The Art of Coaching Pitchers with Steve Merriman

Patrick Jones Baseball

In today’s episode, we have Steve Merriman. Steve returned to the Wolverines baseball program for the 2021 season after previously serving as pitching coach in 2002 and 2012, in addition to starting his coaching career at U-M as a hitting coach in 1995.

Steve worked in the Colorado Rockies organization, where he was the minor league pitching co-coordinator and pitching coach for the Double-A Hartford Yard Goats.

He worked with the Chicago Cubs in 2018 at their high-tech pitching lab in Mesa, Ariz., and has other professional coaching experience with the Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Mets, and Detroit Tigers organizations.

He currently serves on the advisory board for OnBaseU and has previously served in various professional roles, including area scout, AA pitching coach, and MiLB Pitching Coordinator. He has also coached at all levels of college baseball, including three seasons at Michigan.

In this episode, he shares his insights based on his experiences helping players improve their mechanics and he speaks of his philosophy and expertise as a pitching coach at different levels. Also, he shares advice for dads out there coaching their sons.

He explains the best approach for pitchers, the importance of player development, having a routine, and communication.

In this episode, learn the importance of having a growth mindset.

SHOW NOTES:

[2:33] What advice would you have for dads out there coaching their own sons?

[8:11] Timing and Tone.

[12:38] Do you have someone in the last bucket who just does not want to listen to you or anybody else?

[17:03] Is there a level that reflecting back on your career so far that was a ton of fun I really enjoyed that level?

[20:49] How do you go about if you see something in a pitcher like we need to add this pitch to your repertoire?

[24:41] What advice would you give them from just a pitching standpoint for high school pitchers out there and what to focus and work on?

[29:51] Roger Clemens and how at times he didn't throw necessarily an actual change up but he would just take some off of his fastball.

[32:52] What advice would you give to hitters?

[34:34] How often do you think pitchers are tipping pitches that you can pick up on?

[36:11] What are you focus on as a pitching coach?

[38:55] What would be from a pitching coach's perspective and your experience some ways that you've helped pitchers improve their mechanics?

[42:42] Why not external, could you dig in as to why you don't think that's necessarily the best approach for pitchers?

[45:08] What about helping players with the mental side of the game?

[47:41] What are some of the ways that you've been able to help them?

FOLLOW STEVE:

TWITTER:

@SMerrBullpen

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