Tyler Firth, MBA on LinkedIn: I was watching the PPA yesterday (the Professional Pickleball Association)… (2024)

Ten-acity: I got a ping the other day from acollector named Max Brustmeyer who sent along an uncut half sheet scan from the 1955 Topps Rails and Sails set. In addition to being a useful thing in and of itself, the sheet had a surprise in store:Yes, it's a 10x10 sheet, so there's 100 cards on this slit. All well and good, but this is a 1955 set and Topps had, from what I know if it, moved to 110 card sheets the year prior, or perhaps I should say a minimum of 110 cards due to the nature of the flip-flops (a method used due to the full bleed tops of each card with Rails and Sails as well). Take a look at this 1954 Baseball sheet offered by Huggins & Scott some time ago now"If you look at the very tippy-top of the sheet you can see a sliver of another row, which looks to replicate the second row.So we have a 100 card sheet for Rails and Sails produced well after the (minimum) 110 card sheet containing 1954 Baseballwas run. The 1954 Baseball cards were produced by the Lord Baltimore Press, who were the main printers for the company at the time. That brings up the question of who lithographed the Rails and Sails sheet. Was it Lord Baltimore, or perhaps Topps had found their way to Zabel Brothers of Philadelphia in 1955?Another interesting thing is the "breakage" of the numbers included on the 1954 Baseball slit and the Rails and Sails slit. The numbering on the Baseball sheet covers numbers 126 to 150 and then skips to 176 to 250. The Rails and Sails sheet runs from 1 to 80 (Rails) then jumps to 131 to 150 Sails). The Baseball array is totally arbitrary in 1954 while Rails and Sailsin '55 offers two areas of organization: the 4 x 5 block of Sails cards that is partially randomized with the top two rows containing nos. 141 to 150 and the bottom two with nos. 131 to 140, although they are scattered non-consecutively in each row. Below that we get six orderly rows of Rails, or I should say orderly columns as they all run consecutively through a five number top-to bottom sequence that reduces as it moves rightward when viewed from the front. Namely:26-30 19-24 13-18 7-12 1-6Then the right half of the sheet goes back to fifty randomly arrayed cards covering nos. 31 to 80. Crazy! The wedging of the Sails in the upper left corner is odd as well, it seems like it would be easier, given their full bleed backs and sides on the reverse (which explains why half are upside down) to just extend them out to full rows:The Rails had no such need for inversion, being uniform in color on the backs:I've mentioned before it seems like the Sails almost seem like an afterthought, or were originally meant to be a separate issue given how they differ in style so much from the Rails. Perhaps Topps was contracting some expenses… https://lnkd.in/g8nECyKh #1954ToppsBaseball #1955ToppsRailsandSails | @CollectingAll

As we have been talking about arm injuries, being on time, efficiency, velocity and control at home plate, the question of positioning ones self on the rubber often comes up. I am a traditionalist, to a degree, and I have always been a middle, arm side guy if someone asks my opinion. Our recent MLB history, prior to this new wave of pitching philosophy, found 90% of pitchers lined up on the arm side of the mound. Baseball America did a study in 2014 observing and recording 153 MLB pitchers in the first 3 weeks of the season and found that 42% worked from the glove side, 40% from the middle and 18% from the arm side. On the amatuer side, 60% of the top 30 pitching prospects in the 2014 draft threw from the glove side.I believe that an instructor can assist a pitcher in determining where a pitcher stands on the rubber based upon his delivery style. When I see a pitcher whose delivery is on time, meaning , he is linear in his delivery and his 4-seam fastball runs true, I will encourage him to be middle or arm side of the rubber. Often times, pitchers who are " leakers" become rotational because the are down the mound too fast, hips open, front toe pointing outward, arm dragging and every fastball thrown runs off arm side, can be found on the glove side of the rubber. The question becomes, do we attempt to fix the fault by putting him on the glove side realizing that the arm injury potential is greater or do we attempt to get him to be more linear by getting him on time with his delivery. Finally, I have been really curious about this phenomenon and started to watch softball pitchers and their alignment. In my unofficial observations, I found that 95% of softball pitchers lined up middle-arm side. Where is the disconnect? Below is a chart that Baseball America compiled that speaks directly to this issue. I encourage comments and discussion#baseball #pitching #powermaxxsportsinc

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I spent the last two days at the Prep Baseball Report All-American Game. Some of the best HS players in the country.5 takeaways for athletes:1. Everything Matters Whether you are in the box, on the mound, or interacting off the field. There is always someone watching the little things and trust me they matter. 2. Confidence WinsHow you carry yourself matters. The players who performed well also carried themselves with the confidence that they were going to perform well. 3. Hype TrainIt doesn't matter where you are ranked. Talent will always last longer than the hype. Performing when it matters will always carry you farther than 5 PM batting practice displays.4. Business is BoomingAs an elite athlete, you need to understand the business of you. As an athlete, you are both your own asset class and your greatest business asset. Learn to leverage those skills. 5. It's Just BaseballPBR loves baseball. They want these players to shine and did everything possible to put them in winning situations. Whether it is a big league field or your local little league ~ same game, same ball, same rules. In 2008, I played in many of the same All-American games. It was fun to see the next generation show their skills on a national stage. Athletes, play with confidence, get educated on the business of you, and always remember it is just baseball.

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This could be equally tagged:5 takeaways for entrepreneursif you're an entrepreneur, and aren't already following Jacob, I highly recommend you start today. He's sharing great content

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With baseball's dreaded off-season finally at an end, and Spring Training underway, my next blog weighs in on why starting pitchers are paid more and more, yet pitch less and less.Please feel free to weigh in with your take in the Comments section! Play ball!!!

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Baseball is a popular summer sport that people of all ages watch and play. Although baseball is a limited-contact sport, there are common baseball injuries that occur due to the high velocity and repetitive nature of throwing.Whether you play pick-up baseball on the weekends with friends or participate in a league, you could be at risk of one of these injuries.In this blog, we will explore the most common baseball injuries, how they occur, how to prevent them and how to get back to throwing safely.

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Changes in professional sports like baseball lead me to ask one question: What's the hurry? That question is central to my latest blog, which you can read at the link. ⚾

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Ryan Johnson is my favorite pitcher in college baseball. He works quickly, up to 97, and has his pitch repertoire locked all the way in. A 🧵 on 5 things the DBU righty does well that any pitcher can learn from (check comments for visuals) : 1. Leverage the unique. In a world of balance points and cookie cutter mechanics, Johnson winds up overhead while getting his momentum going with what looks like a modified slide step. How as a hitter do you prepare for the ball to get on you so quickly? 2. Throw your best pitches the most. Johnson's '24 pitch usage includes almost 50% sliders and a mere 30% fastball. Don't get velo blind- use your velo effectively and harness your offspeed to its highest potential. 3. In the zone. Every pitching coach's dream. The DBU righty is collecting his punchouts. 49 K's to 4 BB's this season... Velo vs. Command argument doesn't exist if you do both. It's hard to argue against pitching for strikeouts if you aren't losing the zone in the process. 4. The bridge pitch. Johnson leverages a cutter that bridges the gap between his fastball and sweeper. Bridge pitches don't have to be perfect- they just have to be shown to make a hitter's life harder. I'm all in on the bridge pitch for guys with outlier movement profiles. 5. Tempo. This one's unique to every pitcher, but Johnson doesn't waste any time between pitches. Paired with his speedy delivery, his ability to speed up the game on hitters will keep him a premier arm for years to come.

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BEST MLB BET - THURSDAY JULY 27There are just five games on the menu in Major League Baseball today, but my 19 betting systems do like one specific team.First, even though my official picks from yesterday generated a 1-1 record, I believe it is still worth celebrating the 25th straight win by the moneymaking “Scoring Drought” betting strategy! We were told to bet the Giants last night, and they came through with an 8-3 victory over the Oakland A’s. What a run it has been, and we are all looking for the next qualifying play, right? Now, my top pick for today, Thursday July 27, goes to the St. Louis Cardinals hosting the Chicago Cubs. This pick is backed by “The Hot Teams Matchup #2” betting angle that goes like this: bet the home team if they have won 1 or 2 games in a row, when facing a road team coming off at least four wins in a row. In this case, St. Louis won a single game in a row, while Chicago is riding a five-game winning streak. Based on historical data, it is wise to put our money on the home squad, St. Louis, to halt the visiting team’s hot run.Let’s dive into the pitching matchup. Justin Steele will be squaring off against Miles Mikolas. In both cases, the revenge factor is in our favor. Why?First, Justin Steele has enjoyed good success against his divisional foe this season. Indeed, he holds a perfect 3-0 record against the Cards in 2023, along with a nice 2.95 ERA. That included a win six days ago, so I like St. Louis to get some payback tonight.On the other side, Miles Mikolas faced the Cubs five days ago, a game in which he surrendered 5 runs in 5 innings. However, throughout his career, he presents a solid 2.51 ERA against Chicago. I like him to rebound on Thursday.I’m Professor MJ, a 15-year university statistics professor, I’m looking forward to talk to you again tomorrow, my friend!#mlb #mlbpicks #freepicks #baseball #baseballpicks #betting #bettingtips #bettingsports #stlouis #cardinals #chc #professormj #bookiecrushers

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Want to see a pitching delivery that has supported an average 20-year Major League Baseball (MLB) Career with over 4,000 professional innings? The attached video featuresTom Seaver and Jerry Reuss and showcases movement patterns that help TOLERATE THE DEMANDS OF PITCHING.In today's culture, there's a fascination with showcasing pitchers who excel at throwing at high velocities. This fascination is accompanied by detailed discussions about the mechanics required to achieve such proficiency. What's usually left out is the genetics/twitch that makes it possible and, most importantly, if those same mechanics can support the velocity over a professional season.The full windup is often overlooked in teaching today, but it can help the pitcher establish a natural cadence of rhythm and tempo into variations of the "leg kick to leg swing" that helps generate angular momentum. I've been teaching the "leg kick to leg swing" for over a decade as a critical movement to improve DVS Scores, and now that I have spoken with Don R. Mueller, Ph.D., I can grasp the physics of why the movement benefits the tolerability of a baseball pitcher. The leg kick and then leg swing (converting moment of inertia to rotational speed) help pitchers turn their hips faster and naturally supinate the wrist/forearm into a position that matches the spine at foot strike (see last video).In Don R. Mueller, Ph.D. words..."The moment of inertia is swinging out of the foot to extend the leg, one of the two components of angular momentum. As the leg swings out, then forward, the pelvis turns. However, as the leg bends in to plant the foot, the second component of angular momentum, the rotational frequency (speed), increases at the expense of the first component, the moment of inertia. In other words, the hips turn faster. With your back foot on the rubber, all this creates the torque (turning force). So, to convert torque to angular momentum, you need a moment of inertia (the leg swing). "This sequence of moments sets up the ability for the upper torso to fall forward over the center of mass, closer to home plate, and let the momentum of the torso and arm naturally decelerate, as seen in the video examples. If you watch a week's worth of MLB games, you will notice quite the opposite in many MLB Pitchers. A violent deceleration of the throwing arm, in some cases recoiling back upwards after releasing the ball.

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