Today’s episode is Part 1 of a crossover conversation between The Hitting Zone and Baseball 101.

Mitch Thomas is joined by Dave Wiggins (Host of Baseball 101) and Michael Yeager, Assistant Coach & Recruiting Coordinator at Johnson County Community College, for an honest discussion about what development really looks like in youth baseball.

They simplify the conversation down to three core issues:
• If development is the goal, why do we measure success by rings and roster size instead of measurable growth?
• Are families paying for real player development — or for the status of wearing a jersey?
• If athletes aren’t receiving individualized plans for strength, movement, skill, and recovery, can we truly call it development?

This episode challenges how we define progress and asks whether we are building better athletes — or simply better optics.

📲 Follow Mitch Thomas:
Instagram: @_mtsperformance
X (Twitter): @TheHittingZoneSTL
TikTok: @thehittingzonestl

📲 Follow Dave Wiggins:
X (Twitter): @CruitsCoachDW
Instagram: @coachdave1338

📲 Follow Michael Yeager:
X (Twitter): @MYeags7

📲 Johnson County Community College Baseball:
X (Twitter): @JCCCBaseball
Instagram: @jcccbaseball

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