The Closing Pitch Baseball Podcast

The Closing Pitch Baseball Podcast

By Spiker Helms and David BirkbySportsBaseball
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The Closing Pitch Baseball Podcast episodes

  • 130. Don't Be That Travel Ball Coach
    Coaches, think about how you want your team to be built before building it. This helps with eliminating problems like FOMO, overpromising, and rocky seasons.  See the time stamps below to find the topic you're most interested in, or listen to the entire length. 
    (00:00-02:24) New update to the show
    (02:25-08:16) Building out your program and team
    08:17-14:27 The right player, state the facts and clearly define your priorities
    (14:28-16:52) Don't FOMO into the word "elite"
    (16:44-20:24) The focus of the coach vs. the player
    (20:25-23:11) The unicorn team
    (23:12-31:51) Oversold and buzzwords
    32 min
  • 129. These are the next big things happening in baseball (ft. Aaron Jaworowski - President of the Rawlings Tigers)

    We recently got back from the ABCA, and boy, 'do we have insights for you!' There are a lot of great projects being created in the baseball space. In this episode, we talk about the American Baseball Coaches Association Conference, where the baseball community ascends onto one location to celebrate the game, teach, and share the projects their working on. 


    Find the topics in the time stamps below: 


    00:00-02:18 Introduction

    02:19-04:44 ChatGPT: your new instructor?

    04:45-07:31 ABCA: Disney World of Baseball?

    07:32-14:29 The pulse and future of baseball

    14:30-22:36 Building relationships

    22:37-27:56 The ultimate crazy college recruiting hack

    27:57-32:13 The ABCA is the most prominent think tank for coaches and players

    33 min
  • 128. Pro Baseball Scouts Look For This (ft. Mark Adair: Oakland A's National Crosschecker Scout)

    When I was playing, there were a lot of rumors about how the pro scouting community found their players. It was a guessing game in my career. In this episode, we have a National Crosschecker Scout behind the microphone. See the time stamps for the topics we touch on.


    (00:00-04:11) Introduction - Who is Mark Adair?

    (04:12-08:37) The different types of pro scouts

    (08:38-11:34) What is a professional prospect?

    (11:35-15:48) How long do scouts spend at a game?

    (15:49-20:03) Pro scouts attend these events

    (20:04-29:50) The MLB Draft, what you need to know

    (29:51-30:33) Multi-sport athletes 

    (30:34-36:13) Here's how you make it

    (36:14-40:02) Minor League restructure/College transfer portal

    (40:03-41:23) We know the rosters

    (41:24-43:22) This is a big deal for a scout

    (43:24-46:10) This is what we look for

    (46:11-46:59) Are pitchers harder to project out?

    (47:00-51:51) Scouting + Training + Mark's Career

    (51:52-55:19) Draft week, how many players we look at

    (55:20-59:08) Throwing your helmet crosses you off the list?

    1 hr
  • 127. Is The Deck Stacked Against You?

    Is it time for us to quit? We should probably sell the mics, cameras, and lighting equipment. We're never going to make it to the next stage of podcasting. Why should we have even started? WAIT, WAIT, STOP... Everyone goes through this self-doubt talk. Especially when pressure is mounting on you, how do you handle it? 


    We explore it in this episode. 

    (00:00-03:00) Introduction 

    (03:01-08:41) The Black Spiral of Death

    (08:42-13:28) What's the source? The solution? 

    (13:29-16:12) Complaining will cause an avalanche 

    (16:13-21:05) The bailout

    (21:06-28:44) Is this beneath me?

    (28:55-31:52) Dave's drawing  

    (31:53-35:52) Spiker is working on these action items

    36 min
  • 126. Swim in a Different Direction

    Recruiting + Twitter + Think Different Does it feel like you're not getting traction on your recruiting? Are you not getting noticed? Here's where you could be going wrong.  

    00:00-03:25 Intro 

    03:26-09:03 Building something that lasts 

    09:04-20:10 Twitter + Recruiting 

    20:11-24:59  Passion vs. Purpose 

    25:00-34:48 Recruiting, your first step 

    34:49-36:45 Obstacles are the way

    37 min
  • 125. Johnny Hustle v. Peacocking Peet (ft. Rafael Lopez- former MLB player)

    History rhymes, and sometimes it completely repeats, but the majority of the time it's a newer version of what was in the past. How has the game evolved to become more about celebrations, and velocity, and less about winning? Is there a place in time we can point to where this happened before? 


    Spiker, Dave, And Raffy talk about Aaron Judges' historic season, Manny Machado's lack of hustle in the 2018 playoffs, and Jose Bautista's emphasis bat flip. 

    44 min
  • 124. The Most Persuasive Voice
    It can be tempting. It wants you to stop short. It convinces you that no one will know. It wants you to be lesser version of yourself because it’s easier. Will you compromise?
    Closing Pitch Twitter Follows:
    Spiker Helms: https://twitter.com/SpikerHelms
    David Birkby: https://twitter.com/David_Birkby
    Rawlings Tigers: https://twitter.com/Rawlings_Tigers
    Learn More About the Rawlings Tigers: https://www.rawlingstigers.com/form-a-team.php
    Listen to the Show On the Go!
    Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-closing-pitch/id1308056021
    Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4fjos02cDAqXvQA5dyVgR2?si=557c3bf221cf4832
    Do you just want to listen to baseball and softball conversations?
    Listen to the Tiger Interview Series. It’s only about the game:
    Watch: https://www.youtube.com/c/RawlingsTigers/featured
    Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rawlings-tigers-interview-series/id1553851157
    Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6b8RY79LXAWxpSMMTyLWqG?si=5c3861d7cc9d46fb
    27 min
  • 123. The Deceptions of a Crowd

    How do you change the vibe of a team? 

    What do you do when you have negative nancy complaining about the weather, turf, or umpire?  

    In this episode, we address the mood. Will you pass the vibe check?


    Closing Pitch Twitter Follows:

    Spiker Helms: https://twitter.com/SpikerHelms

    David Birkby: https://twitter.com/David_Birkby

    Rawlings Tigers: https://twitter.com/Rawlings_Tigers

    Learn More About the Rawlings Tigers: https://www.rawlingstigers.com/form-a-team.php

    Listen to the Show On the Go!

    Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-closing-pitch/id1308056021

    Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4fjos02cDAqXvQA5dyVgR2?si=557c3bf221cf4832

    Do you just want to listen to baseball and softball conversations?

    Listen to the Tiger Interview Series. It’s only about the game:

    Watch: https://www.youtube.com/c/RawlingsTigers/featured

    Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rawlings-tigers-interview-series/id1553851157

    Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6b8RY79LXAWxpSMMTyLWqG?si=5c3861d7cc9d46fb

    33 min
  • 122. Play Fast & Play Free With This Hack

    Getting locked in our minds can be the tiniest prison. We can easily put ourselves in this place by traveling down the rabbit hole of emotions. How do we break out to play fast and free?


    Closing Pitch Twitter Follows:

    Spiker Helms: https://twitter.com/SpikerHelms

    David Birkby: https://twitter.com/David_Birkby

    Rawlings Tigers: https://twitter.com/Rawlings_Tigers

    Learn More About the Rawlings Tigers: https://www.rawlingstigers.com/form-a-team.php


    Listen to the Show On the Go!

    Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-closing-pitch/id1308056021

    Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4fjos02cDAqXvQA5dyVgR2?si=557c3bf221cf4832


    Do you just want to listen to baseball and softball conversations?

    Listen to the Tiger Interview Series. It’s only about the game:

    Watch: https://www.youtube.com/c/RawlingsTigers/featured

    Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rawlings-tigers-interview-series/id1553851157

    Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6b8RY79LXAWxpSMMTyLWqG?si=5c3861d7cc9d46fb


    30 min
  • 121. How To Know When It's Time To Move On

    Greener pastures? Are you switching teams too early? In this episode, we speak about when is it a good time to move on.

    Closing Pitch Twitter Follows:

    Spiker Helms: https://twitter.com/SpikerHelms

    David Birkby: https://twitter.com/David_Birkby

    Rawlings Tigers: https://twitter.com/Rawlings_Tigers

    Learn More About the Rawlings Tigers: https://www.rawlingstigers.com/form-a-team.php

    Listen to the Show On the Go!

    Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-closing-pitch/id1308056021

    Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4fjos02cDAqXvQA5dyVgR2?si=557c3bf221cf4832

    Do you just want to listen to baseball and softball conversations?

    Listen to the Tiger Interview Series. It’s only about the game:

    Watch: https://www.youtube.com/c/RawlingsTigers/featured

    Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rawlings-tigers-interview-series/id1553851157

    Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6b8RY79LXAWxpSMMTyLWqG?si=5c3861d7cc9d46fb

    Tiger Interview Series

    Twitter Follows:

    Rawlings Tigers: https://twitter.com/Rawlings_Tigers

    Tim Jones Rawlings Tigers Pittsburgh: https://twitter.com/TigersPgh

    Instagram Follows:

    Pure Edge Performance (Justin Shal) https://www.instagram.com/pureedgetraining/

    Rawlings Tigers Pittsburgh: https://www.instagram.com/rawlingstigerspgh/

    Learn More About the Rawlings Tigers: https://www.rawlingstigers.com/form-a-team.php

    Listen to the Show On the Go!

    Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-closing-pitch/id1308056021

    Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4fjos02cDAqXvQA5dyVgR2?si=557c3bf221cf4832

    Deep Dive Into People and Culture, Closing Pitch Podcast:

    Watch: https://www.youtube.com/c/RawlingsTigers/featured

    Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rawlings-tigers-interview-series/id1553851157

    Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4fjos02cDAqXvQA5dyVgR2?si=557c3bf221cf4832

    35 min

About The Closing Pitch Baseball Podcast

From the publisher's feed

This is a podcast about club baseball.