with the work ethic,” he said.“Never settle with what you are now. Youcan always get better and you can alwayslearn more. The biggest thing is to alwayskeep wanting, because if you have the de-sire and the ability, things are going to workout the way you want.”

DeLuca believes that every played shouldstrive to take that extra ground ball and thatextra swing. And he believes that what has

truly helped him get to where he is today isgiving more than 100 percent effort. Heknows that there’s somebody out therewho is better than him and someone who isgoing to work just as hard, so DeLuca hasto work even harder.

“That’s one thing I’ve learned, and that’sone thing I try and think about every day,”he said. “Somebody out there has just asmuch talent and somebody out there is rightbehind you.’’

For now, those guys are ahead of him. Andthey’re all New York Yankees. And DeLucawill hope to take advantage of that.

“I would be doing myself a disservice bynot asking questions,” he said. “I’m goingto be around those big names and it wouldbe stupid not to.”

But no matter whom he is getting advicefrom -- superstar or not -- DeLuca is going tomake the most of every opportunity.


Diamond Nation: Were there academieslike Diamond Nation when you werestarting to get into softball?

Jennie Finch: There wasn’t anything likethis. We played on local fields, cityfields, complexes, parks – anywhere wecould. But there was nothing like this fa-cility. It’s great not just having incrediblefields, but instruction to go along with itand expanding it beyond just a place toplay. It’s really excellent progress in thegrowth of youth sports.

DN: What is the most common mistakeyou see young softball pitchers makingand what advice do you give?

JF: The biggest mistake I see is girls aretrying to throw strikes by aiming the ball.It has to be mechanics first and throw theball hard. You can’t teach speed andgirls try to force the issue throwingstrikes. Good mechanics and throwing ithard comes first, and then the locationwill follow.

DN: What’s the best part about being arole model for athletes?

JF: It’s just amazing being a part of some-thing that has never been done, givingyoung women the same chances asyoung men. That equality and positiveimpact on young athletes and serving asa positive role model, encouraging theirhopes and dreams is incredible. I alwaystry to tell the athletes that baseball andsoftball is a lesson for life that extends be-yond the field. Those skills you learn onthe field will help you succeed in life.

DN: What’s something that your fanswould be surprised to find out about yoursoftball accomplishments?

JF: I struck out Albert Pujols on threepitches.

DN: Your dad played a large role in yoursoftball life, what advice would you giveto parents about their role in their kids’softball career?

JF: I think it’s all about finding a balance,knowing your daughter and finding thatline on how far to push, yet still allowingthem to love and enjoy the game. It is justa game. You want to give her the best op-portunity to succeed and do her best, butsome girls respond better to being leftalone and some respond better to beingpushed. My dad pushed me really hardand there was tension sometimes, but hemade me better and I wouldn’t be whereI am today without him.

DN: What’s next for Jennie Finch?JF: I will continue to do camps and clinicsand Team USA is approaching. I alsohave appearances and I’m trying tospend as much time with my family in theoffseason as possible. And I am really ex-cited about the future of Diamond Na-tion.

DN: Thanks a lot for your time Jennie. Formore information on when and whereJennie will be appearing and instructing,make sure to check out www.diamondnation.com

DN SITS WITHJENNIE & JACK

AROUND THE MOUND WITH JENNIE FINCH

CRACK OF THE BAT WITH JACK CUSTDiamond Nation: How does it feel to behome after a long season?

Jack Cust: It feels good. New Jersey ishome. We just bought a house here andI always enjoy coming home. It’s a lot offun.

DN: What’s the most common mistakeyou see from young hitters and what ad-vice would you give them?JC: A lot of times, kids try to do too much.I think that happens all through out base-ball. A lot of guys at all levels try to hitthe ball further and harder than they ac-tually are able to. I think that’s a problemeveryone has. You just have to keep itsimple and not over think too much. Thekey is to stay within yourself.

DN: When the Jack Cust Baseball Acad-emy first started, did you envision itbeing what it is today with DiamondNation?

JC: No, definitely not. It has turned intosomething that’s really amazing. I’mpumped up to see how far it has come

and with the vision of my Dad and Dia-mond Nation President and GeneralManager Keith Dilgard, they were ableto make something like this a reality. I’mreally excited to give back to the kids andit’s awesome that they have these greatfacilities use and play.

DN: What ballplayer(s) did you look upto when you were a kid?

JC: Don Mattingly. I was a Yankee fan soI would always watch him. I liked hisstyle of play and the way he hit. My Dadplayed with Rick Cerone and I alwaysthought it was cool that my Dad playedwith a big league guy. Cerone was oneof the guys that made me think it couldbe a reality for me.DN: What do you do when you are in aslump and what advice would you giveto a kid who is struggling at the plate?

JC: My whole life since little league, I justtry to work my way through it as best asI could. I go out and do as much hittingas I can. I just put in that effort and stickwith a routine. I try to do some extra


hitting and batting practice, but I try tostick with the same drills I have done mywhole life. As a kid, you just have towork your way through it and keepthings simple. Once you step into thebox, it should never be on mechanics.Your concentration should be on seeingthe ball and hitting the ball. You justwant to hit the ball hard and make solidcontact. Even as a professional, you dobring those things you are working oninto the batters box. But when you aregoing good, you aren’t thinking aboutthat. You are just hitting the ball andgetting a good pitch to hit. Think lessand just concentrate on seeing the balland hitting the ball.

DN: What advice would you give to akid who is going to be trying out for atravel team or his high school team?

JC: Just have fun. The main thing is tohave fun. There can be a lot of pressureput on kids and it increases when youget older, so the most important thing isto just have fun and give it your all.

DN: Thanks a lot for your time Jack. Formore information on when and whereJack will be appearing and instructing,make sure to check out www.diamond-nation.com

908-482-7037573 Foothill Rd

Bridgewater, NJ 08807-2119

www.rtpdn.com/[email protected]

JACK AND JENNIE’S TAKE ON HOW TO PREPAREAND PRACTICE WHEN THERE IS POOR WEATHER

IN THE UPCOMING MONTHS.Jack: I’m always at the baseball acad-emy, hitting off a tee or hitting soft tossor working in the batting cage. I usethe tee to get loose and then I take lotsof batting practice. That’s all you canreally do. You can find a gym and wehave the HealthQuest Sports Dome tothrow a little bit and hit and run. Butduring the winter, I just hit a lot off thetee and soft toss.

Jennie: The Finch Windmill and shoul-der exercises are really important

when working out and can be doneanywhere. You just find a way: a base-ment or a gym. You have to be workingat it year round if you want to play atthe highest level. If you want to takeyour game to that next level, you haveto put in the time and effort. Thinkingabout my opponent inspires me to getup that morning where maybe I don’treally feel like getting out of bed. But Ithink about what my opponent is doingand it gets me ready to work. Confi-dence is built in preparation.

DNM BOOK CLUBGOOD READS FOR 2009 FROM DIAMOND NATION MAGAZINE


The Yankee YearsBy Tom Verducci and Joe TorreSuggested Retail Price: $26.95Buy it at amazon.com

Twelve straight playoff appearances. Six Amer-ican League pennants. Four World Series titles.This is the definitive story of a dynasty: the Yan-kee years.

When Joe Torre took over as manager of theNew York Yankees in 1996, the most storiedfranchise in sports had not wona World Series title in eighteenyears. The famously tough andmercurial owner, George Stein-brenner, had fired seventeenmanagers during that span.Torre’s appointment was greetedwith Bronx cheers from the noto-riously brutal New York media,who cited his record as theplayer and manager who hadbeen in the most Major Leaguegames without appearing in aWorld Series.

Twelve tumultuous and triumphant years later,Torre left the team as the most beloved and suc-cessful manager in the game. In an era of multi-millionaire free agents, fractured clubhouses,revenue-sharing, and off-the-field scandals, Torreforged a team ethos that united his players andmade the Yankees, once again, the greatestteam in sports. He won over the media with hishonesty and class, and was beloved by the fans.But it wasn’t easy.

Here, for the first time, Joe Torre and Tom Ver-ducci take us inside the dugout, the clubhouse,and the front office in a revelatory narrative thatshows what it really took to keep the Yankees

on top of the baseball world. The high-pricedace who broke down in tears and refused to goback to the mound in the middle of a game.Constant meddling from Yankee executives,many of whom were jealous of Torre’s popular-ity. The tension that developed between the oldguard and the free agents brought in by man-agement. The impact of revenue-sharing andnew scouting techniques, which allowed otherteams to challenge the Yankees’ dominance. Theplayers who couldn’t resist the after-hours temp-tations of the Big Apple. The joys of managing

Derek Jeter and MarianoRivera, and the challenges ofmanaging Alex Rodriguez andJason Giambi. Torre’s last year,when constant ultimatums fromthe front office, devastating in-juries, and a freak cloud ofbugs on a warm Septembernight in Cleveland forced himfrom a job he loved.

Through it all, Torre kept hiscalm, kept his players’ respect,and kept winning.

And, of course, The Yankee Years chronicles theamazing stories on the diamond. The stirringcomeback in the 1996 World Series against theheavily favored Braves. The wonder of 1998,when Torre led the Yanks to the most wins inMajor League history. The draining and emo-tional drama of the 2001 World Series. The in-credible twists and turns of the epic Game 7 ofthe 2003 American League Championship Se-ries against the Red Sox, in which two teamswho truly despised each other battled pitch bypitch until the stunning extra-inning home run.Here is a sweeping narrative of Major LeagueBaseball in the Yankee era, a book both grandin its scope and fascinating in its details.

AFTER

theGAM

ED

NM

’s SelectRestaurantsFor 2009


Buffalo Wild WingsYou’ve seen the commercials -- a foot-ball referee looking at an instant re-play monitor or a baseball coachsitting in the dugout dialing up thebullpen. But each is really talking tothe patrons at the restaurant/bar, allof whom are pleading to make thegame go longer. And both ref andcoach are more than happy tooblige, as each goes out of his way(tripping a football player about toscore or flashing a light in the out-fielder’s eyes) to make sure the cus-tomers get what they want.

For Buffalo Wild Wings, it all addsup to their slogan: You have to behere.

And now, you will get a chance to as

Buffalo Wild Wings is now open forthe first time in the state of NewJersey.

“It was about two-and-a-half years inthe making to bring the first BuffaloWild Wings to New Jersey and weare very excited,” said Stephen G.Sullivan Jr., president of the AntSulGroup, an independent franchiseowner and operator of Buffalo WildWings. “I grew up in central NewJersey, and having played againstJack Cust, I know it’s such a greatsports area. Diamond Nation is agreat place and it’s a great tie in forus from a sports perspective.Diamond Nation is all about the

experience and the same holds truefor us. Their facility is just absolutelyincredible. The wow factor they havefor sports fans is the same thing westrive for.”

Buffalo Wild Wings was founded in1982 by two longtime friends, JimDisrbow and Scott Lowery. A yearearlier, while judging a figure skatingcompetition at Kent State Universityin Ohio, Disbrow met up with Loweryand the pair decided to get them-selves Buffalo-styled chicken wings.Unable to find what they craved, theycame up with the idea to open arestaurant of their own. They decidedto locate it in Columbus, the home ofThe Ohio State University, because ofits large student population. In 1982,the new restaurant was set up in anempty storeroom space near the cam-

pus with the nameBuffalo Wild Wingsand Weck.

Now, they are one ofthe top 10 fastest-growing restaurantchains in the country.There are about 575restaurants over 40states and that num-ber will continue togrow. They have 14signature sauces andmake over 30,000wings a week. Asidefrom the menu, whichfeatures anythingfrom burgers to ribs,they are also a sportsbar with flat screen

televisions. And Buffalo Wild Wings’promotions gear towards each side;the excellent food – including WingTuesdays, Boneless Thursdays andNight Hunger. And the sports fan –Fantasy Football and Football Chal-lenge.

“We feel that there is really nothinglike a good neighborhood sportsbar,” Sullivan said. “It’s a uniquebrand and we are excited to open itup by Rutgers University. BuffaloWild Wings is a really great conceptthat a lot of people are going to havea really good time being involvedwith. Food and wings is one thing,but the experience is great.”


In sickness and in healthModern medicine may have madesome greats even better

By Trevor HayesNational Baseball Hall of Fame and MuseumMcCoy Stadium bulged. The home of theTriple-A Pawtucket Red Sox could barelycontain the standing-room-only crowd, andtheir noise swelled outside of the stadium,with chants of “Pa-pi, Pa-pi.”

David Ortiz gavethe crowd what itwanted when hehit three homers inthree games forthe PawSox. 2008saw Red Sox Na-tion descend uponPawtucket to seetheir slugger re-cover from his wristinjury. Despite only10,031 seats inMcCoy stadium, acrowd of 11,460saw Ortiz hit hisfirst bomb in aPawSox uniform.

The minors are often known for their promo-tions, but the attendance boost a majorleague star provides can be better than anygiveaway. But while minor league rehabilita-tion assignments are common today, very fewHall of Famers ever played one.

In 1980, a change to the rules allowed teamsto send major league players on injuryrehabilitation assignments and still accruemajor league service time. The rule change

came as a part of the resolution to the laborstruggles that year.

In baseball terms the change is still recent.Hall of Fame careers take a minimum of 10years to build and players must wait fiveyears after retiring to be elected, so only ahandful of Hall of Famers could haveplayed rehabilitation games. Even fewer Hallof Famers – like Paul Molitor who suffereda broken knuckle that sent him to the Beloit

Brewers for arehab game in1990 – haveneeded to take ad-vantage of the rulechange.

For many of theplayers enshrinedin Cooperstown,things were justhandled differently.Thomas Boswellsummed up thedifference in his1989 book TheHeart of the Order.

“Once upon atime, you spit on acut and rubbed a

bruise,” Boswell wrote. “Now, if you don’tfeel perfect, a battery of trainers, doctorsand masseurs try to decide whether youneed diathermy, deep heat, whirlpool, ice,massage, ultrasound, acupuncture, cortisone,hypnotism or an L.A. shrink.”

In 1992, almost $100 million was paid toplayers on the disabled list. With more so-phisticated equipment to detect injuries andthe monetary investment in players, teams

HALL OF FAME NEWS

New York Mets


today are much more cautious. Molitor’sstring of injuries – pulled hamstrings, pulledribcage muscles, torn ankle ligaments, elbowinjuries and the broken knuckle – ultimatelyforced him to become a designated hitter tolimit the wear on his body.

Tales like future Hall of Famer Tony Gwynnleading the National League in hitting witha .353 average in 1996 despite a tornAchilles’ tendon are becoming rarer. Gwynnand his 2007 Induction mate, Cal Ripken Jr.,were throwbacks to the early days ofbaseball.

Ripken set a new record by playing in 2,632consecutive games, which lasted from 1982until 1998. Over that time, 3,695 major lea-guers were placed on the DL. Ripken’s firsttrip to the disabled list was in 1999, his 19thseason in the majors. He’d two years later.

The man Ripken passed for the title of IronMan, Lou Gehrig, once had his handsx-rayed late in his career. Seventeen healedbone fractures were uncovered with the pic-tures. Gehrig apparently had no clue theyexisted. He also suffered a few severe beanballs to the head in an erabefore batting helmets wereused and fought throughchronic back spasms toplay every day.

The only thing that couldforce Gehrig from playingwas the illness that eventu-ally took his life, amy-otrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS). Commonly known asLou Gehrig’s Disease, ALScauses muscles throughoutthe body to degenerate. In1939, after suffering fromthe disease for over a year,Gehrig’s skill had deterio-rated to the point that hepulled himself from histeam’s lineup. His streak

ended at 2,130 games and he never playedagain.

Columnist Jim Murray once wrote “He was asymbol of indestructibility – a Gibraltar incleats.”

In the days before teams started usingdoctors and trainers, players took the fieldwith all sorts of injuries, whether they wantedto or were ready to. An exhausted DizzyDean asked to sit out of the 1937 All-StarGame, but played anyway. The Hall ofFamer gave up a homer to Gehrig and thena line drive to Earl Averill. Averill’s lineradded injury to the insult of the home run. Theball struck Dean’s foot, sidelining him with abroken toe.

The star pitcher wasn’t given enough time torecover though. The Cardinals rushed himback into service. The toe forced Dean toalter his delivery which resulted in shoulderdamage and cut his career short. Deanplayed four more seasons but never pitchedmore than 20 games in a season again.

Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle is another star


who was limited by injuries. Mantle isconsidered one of the all-time greats, but in-juries plagued him throughout his career.

At 19, during Game 2 of the 1951 World Se-ries, Mantle charged hard after a fly ball try-ing to help cover ground for an aged JoeDiMaggio. When he saw DiMaggio in posi-tion, Mantle pulled up and caught his spikeson a sprinkler head in the Yankee Stadiumoutfield. He tore several ligaments in his kneeand neglected to rehabilitate it properly. Theincident became the source of a series of legproblems.

Rex Barney, a former player, broadcasterand public address announcer once said ofMantle, “Before every game he had to wraphis left leg from the ankle up with an Acebandage as tight as a mummy. After everygame, he would unwrap it, tears of pain onhis face. Never said a word.”

Hall of Famer Nellie Fox said: “On two legs,Mickey Mantle would have been the greatestballplayer who ever lived.” And 1989 HallInductee Carl Yastrzemski said, “If that guywere healthy, he’d have hit 80 home runs.”

Like Mantle, Dodger legend Sandy Koufaxwas cut down in his prime by injuries. Armproblems forced the L.A. fireballer to retireearly. Winning his third Cy Young in 1966after going 27-9 with a 1.73 ERA, Koufax re-tired at 31, saying “When I’m 40 years old,I’d still like to be able to comb my hair.”

Koufax’s arm problems were well docu-mented. Reynaud’s Phenomenon, a circula-tory problem which caused him to losefeeling in his fingers, cost him half of the1962 season. He dominated over the nextfew years, throwing four no-hitters includinga perfect game between 1962 and his retire-ment, but elbow problems caught up to him.

After already starting two games, Koufaxthrew Game 7 of the 1965 World Series onjust two days rest. The strain on his arm wasgetting to be unbearable and his catcherJohnny Roseboro asked what they should do

without the use of the hurler’s devastatingcurve. Koufax replied “Just blow them away.”He threw a three-hitter and struck out 10, end-ing the Series with a 0.38 ERA in 24 innings.

Within a decade after Koufax’s retirement,medical science made a great leap forward.Dr. Frank Jobe and Dodgers pitcher TommyJohn made history in 1974. To save John’scareer after elbow problems, Jobe pioneeredwhat has become known as Tommy John sur-gery, where an elbow ligament is replacedwith a tendon from elsewhere in the body.While no Hall of Famer has had the opera-tion, plenty of active pitchers have a four-inchscar from the Tommy John procedure, includ-ing A.J. Burnett, Matt Holliday, MarianoRivera, Kenny Rogers and John Smoltz.

Some of those players may soon be in Coop-erstown, a tribute to a doctor’s skill and aplayer’s determination to keep playing.

Members of the National Baseball Hall ofFame and Museum receive free admission tothe Museum, as well as access to exclusiveprograms, such as the Voices of the GameSeries. Additionally, members receive a sub-scription to the Hall of Fame's bi-monthlymagazine, Memories and Dreams, the 2009Hall of Fame yearbook and a 10% discountand free shipping on retail purchases. For in-formation on becoming a member, pleasevisit baseballhall.org or call 607-547-0397.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum isopen seven days a week year round, with the ex-ception of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’sDay. From Memorial Day through Labor Day, theMuseum is open from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. seven daysa week. The Museum observes off-season hours of9 a.m. until 5 p.m. from the day after Labor Dayuntil Memorial Day Weekend. Ticket prices are$16.50 for adults (13 and over), $11 for seniors (65and over) and for those holding current member-ships in the VFW, Disabled American Veterans,American Legion and AMVets organizations, and $6for juniors (ages 7-12). Members are alwaysadmitted free of charge and there is no charge forchildren 6 years of age or younger. For moreinformation, visit our Web site at baseballhall.orgor call 888-HALL-OF-FAME (888-425-5633) or607-547-7200.


Ninety-foot ThievesHall of Famers Dominate Stolen BaseRecords

By Samantha CarrNational Baseball Hall of Fame andMuseum

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. – Great base steal-ers have more than just speed. They havesomething intangible, something that con-vinces them they will steal that base.

They also have something else in common.Most of them are in the Hall of Fame.

“My greatest asset was my ‘arrogance’ onthe bases, which enabled me to light thefuse to a ball club,” said Hall of Famer LouBrock, who became the oldest player tosteal 100 bases when he totaled 118 in1974. “Baserunning ‘arrogance’ is just likepitching ‘arrogance.’ The runner gets to firstbase and stands out there nine or 10 feet

HALL OF FAME NEWS

off the bag. Do I challenge the pitcherand catcher or do I back away? If you’re‘arrogant,’ you are presenting a presencethat tells the opposition, ‘I am ready forthe test.’.”

Brock held the career stolen base recordwhen he retired in 1979. The record hassince been topped by the newest electee tothe Baseball Hall of Fame, Rickey Hender-son. Henderson stole 1,406 bases duringhis 25-year career.

Henderson was elected by the BaseballWriters Association of America in Januarywith 94.8 percent of the vote. He will beinducted on July 26 and receive his plaquein Cooperstown.

Henderson, who is considered by many thegreatest leadoff hitter of all time, gained thenickname “Man of Steal” because of hisdancing fingers and quick feet. He led hisleague in stolen bases 12 times.

The Legendary Ty Cobb

Honus Wagner


Henderson and Brock dominate the recordbook when it comes to swiping bases. Thetop two modern single season records are:Henderson with 130 steals in 1982, andBrock with 118 steals in 1974. They eachled Major League Baseball in steals for sixseasons. They have the top two career sea-sons with 50-plus stolen bases, Hendersonwith 13 and Brock with 12, which were allconsecutive.

In fact, Hall of Famers are all over therecord books for stolen bases. The top fourcareer base stealers are in the Hall of Fame:After Henderson and Brock are Billy Hamil-ton with 912 and Ty Cobb with 892.

Henderson holds the record for most timesleading a league with 12 AL titles, but Hallof Famer Max Carey is not far behind, lead-ing the NL 10 times. Hall of Famer LuisAparicio has the most consecutive seasonsleading his league with nine.

Two records exist for the most stolen basesin a game. Prior to 1901, that record stoodat 7 by Hamilton and George Gore. Themodern record is six and is held by Hall ofFamer Eddie Collins, Otis Nixon, and EricYoung.

Brock and Collins are tied for most careersteals in the World Series with 14. Cobbstole home more than any other player, pil-fering the plate 54 times.

The stolen base was not a recorded statisticuntil 1886, and it was much different then.A stolen base was awarded to any runnerwho advanced an extra base on his ownaccord. This included a runner who wentfrom first to third on a single.

When he retired, Hall Of Famer Lou Brock led almost every category related to stolen bases

The shoes of Hall Of Famer Lou Brock


With this definition of the statistic, the stolenbase was viewed less as an achievement bythe runner and more as a failure by the de-fense. The 1880s and 90s showed wildlyhigh totals, including Harry Stovey record-ing 156 stolen bases in 1888.

The modern definition of the steal came in1896, although caught stealing was notmeasured until 1920. Prior to that, stolenbase percentage was calculated by the per-centage of steals per game for a team.

This, it was decided, was not an accuratemeasure, and was later changed to the num-ber of steals divided by attempts. The playerwith the highest stolen base percentage withat least 300 stolen bases is Tim Raines with84.7.

In the early 1900s, one player’s anticsforced a rule change to the stolen base.

The Detroit Tigers had men on first and thirdin the ninth inning against Cleveland. DavyJones, a player with good speed, was onthird, and Germany Shaefer was on first.The team tried a delayed double steal tosneak the runner home, but the Clevelandcatcher did not throw down to second.

On the next pitch Shaefer stole first base togo back and try itagain. After an argu-ment, the umpire al-lowed it and Shaefertried to steal secondon the next pitch. TheCleveland catcherthrew the ball into cen-ter field and the runscored to win thegame. Shortly after-ward, the rule waschanged so that oncea player reaches sec-ond base, he cannotreturn to first, outlaw-ing the steal of firstbase.

Henderson, the most successful base thief ofall time, turned the stolen base into one ofhis greatest weapons on the baseball field.

"You got to creep, creep. You got to playgames with them,” Henderson said of theopposing pitchers. “You got to make themknow you're back there. Once they knowyou're back there, they’re going to panicand a lot of time they’re going to give thathitter a great pitch to hit."

The base stealing gloves of Ricky Henderson

Base stealing champ, Hall Of Famer, Ricky Henderson


Members of the National Baseball Hall ofFame and Museum receive free admissionto the Museum, as well as access to exclu-sive programs, such as the Voices of theGame Series. Additionally, members receivea subscription to the Hall of Fame's bi-monthly magazine, Memories and Dreams,the 2009 Hall of Fame yearbook and a10% discount and free shipping on retailpurchases. For information on becoming amember, please visit baseballhall.org or call607-547-0397

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum isopen seven days a week year round, with the ex-ception of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’sDay. From Memorial Day through Labor Day, theMuseum is open from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. seven daysa week. The Museum observes off-season hours of9 a.m. until 5 p.m. from the day after Labor Dayuntil Memorial Day Weekend. Ticket prices are$16.50 for adults (13 and over), $11 for seniors (65and over) and for those holding current member-ships in the VFW, Disabled American Veterans,American Legion and AMVets organizations, and $6for juniors (ages 7-12). Members are alwaysadmitted free of charge and there is no charge forchildren 6 years of age or younger. For more infor-mation, visit our Web site at baseballhall.org or call888-HALL-OF-FAME (888-425-5633) or 607-547-7200.

Left: Mickey Mantle - If he only had two good legs....Below: Tim Raines - 5th all-time for steals

PROUD BUILDERSOF

DIAMOND NATION

609.620.1100alcosportsusa.com

9 Princess Road • Suite B • Lawrenceville, NJ 08648

Musco, which has specialized in the de-sign and manufacture of systems for light-ing and recreating and athletic fields since1976, provides the sports lighting for hun-dreds of stadiums across the nation, fromthe new Yankee Stadium and Citi Field to

Lamade Stadium, the home of the LittleLeague World Series in Williamsport, PA.

Musco works with organizations such asAmateur Softball Association, Babe RuthLeague, Disney, England and WalesCricket Board, Little League Baseball® andSoftball, Major League Baseball, NASCARand the NBA.

With a pedigree like that, it only madesense that Musco would team up to providethe lighting at Diamond Nation in Fleming-ton, NJ.

“Diamond Nation is a state of the art

facility and the light levels used there saya lot about the facility,” said Kevin Hladik,Editor of the A Safety Awareness Program(ASAP) Newsletter.

“The average little league field has a50/30 light level, but atDiamond Nation, it is 70/50,which gives 33 percent morelighting on both the infieldand outfield and allows for aquicker response time forhitters and fielders. Manycollege and even some minorleague parks use that samelevel.”

There is more to Musco thanjust providing light, however.Musco lights are more energyefficient and trouble-free forowners. Automated on/off

scheduling systems -- such as Musco’sControl Link -- help reduce public concernregarding wasted energy on empty fields.As a result, it cuts energy costs in half,reducing spill light by 50 percent. Theautomated system also makes it easier onthe owner, who doesn’t have to worryabout training someone to turn on/offlights at the end of a shift.

Musco is not only focused on being envi-ronmentally friendly, but safety is its bigconcern.

“It’s important that the sport is beingplayed safely and under good conditions,”

EXPERTLY DESIGNED LIGHTING FRON LITTLE LEAGUE TO MAJOR LEAGUES ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY

MUSCO LIGHTS UPDIAMOND NATION


YANKEE STADIUM

Hladik said. “There is not awood or steel pool in theground … with having aconcrete base, you don’thave rusting. It’s about rais-ing awareness to improvethe experience for the kids.”

And the kids at DiamondNation are reaping the ben-efits. There are less darkspots on the field. For exam-ple, when a ball is hit, thefielder is able to clearly fol-low the flight of the ball theentire way into the glove. Notonly does this improve the quality of base-ball/softball being played, but it allowsthe kids to play in a safe environment.While the lighting is designed to enhanceplaying conditions, it is also less obtrusivefor neighbors and the environment that sur-rounds Diamond Nation.

Musco has played a key role in develop-ing guidelines for safe and efficient sportsfacilities. “It has helped to provide a change in theway that people view their sports light-ing,” Hladik said. “It will not only impactthe present, but the future as well.”

DIAMOND NATION, FLEMINGTON, NJ

Who says that you need warm weather toplay baseball or softball? Just because it’swinter and the weather is colder, thatdoesn’t mean you have to stop playing;nor should you either because when yourspring season arrives, you can have theadvantage over other teams. How? Join a Diamond Nation winter league.

The age groups for the baseball leaguerange from 10 to 18 years old while theages range from 16 to 18 years old forsoftball. Both leagues get a combined totalof 50 to 80 and 60 to 100 teams. Theway the leagues are set up, teams havefour practices in December and then playeight games over the course of Januaryand February.

Teams and Players will be able to developtheir baseball and softball skills playinglive games in the 140,000 sq. foot heatedHealthQuest Sports Dome in Flemington,NJ, which is the largest air structure in thenation.

Entering it's sixth season of winter leaguebaseball and softball individuals who donot have a team to play or can join a teamto be coached by Diamond Nation's expe-rienced staff.

“What separates our winter league is thatthe kids aren’t just practicing in a cageor a bullpen setting like most winter pro-grams,” said Keith Dilgard, President/GMof Diamond Nation. “They are able towork on new things and get better whileplaying in a game setting.”

WINTER LEAGUE140,000-SQAURE-FOOT, HEATED HEALTHQUEST SPORTS DOME PROVIDES ALL-YEAR ROUND PLAY


HEALTHQUEST SPORTS DOME

While the full-size baseball field is a littlelimited in the outfield, the dome featuresa full-size little league and softball field.The winter is a time to get better and getready for the spring, and Diamond Na-tion gives players a heads start on that.

“Kids on the west coast and down southare playing all-year round in warmweather,” Dilgard said. “We want to beable to give kids in the north east thatsame advantage and thanks to the dome,we can level the playing field.”

Whether you want to improve your pitch-ing, hitting, fielding or throwing, it’s time to trade in those snow balls for baseballsand softballs.

For more information, go to www.diamondnation.com

JAREN MATHEWS: RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

NJSIAA COACHES CONVENTION

CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS

‘Dedicated To The Financial Success Of Our Clients’

ACCOUNTINGSERVICES

TAXSERVICES

BUSINESSPLANNING

INVESTMENTCONSULTING

908•782•7300110 MAIN STREET • FLEMINGTON, NJ

Cust, Dori & Benick

fall issue

Documents