Planning For The New Baseball Season
While it seems like only yesterday that the World Series was played and dramatically finished, and while at the time of this writing it is still not quite Christmas Day yet in the United States and many Americans find themselves surrounded by the snow and ice of Winter, professional and serious semi-pro or amateur baseball players already should begin preparing for the Opening Day pitches of early Spring.
Some professional baseball players do not take much time off. Once the World Series and then Thanksgiving or Christmas are over with for them, they head south to warmer climes and play Winter Ball in the Caribbean, Mexico, and South America. They do this so that they do not “go cold” by not playing and not training from October or November through to the tail end of February when players start reporting for Spring Training in Florida. Whenever a baseball player quits playing for four or five months straight, this could cause all kinds of things to go wrong for him when the season starts. Their skills and fitness level could temporarily deteriorate and cost them lots of time and aggravation to get back in shape – not to mention losing playing time.
Baseball players who take off most of the Fall and just about all of Winter may find it refreshing and relaxing for themselves, but after a while they may also put on weight, lose a step off of their running speed, suffer a reduction in their reaction time when fielding balls, suffer a loss of some arm and leg flexibility which will cause a loss in power or cause injuries, and possibly lose something from their hand-eye coordination when it comes to hitting. The arms of the Pitchers may suffer a loss of suppleness and velocity, accuracy, and their techniques could very well deteriorate.
If a baseball player has lost some fitness or skill level while being off for the Winter, this will become apparent during Spring Training. Baseball is a game of inches, a mentally demanding game, one that demands lightening quick reaction time. Subsequently, skill or fitness degradation could cost a player many months of playing time take them a big part of the season to finally get back on the field, and this can have horrible consequences for this team.
During the Winter, besides just going down south and playing Winter baseball (which many players do not want to do because they want to rest and get some time off to spend with their family and friends without the stress of touring), players should do some things to keep fit and sharp in preparation for April.
Eating properly and healthy in the off season is very critical for baseball players. Although the holidays provide ample opportunity to eat a lot, they will still mainly stick with their training eating regimen to sustain their level of fitness. They make sure to get plenty of protein and watching the sugar and fat intake is even more important in the off season, in fact, because with the relative lack of activity weight could be too easily put on and muscle fitness too easily lost. And along with eating right, players should maintain a decent fitness regimen using things like kettlebells, jogging, wind sprints, Pilates method, maybe even regular skiing to stay in shape.
Pitchers during the Winter should find indoor training facilities and continue practicing all of their pitches at least two or three days per week. Non-pitchers need to continue taking some batting and fielding practice in the same manner (for fielding without a partner, they can use machines designed to “hit” them flies and grounders).
In the Winter, baseball players need to stretch well at least several times per week and use exercises designed to keep their rotator cuffs strong and supple. Watching videos of their play from the previous season is also a great way for them to observe what they do right and what they could improve; they could also use instructional videos to keep techniques fresh in their minds.