As we enter the third week of “Balling on a Budget,” I figured I would mix it up a little bit and give you somewhat of a DIY project. So, for this week, I will discuss colored baseballs. Simple yet effective, colored baseballs add an extra variable or decision-making aspect to training, increasing the stimulus. The colored baseballs are obviously easy to transport, and they can be implemented in any offensive or defensive work.
During practice or training sessions, coaches are always looking for something to raise the bar or add as a challenge. Colored baseballs can provide that extra wrinkle by adding a decision-making component to any drill. To best understand one of their applications, think about the monotony of ground ball reps in the infield. The guys will be out on the field logging rep after rep without thinking about a runner going down the line or any time constraints. By incorporating colored baseballs, we as coaches can add an external performance variable. Now instead of continuing the monotony, say that regular baseballs go with normal footwork, blue baseballs are fast runners and gold baseballs are slow runners (I chose those colors because those are the colors I happened to have. You can choose any color you would like). Without having to continually yell to the team about runner speed or making more game-like plays, some paint and some quick direction have the guys making reads to best position themselves for a game-like ground ball.
Along those same lines, another option when working with a specific position is to associate a color with a base. For instance, if we are working with first basemen, we want the regular baseball to be a double play, the blue baseball to be a play at the plate, and the gold baseball to be a traditional flip to the pitcher or a “take it yourself” force play at first base. All of these closely mimic the potential plays in a first and third situation. We may do this type of colored ball drill to get the guys comfortable making any imaginable play or throw from any position at a moment’s notice when we do not have the luxury of live baserunners.
Perhaps to spark some creativity on your end, I’d also suggest other defensive applications such as footwork pattern variations, one hand vs two hand, or receive vs push through. An important takeaway to keep in mind is that all of these suggested colored ball uses and likely others that you may think of involve footwork, positioning, and timing. The action, however, is determined by ball color. Looking back at each drill, the ball color determines either the play’s destination or a specific action. As a result, a player must go through the necessary footwork to make the specific play that the ball calls for. Consequently, when it comes time to add some variability and decision-making into practice, colored baseballs make for a great bridge between the classic mass-ground balls practice and live repetitions.
On the offensive side, colored baseballs can also provide a similar training stimulus in regards to decision making. A colored ball could be associated with a “take,” turning the focus towards pitch recognition and body control and eliminating mindless swinging. I recognize the color aspect is a little different than picking up spin or finding the dot of a breaking pitch; however, this simplified version of pitch recognition training can serve as a bit of a bridge to get a hitter’s eyes and brain working toward observing differences from the norm, AKA a regular batting practice fastball with a standard baseball.
From my experience both as a player and coach, picking up on a difference is much easier than and nearly as effective as defining a difference. To elaborate, a hitter does not necessarily need to know what the difference is when a pitcher throws a slider versus a fastball, but if the hitter can recognize that a difference exists between the two, he is doing just fine. That initial recognition is monumental. Like I said, I understand it is a simplification to pitch recognition and swing decisions; however, it is a great step toward pitch recognition training without having to mix pitches during a standard batting practice session.
Although not necessary, I suggest mixing in at least one take for every five pitches when running through normal batting practice. That being said, another wrinkle you can add is making a colored ball an automatic take throughout the season. With that little twist, the element of surprise requires distinct focus and recall throughout an extended training period. No matter the drill, the colored ball-controlled take can add a nice little twist to the training session.
Another use at the plate is bat control. This normally is not up my alley, but can be a fun and challenging exercise, especially as a front toss station during practice. Admittedly, I favor swinging with maximum intent to do damage on each swing based on where the ball is pitched rather than teaching hitters to manipulate the swing to force the ball to a particular side of the field, but to those who want to coach hitters to hit behind runners or to the left side of the infield, I suggest associating each ball with a target on the field. For example, assign the blue ball as pull side, regular ball as gap to gap, and gold ball as opposite field. When performing this drill, I often have overlapping targets, as in a left-handed hitter is considered as making two successful swings if both a blue ball and a regular ball are hit into the right center gap. A round may consist of five to ten flips with varying amounts of the three colors tossed to various locations in the strike zone. An inside pitch may need to be put up the middle and an oppo pitch may need to be pulled.
As briefly stated above, I am not a fan of an absolute roll out of this drill. I believe it can incentivize swinging just to make contact, which I believe is a common swing fault of too many hitters. However, there is no question if a player is struggling with swings and misses or needs a challenging barrel control drill to improve his two strike approach or situational hitting, this could be the ticket.
When making the colored baseballs, standard spray paint works fine, but BE SURE TO GIVE IT A ENOUGH TIME TO DRY. You may need the occasional touch up, so please do not expect perfection. Spray paint can be purchased at your local hardware or arts and crafts store. The color choices are up to you. That said, I encourage bright, bold, and distinct colors so your players do not become more focused on arguing about colors than performing at practice.
In review, colored baseballs provide a cheap, yet versatile training aid that is applicable for both defensive and offensive practice. By associating a color with a specific action or play, athletes are forced to make quick decisions to best position themselves to meet the specific performance requirement. These colored baseballs do not take the place of live repetitions at the plate or in the field; however, they do provide a bridge in moving from a controlled environment to an open one. If you are down for getting a little messy with a do-it-yourself project, colored baseballs will certainly have your team “balling on a budget.”
Adam Moreau, MBA, CSCS
Director of Player Development and Recruiting Coordinator
Eckerd College
419-250-7243