Friday, May 20, 2011

The Seven Leading Baseball Products Manufacturers

Category: baseball workouts



When ordering baseball workouts or training gear it's important to take all of the different big companies into account before making your ultimate decision. This helps you to make certain you are not only buying the best quality product, but at the same time the greatest bang for your buck. With that said, here's my personal list of the best baseball equipment companies you should check out when purchasing new equipment. Please note that this is just a small sample of my personal favorite brand names, which if you have the time, it is advisable to check out some more besides those on this list.

Wilson: Established in 1916 by Thomas Wilson, Wilson Sporting Goods Company is headquartered in Chicago, IL. It owns the DeMarini brand name best known for its baseball bats and Wilson is owned by Amer Sports, based in Finland. Active MLB players sponsored by Wilson include Evan Longoria, Ivan Rodriguez, David Wright, and Hanley Ramirez.

Easton: Established in 1922 by Doug Easton, Easton Sports is headquartered in Van Nuys, CA. Its main contributions to the baseball world are its top of the line helmets as well as baseball bats. Current major league baseball players sponsored by Easton include Andre Eithier, Jason Bay, David Ortiz, and Carlos Peña.

Hillerich & Bradsby: Headquartered in Louisville, KY, Hillerich & Bradsby is most widely known for its Louisville Slugger baseball bats. H&B additionally makes baseball gloves along with other sports equipment under the PowerBilt label. Reported by Louisville Slugger’s official website, 60% of MLB players swing their baseball bats. A few of these players include Dustin Pedroia, Dan Uggla, Derek Jeter, and Alex Rodriguez.

Rawlings: Owned by Jarden Corp., Rawlings is headquartered in St. Louis, MO. Most widely known for their baseball gloves and baseballs, Rawlings has been the official supplier of baseballs to major league baseball since 1977. Rawlings additionally is the creator of the MLB Gold Glove Award. Some major league baseball players that use Rawlings products include Adrian Gonzalez, Albert Pujols, Johan Santana, and Chase Utley.

Mizuno: Created in 1906 by Rihachi and Rizo Mizuno, Mizuno Corp. is a Japanese sports company that makes a wide variety of sports equipment and sportswear. Some some current major league baseball players that are sponsored by Mizuno include Chipper Jones, Andrew McCutchen, Brian McCann, and Ichiro Suzuki.

Under Armour: Created by University of Maryland students Kevin Plank and Jordan Lindgren out of Plank’s grandmother’s basement, Under Armour is now one of the major companies in the sports world. In addition to their well-known shirts, Under Armour also makes batting gloves, cleats, and baseball pants. Current MLB players sponsored by Under Armour include Buster Posey, Matt Wieters, Clayton Kershaw, and Bryce Harper.

Nike: Headquartered around Beaverton, OR, Nike’s major contributions to the baseball world include sportswear, batting gloves, and cleats. Some current professional players sponsored by Nike include Jimmy Rollins, Derrek Lee, Robinson Cano, and CC Sabathia.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Easy Methods to Become a 5 Tool Baseball Player

The 5 tool player is a person who comes with excellent speed, has the ability to hit for average, hit for power, a outstanding throwing arm, and also is truly terrific defensively. Chase Utley, David Wright, Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria, as well as Josh Hamilton unquestionably are contemporary good examples of players that experts claim are proficient or exceed at all of the five tools. Let's check out all of these individually.

Running Speed - This tool is one of the most challenging to successfully get better in. It is definitely possible to have a player to increase his speed, although his maximum is based mostly on the specific player himself. Speed is without question extremely critical seeing that speed and agility happen to be applied not only in base running but also in defense on top of that. In addition to starting to become more physically fit, to help improve your speed you might want to develop your form, efficiency of movement, in addition to first-step quickness.
Arm Strength - Even though, some frequently insist that arm strength is the least significant of the five tools, a player with an above average arm not only possesses a physical edge compared to other players, but also a psychological one. For instance, if a baserunner witnesses that an outfielder posseses an excellent arm, are going to not as likely to try to take an extra base than they would have with an outfielder with just an average arm. The outfielder didn’t even have to make a throw, yet won the battle. To improve in arm strength you really should focus on weight training (if you happen to be physically developed enough) as well as actively playing “long-toss.”
Hitting for Average - Hitting for average involves the capability to be able to hit to all fields and realize when to bunt. Being able to make contact is a must. Hitting for average involves very good decision-making skills along with good pitch selection while at bat. Hitting for average is probably one of the most critical tools simply because for you to score runs you require baserunners, and in order to have baserunners you will need to get hits (or perhaps have especially excellent pitch selection and receive walks.)
Hitting for Power - This is certainly the most envied tool of young players, but not necessarily the most essential. The most obvious benefit of power hitters are extra base hits in addition to home runs. Power hitters additionally bring a mental advantage of intimidation. Power hitters tend to be the most popular players on a team because just like fans, scouts enjoy seeing a player hit the long ball. To increase your power, a strength and conditioning system is a must.
Fielding - Superb defensive abilities are becoming more and more in demand as today’s players are focusing more on hitting for power. Outstanding defensive players know precisely how to position themselves against certain hitters, and be capable of utilizing a combination of their “soft” hands, agility, speed, in addition to arm strength to make very difficult plays seem effortless. In order to improve your fielding, increasing your speed and arm strength is necessary, as is getting out there on the diamond every single day to take ground balls and fly balls. It is a huge bonus if you're able to play a couple of positions.

As you are able to tell, five tool players are extremely scarce. Sometimes, being great at a certain tool can potentially lower your value in a different one. For example, if you are a big power hitter, you most likely are big and powerful, but it is likely that your speed could be lacking. Or, you could be really little and a fantastic defensive player with excellent speed, but cannot hit for power on a regular basis. This is okay, and it is extremely important to know yourself and your abilities and get better in areas that you are lacking as well as fine tune your strengths. You can still be a very good player without having to be a five tool player, however it certainly helps to work on all of these tools when picking your training routines.
Whether or not you are a five tool player yet, you will definitely want to check out www.BestBaseballWorkouts.com for more baseball training information as well as the best baseball workouts and products for sale!


Awesome Baseball Strength Workouts Video!

I hope you find this video as helpful as I did: