About Pitching Ace - News Page

Delivery - the Book

We've Moved to Valdez Baseball Academy

“Oil Can” Boyd Came By to OfferInstruction

A Visit with Bill Lee

 

DELIVERY - THE BOOK

In February, 2009, I completed writing my baseball pitching book, DELIVERY. People love it. It has been a great success and is having the effect I wanted from it. It is designed to supplement my pitching lessons. And it is there for those who want to learn about pitching and to become a successful pitcher.

DELIVERY is a step by step procedure in the art and science of baseball pitching, based entirely on what major league pitchers do that make them successful.

It is a book of 20 illustrations, with short descriptive text accompanying each section, as well as a pregame Conditioning and Stretching exercises, finishing with a Pitch Grips section.

It has turned out to be such a popular book that I've had to do a second printing to accommodate the demand for it. For many of those who have seen it, in just a short time after leafing through the copy I have on display at the Academy, they have bought it on the spot, so effective have they found it as a teaching tool.

One person told me, "I understand what is going on in the pitching sequence now. I had no what it entailed before reading your book."

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WE'VE MOVED TO VALDEZ BASEBALL ACADEMY

In December 2008, I took Pitching Ace and moved into the Valdez Baseball Academy, in Medford, MA, http://valdezacademy.com/ , where I am the head pitching coach. It has been a great move, indeed. I even have my own bullpen. Imagine that.

Lessons are by appointment, though some pitchers show up unannounced and we always find a way to fit them in.

I must say, working with David Valdez has been perhaps the best move I've made. His working environment, both for me as well as the many pitchers I work with, is relaxed and fun, where everything moves like clockwork.

As for Dave, he is as knowledgeable a baseball person as you are likely to find, and he is a really nice guy.

I've seen fantastic and positive changes in the young ball players who come to learn baseball at Dave's Academy, whether it is pitching or any other aspect of the game.

Dave's a highly knowledgeable staff constantly and consistently elevate ball players to their higher levels, whether those ballplayers are 8 or 18 years old. It is amazing seeing the improvement in ballplayer after ballplayer, as each player progresses through Dave's system.

As for me, just watching how Dave and his staff work with the ballplayers has greatly improved my appreciation and knowledge of the game, and I'm loving every minute of it.

Also, there are great perks to working the Academy. One day Julio Lugo showed up to take BP. After swatting fastballs all over the place, Dave helped Lugo adjust his swing on the curveball. After spending five minutes, Lugo was swatting curveballs as easily as he was fastballs. As I say, Dave knows his stuff.

Also, from time to time "Oil Can" Boyd shows up to do some teaching. Teaching not only the students, but me as well. The first five minutes I spent with "Oil Can", I learned so much I couldn't believe it. There's nothing like learning from the best. And there are rumors we will see Bill Lee at the Academy as well as Dave's good friend, David Ortiz.

If you want to learn baseball at the highest level, come to the Valdez Baseball Academy. I promise you this, your game will improve in a very short time.

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“Oil Can” BOYD CAME BY TO OFFER INSTRUCTION

We recently had a visit from former Red Sox pitcher, Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd, at the Valdez Baseball Academy.

Oil Can is as fun loving a guy as you are likely to meet. While taking time as a guest teacher with some of the Pitching Ace students, he not only taught a lot, he also gave the pitchers a most enjoyable time.

For me the best part was to listen to how he talked with the pitchers. “Okay,” he said, “put your foot in this position. Now, for the rest of your life you will put your foot that position.” Or “Bring that knee up, way up. Look there now,” after they’d raised it higher than ever before, “I’ll bet you didn’t know you could get that knee up so high.”

He also showed the players how he used to throw a change up, when he pitched in the major leagues. They were thrilled know that they could throw the pitch the same way he did, just like a major leaguer, even as they are Little League aged pitchers. In most cases, when they tried what he showed them, they found they automatically threw an effective and meaningful changeup. You should have seen the smiles.

Before heading out the door he autographed a bunch of baseballs for the students and also took time to have his picture taken with them.

We all look forward to his next visit with us.

By the way, while he was in town, Can, as he likes to be called, also took time to help in a fundraising effort for Winthrop, MA, Little League Baseball.

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A VISIT WITH BILL LEE

During the summer I had the opportunity to watch Bill Lee pitch a couple of innings and to have a chat with him.

His pitching delivery was as smooth on that day I watched him pitch in Newton, MA, as it was when he wore a major league uniform. An effortless, fully synchronized delivery with not an ounce of energy wasted. What a pleasure it was to watch him work.

One of the secrets of his success as a major league pitcher, he told me, is that “I never let the hitter hit the ball on the fat part of the bat off of me.” Also, he said, “I’d change the eye level, throw up, throw down,” moving his hands up and down in an imaginary strike zone, “and take a little off, put a little on. Always moving the hitter back and forth,” as he moved from his back foot to his front foot.

During the game, true to his word, he gave up a couple of flair hits to the opposite field, and basically had his way with the hitters. To one hitter he threw a knee buckler. That is, the batter thought the ball was coming at him and at the last second dived for the plate for a strike. Both benches had a good laugh at that, even the hitter had to smile a little.

As many of you might know who followed Lee’s career, through the 70’s and into the 80’s, or are familiar with his numbers, he always had a lot of runners on base, while his career ERA was 3.92. Anything around 3.50 is very good. He also won 119 games and struck out 713 batters. Not bad for a spaceman. He was also known to be seen reading Russian philosopher, P.D. Ouspensky, between starts.

During his career, as one who watched him pitch, to me it was almost as if he wanted to put a couple of runners on base before he started working his magic. I imagine he left a lot of hitters frustrated, leaving those RBIs on base by this guy who was just throwing a lot of junk up to the plate. I think Bill was toying with them.

Bill is in as good a shape as anyone you are likely to meet, with a strong barrel chest and built like granite. He only came out of the game to give some other guys a chance to pitch. He said he thinks he’ll retire from pitching when he is seventy years old.

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We Teach the Major League Pitching Form

Developing the Next Generation of Pitchers

Our Pitchers Learn To:

Prevent Arm Injury
Increase Velocity
Throw Consistent Strikes
Change Speeds
Handle Mental Aspects

For Pitchers of All Ages

 

"He knows what he is doing and knows how to teach it."
--- Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd, former MLB pitcher

 

""Skip Murray is an outstanding baseball pitching coach, working with my 10 year-old son. During the off-season, he worked very patiently with him for a 2 month period, carefully and persistently teaching each successive technique until the whole pitching process became second nature to him. The improvement in my son's pitching is striking. Not only did he add another 8 mph on his velocity(from 46 to 54), but he now uses his whole body in his wind-up and delivery. Skip has a calm, patient, easy-going manner which makes him easy for kids (and adults) of all ages to relate to, but he's more than just a nice guy. If you want to see results, and you want the learning process to be fun, then sign up with "The Professor"...aka Skip Murray...Thanks Skip!"

--- R Raiter, Winthrop, MA, April 2009