Throwing Batting Practice
Posted on 14. Aug, 2009 by Corey in All, Dayton Dragons Baseball, General Baseball.
It appears I will be keeping my day job for the time being.
My dream of making a comeback in the game I love and stopped playing around age 16 hit a speed bump yesterday when Dragons pitching coach Tony Fossas finally let me show him my pitching arm by throwing batting practice to members of the Dragons.
Fossas has been telling me all season the time is coming, and that time was yesterday. Following team stretching, before the position players daily batting practice session, Fossas put me on the mound to throw batting practice to the pitchers. In single A ball, where the Dayton Dragons compete, pitchers do not hit in games. Therefore, most of them do not swing a bat for the entire season. As a reward for the hard work lately, however, Fossas decided to let them to take a few hacks in the cage, and I was called upon to throw to them.
After a light stretch with Athletic Trainer Tyler Steele, I headed out to the field to throw a few warm up pitches before taking the “bump.” Former Cincinnati Reds pitcher Mario Soto, who is in town as a roving instructor, warmed me up some in the outfield while the pitchers finished their stretching. I then headed to the mound to get ready.
Dragon’s starters Josh Ravin and Mark Serrano stepped in to bunt a few so I could get use to throwing in those conditions. After a few warm-ups, I was ready to begin. In total, I threw for about 30 minutes and a few hundred baseballs, as all the pitchers rotated batting. I am not saying that I was good by any stretch, but I held my own. Most of the pitches were around the zone, although probably a bit slower than the guys are used to.
Although the idea of batting practice is to “lay the ball in the zone” nice and easy so players can get practice and get loose, it sure felt nice when a few of the guys swung and missed my pitch. Fortunately, no one took me out of the park for a home run either.
The highlight of my BP session came with Ezequiel Infante at the plate. Infante was a lefty, which I seemed to have a bit more trouble with, surprisingly since I am a lefty. I jammed a pitch in on his hands and he hit a broken bat popup. The bat went flying towards first base and got a big roar from everyone watching. I had Infante sign the bat for me, a true treasure for my collection (see photo).
After the session was over, I walked off the mound dripping with sweat, feeling proud that I gave a good effort and held my own. I am sure there were some laughs at my slow fastballs, but I felt good knowing I made it through without someone from the coaching staff making a trip to the mound to pull me out.
Upon leaving the field, Fossas approached me and I thanked him for the opportunity. He then told me, “When you throw again tomorrow, make sure you trust your stuff and just throw.” I guess I wasn’t that bad since I get another chance!
I was able to witness this event. While your effort was good, your pitches where too slow and they need to be staight. Maybe if you would quit chomping on the gum during the BP your ball would be straighter. I think you should give it another chance next year in the Arizona Fall Lge.
I was a bit shaky for the first time throwing Live BP this season…but rumor is I am still better than some in the organization!! Will throw harder/faster next time out…Just getting my feet wet…
Didn’t know you were hitting in the stands to watch…Did you get any video?
No video my man, But if there was I would call it a horror show. Ha Ha