Clearing The Bases

Building a Program That Lasts. My latest guest on Clearing The Bases is Kyle Douglas, Head Baseball Coach at Mt. Juliet High School in Tennessee.

Coach Douglas shares an honest look at the challenges of changing a program’s culture, establishing meaningful standards and building relationships strong enough to create genuine accountability.

Above everything else, Kyle wants his teams to be known for their resilience:“A Kyle Douglas baseball team will always get off the mat.”

This is a thoughtful and honest baseball conversation that coaches, players and parents will appreciate.

Young players are bigger, stronger, and more physically trained than ever—but do they truly understand how to play the game?

My latest guest is Chris Hayes, CEO and co-founder of the 6Tool App. Chris’s journey took him from being a walk-on at Northwestern University to independent baseball, the Kansas City Royals organization, and eventually Triple-A. Along the way, he combined his professional playing experience with a background in computer science and a master’s degree in psychology from Harvard.

Chris delivers an important message: when players understand what they’re supposed to do before the ball is put in play, they can stop thinking, trust their preparation, and play free.

The body may be ready—but is the mind?

On this episode of Clearing The Bases, Dr. Robert Cabry—sports-medicine physician, Navy veteran, mental-performance specialist, and author of The Peak Performance Mind Code—joins me for an important conversation about the part of athletic development we often overlook.

We discuss building confidence, using visualization, responding to failure, recovering from mistakes, and how the words and reactions of coaches and parents can directly affect a young athlete’s mindset.

Physical ability may get an athlete onto the field, but the ability to manage pressure, trust their preparation, and move on from failure often determines what happens next.

Train the body. Develop the skills. Don’t forget the mind.

The title may say Volunteer Assistant Coach, but the commitment and impact are anything but small.

Jeremy Carper of Ohio Wesleyan University Baseball joins Clearing The Bases for an honest conversation about his unconventional coaching journey, balancing baseball with work and family, and giving back to a game that has given him so much. Jeremy brings humility, energy, and a genuine desire to continue learning. This is a terrific conversation for coaches, players, and parents at every level of the game.

My latest guest is Coach Drew Briese — Head Baseball Coach at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky and longtime USA Baseball coach and evaluator.

His career combines NCAA Division III coaching, player development, recruiting, and extensive experience working with some of the top young players in the country. 

In this episode, Coach Briese delivers one message that every baseball parent should think about:

Your son's strikeout isn't your strikeout.
His error isn't your error.

Let him experience it. Let him learn from it. And let him move on.

This is a conversation about baseball — but even more, it's about developing the people who play it.

Coach Joel Sato has spent more than 50 years around Bingham High School Baseball and gives a perspective that very few people in the game can match. 

In this episode of Clearing The Bases, Coach Sato talks about how baseball has changed, how parents have changed, what travel baseball has done to development, why young players need patience, and why coaches sometimes need to simply get out of the way.

This is a conversation about baseball, but even more than that, it’s about teaching, mentoring, developing young men, and leaving the game better than you found it. 

Today's guest is Chuck Box — Head Baseball Coach and Associate Athletic Director at Jackson Academy — and this conversation is absolutely loaded.  He has spent 34 years in baseball. And Coach Box still believes the game is about much more than wins and championships.

Chuck has coached at nearly every level of amateur baseball—from high school and junior college to Texas A&M and the University of Texas—and his perspective on coaching, development, culture and relationships is one worth hearing.  

What do you do when you sit down with someone who has spent more than five decades teaching the game of baseball?

You listen.

 My latest guest is Mark “Lunch” McKenzie — one of the most respected and experienced coaches in the game, with more than five decades dedicated to teaching, developing players and giving back to baseball. 

Longtime coach at Concordia University–St. Paul, USA Baseball coach, teacher, mentor, and one of the greatest baseball minds you’ll ever hear.

And this conversation went far beyond wins, hitting mechanics, and championships.

Listen. Learn. And maybe look at player development a little differently when it’s over.

This week, I’m joined by Brett Ratcliffe, Head Baseball Coach at Trine University, for a conversation that goes far beyond wins, losses and recruiting.

With more than 30 years in coaching and experience at the high school, college and USA Baseball levels, Coach Ratcliffe has seen player development from just about every angle.

Why fundamentals are still lacking when players reach college
Why development is a process — and why you can’t skip steps
What college coaches are REALLY looking for in recruits
Why players need to earn opportunities
Building a culture of “WE instead of ME”
What his USA Baseball experience taught him about identifying elite players
Stories about future MLB stars — including a young Freddie Freeman
And why, after more than 30 years of coaching, so much of what he believes still traces back to learning the game from his dad.

 This was one of those conversations where an hour went by incredibly fast. 

This week on Clearing The Bases, I'm joined by Kevin Graber, Manager of the Lowell Spinners, former Chicago Cubs Minor League coach, championship-winning high school coach, and one of the most respected player development minds in the game.

Kevin's journey has taken him from overcoming cancer as a college player to coaching at the highest levels of amateur and professional baseball. Along the way, he's developed players, built championship cultures, and never lost sight of what matters most—developing people before players.

Whether you're a coach, parent, player, or simply someone who loves the game, this conversation is packed with practical insights and timeless leadership lessons.