Joined June 2010
- Tweets 7,653
- Following 4,825
- Followers 2,050
- Likes 23,497
99 Photos and videos
Jason Taulman retweeted
You don't need 95 mph to win at-bats. You need a system.
Here are the three things that actually matter when you can't overpower hitters:
1. LIVE AHEAD IN THE COUNT
No velo means I can't survive 2-0 or 3-1 counts. Hitters sit dead red and I have nothing to beat them with. So first pitch strikes are the most important pitches I throw. I want to be 0-1, then 1-2 or 0-2. Put the pressure on them early. Force them to defend instead of hunt.
2. READ REACTIONS
Every swing tells you something. Was he early? Late? Did he foul it the other way? Take a strike on the outer half? I can't out-stuff him — I have to out-think him.
Pop up on a fastball = he's late. Ground ball on a curveball = he's early. Ends up on his toes after a swing = early or looking away. Ends up on his heels = late or looking in.
My formula: slow, slower, slowest. Three different speeds he still has to respect. Mess with timing and you mess with the hitter.
3. TUNNEL AND MOVEMENT
Build 2-3 pitches that look identical out of the hand but go different directions. One runs arm side. One cuts. One drops. If he can't pick up the ball early, he can't find the barrel.
That's the only real edge a soft tosser has — keeping hitters guessing.
Strike one. Timing. Tunnel. That's the whole playbook.
7
29
435
51,396
Jason Taulman retweeted
Jun 6
Good thoughts on hitting with two strikes. It’s not about changing your swing, it’s about adjusting your approach. Unfortunately this is a non starter for most of today’s hitters. We don’t change our approach & we don’t practice hitting with two strikes. I know, don’t get two strikes on you. The reality is you ARE going to be hitting with two strikes in 50 % of your at bats.
When I was with the St. Louis Cardinals, we had a team meeting about hitting with two strikes.
Albert Pujols was leading it.
At the time, he was hitting something ridiculous with two strikes.
I want to say it was around .265.
Naturally, everyone wanted to know how.
So somebody asked:
"What's your two-strike approach?"
Albert's answer surprised me.
He said:
"I think fastball inside and hit it back through the middle."
That was it.
No complicated mechanics.
No secret formula.
Just:
Fastball inside.
Back through the middle.
I remember sitting there thinking:
"Why would you think fastball inside with two strikes?"
So somebody asked him.
And Albert said something I'll never forget.
He said:
"If I can hit a fastball inside back through the middle..."
"I can hit the fastball away."
"I can stay on the changeup."
"I can stay on the slider."
"I can stay on the curveball."
Then he paused.
And said:
"The ball gets deeper."
That's when it clicked for me.
He wasn't trying to pull the inside fastball.
He was using one thought to cover everything.
The more I thought about it...
The more it made sense.
So I started trying it.
And it changed the way I thought about hitting with two strikes.
Instead of worrying about every pitch...
I focused on one.
Fastball inside.
Back through the middle.
See it DEEP.
If you're struggling with two strikes, here's what I'd do tonight:
Round 1: Short Box
(Set the distance somewhere between front toss and batting practice.)
Have a coach throw only fastballs inside.
Your only thought:
"Fastball inside."
Drive the ball back through the middle.
10 swings.
Round 2: Mix Speeds
Now the coach mixes:
- Fastballs
- Changeups
- Breaking balls
- Sliders
But your thought never changes.
You're still looking:
"Fastball inside."
10 swings.
Round 3: Two-Strike BP
Every pitch starts 0-2.
Compete.
Battle.
Use the same approach.
"Fastball inside."
Back through the middle.
10 swings.
That's it.
30 focused swings.
One thought.
One approach.
One goal.
Drive the baseball back through the middle.
One thing I've learned:
Most hitters get worse with two strikes because they add thoughts.
Albert got better because he removed them.
With two strikes, simplicity is a weapon.
Thank you for reading,
Jermaine Curtis
P.S. - If you enjoyed this and thought it was helpful, please share it.
(When you share it, it tells me you want more content like this.)
1
8
65
27,739
Jason Taulman retweeted
For the parents and coaches of pitchers, when we ask young pitchers what makes a good pitcher, most will say “throwing hard and striking batters out!” While at the younger ages, that tends to seem true, as they grow, there’s much more to it. Here are a few things they all should start learning and understanding from day one:
Pitching 101
• Be careful of falling into patterns with pitch selection.
• Command the inside part of the plate.
• Goal = Be able to throw all your pitches in any count to any location.
• Always look at pitch execution before second guessing pitch selection.
• Develop a bullpen routine that gives attention to every pitch type and location you want to be able to execute in a game.
• Become an expert at controlling the running game.
• BACK UP BASES!!
• Thank and respect your catchers.
• Take care of your arm and body.
• Study throwing/pitching mechanics.
• If your team isn’t providing time to throw weekly bullpens, get it done on your own time. NO EXCUSES!
• Play catch with a purpose.
• Be the best at PFP.
• Pick your teammates up when they make mistakes.
• Goal = NO WALKS!
• Attack the zone and make them earn their way on base.
• Hitting is hard, stop thinking they will hit every mistake you make. Challenge them!
• Be the mentally toughest most prepared player on the field.
11
31
6,278
RT @nextlevelbb: A lot of players are getting ejected in regional play for dumb ass celebrations.
Parents and Coaches allowing players to a…
63
Jason Taulman retweeted
May 22
The Wildcat baseball team defeated Ben Davis 3-1 to finish the MIC season with a 9-1 record and clinch at least a share of the MIC conference title! Great job boys! @LNHSwildcats @ltgoodnews @weRtheWildcats
13
35
1,641
Jason Taulman retweeted
May 20
Championship teams throw strikes.
and
Let hitters get themselves out.
3
2
25
1,865
Jason Taulman retweeted
WHAT A GREAT DAY FOR SOME BASEBALL…thanks Miracle League for letting us be apart of the action! ❤️⚾️
@IndySharksBSBL
@RoundTripperAca
@JasonTaulman
3
5
253
Jason Taulman retweeted
For my baseball folk out there…
Call it What You Want...
It doesn’t matter what you want to call it:
• Travel ball
• Select ball
• Tournament ball
• League ball
• City League ball
• Little League ball
It’s still youth baseball. It’s a hard game being played by kids. That alone is a challenge but then add in adult emotions and intentions of wanting to be “superior” and you have a recipe for disaster. Keep those expectations realistic.
Even though some of these kids have grown quicker than others, were born with different abilities than their peers, they are still kids. They will make mistakes (a lot), struggle with focus, look amazing one second then trip on nothing the next, have poor body language, tear up and do many other things that get under us adults skin.
Yep, they are kids! Funny thing is once upon a time we were them and did the same things, made off the wall comments, had squirrel moments and drove our parents, coaches and teachers crazy. So in reality, we get frustrated with them for the same things we did 🤔.
This is youth baseball. No matter how we want to spin it and give it a title that implies we are better than the others, I would slow down and remember that this phase in their lives is not about us. Not about our experience but all about them, their personal growth as young athletes and people and we are here to help them get the most out of it for as long as they would like to play them game.
In fact, we have an opportunity to enjoy something with them that many of us enjoyed growing up. And for a few of them, their ability will grow into something amazing which will lead to opportunities they dream of.
Grow the game!
4
6
50
3,448
Jason Taulman retweeted
“He’s too small.”
“He’s too weak.”
“He’s too slow.”
“His reactions are too slow.”
“He’s not ready.”
Years later, that coach sees that same player who he turned away and looked down on and asks “What happened?” “That’s not the same kid I saw before!”
Puberty, reps, patience and opportunity…Coach, that’s what happened!! You were just so caught up and obsessed with who’s ready now that you couldn’t see what was standing before you looking for someone to help them. Remember, Coach equals teacher.
4
7
50
8,610
Jason Taulman retweeted
May 12
LN defeated Perry Meridian 9-8 to advance to the Marion County Baseball Championship Tuesday night at Victory Field! The Cats will take on Decatur Central at 7:30pm, following the City Championship. Tickets: gofevo.com/event/2026citycou… @LNHSwildcats @weRtheWildcats @ltgoodnews
13
38
1,964
Attitude is a choice.
Gratitude is a discipline.
Bitterness is expensive.
Nobody accidentally has a great attitude.
Nobody stumbles into gratitude.
And nobody means to end up bitter, it just quietly moves in when you stop choosing something better.
Guard your peace like it cost you something.
Because it did.
115
1,690
9,448
484,959
Jason Taulman retweeted
May 9
In Marion County baseball action, sophomore Jasper Weaver threw a 7 inning no-hitter to lead LN to a 7-0 win over Franklin Central! The Wildcats will play Perry Meridian in the semi-finals on Monday at home. @ltgoodnews @weRtheWildcats @LNHSwildcats
8
23
1,397
Jason Taulman retweeted
May 10
Carter Nahre with another great start:
7 IP (CG) 4 H 1 BB 4 K 0 R 0 ER
May 9
Marion County Baseball: Wildcats defeated Lutheran in game one, 3-0. LN will play the winner of FC/SPT at 3:00pm @KyleNeddenriep @weRtheWildcats @LNHSwildcats @ltgoodnews
2
12
881
Jason Taulman retweeted
𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐒 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊?
1. Excuses
2. Complaining
3. Blame
4. Fear of failure
𝐑𝐄𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇:
Excuses -> Effort
Complaining -> Focus
Blame -> Ownership
Fear of failure -> Growth
Success starts with what you refuse to accept.
91
241
13,908
Jason Taulman retweeted
One of the most painful things to watch is talented pitchers struggle getting consistent outs because they’ve been conditioned to think “velocity” matters most.
Sure, it might be what gets you noticed first, and that alone may lead to more opportunities, but it’s NOT all that matters.
Missing your target by FEET because you’re trying to throw everything harder than hard will lead to a high walk rate which will lead to less opportunities.
Find that balance of controlled aggression and feel. Limit the walks, throw less pitches per batter, less pitches per inning, and you’ll get to throw more innings.
BTW, this is a 🧠 thing, not a 💪🏼 thing.
3
4
29
2,463
Jason Taulman retweeted
Pitchers:
You want to walk less batters??
End the at bat in those 2 ball counts.
2-0
2-1
2-2
Approach those counts like you want to end the at bat right now. Execute a pitch down in the zone to induce a ground ball. Hopefully you have confidence in, and can command, more than just your fastball, but whatever you throw, throw it with conviction (belief and confidence).
Eliminate walks by eliminating 3 ball counts.
2
3
29
3,493
Jason Taulman retweeted
May 7
Coaches shouldn’t have to push you to work hard, you should push yourself to work hard because you want to be a great player.
– Bob Knight
2
30
141
7,443
Jason Taulman retweeted
Your best competitors will find a way. They will end up being the go to players for coaches. They don’t get rattled. They stay calm under pressure. They handle adversity with calmness. And they seem to always be in the middle of great moments.
1
1
14
1,254
Jason Taulman retweeted
"Once your commitment is greater than your feelings, that's when you get results. That's when it happens for you."
Show up when it’s boring, inconvenient, or uncomfortable, and those quiet deposits become the unstoppable momentum everyone later calls “overnight success.
1
117
432
38,755