Best Baseball Training Podcasts

Over the years, I’ve listened to hundreds of podcasts about how to improve baseball performance. There are so many good ones, it’s hard to narrow down the list to a top group. I’ve tried to sample some of the best across a variety of topics and casts. In no particular order, you should listen to:

• Should Pitchers Take Time Off from Throwing from Eric Cressey: Eric lays out the pros and cons of both options and generally lands on taking time off in order to allow body to head from undetected micro-injuries and work on mobility. This is especially true of youth and high school pitchers, but may not be as applicable to pros who know their body and routine well
• Do Curveballs Lead to Tommy John from Tread Athletics with Jimmy Buffi: Buffi makes the case that curveballs aren’t the cause of UCL injuries and that diversity of pitcher mix helps to minimize the risk of damage to the ligament
• Conversation with Jerry Weinstein from Baseball Wisconsin Podcast. Jerry specializes on coaching catching, but is really just the gold-standard of baseball coaching knowledge. This podcast is just one example of what it’s like to learn from an encyclopedia
• An in-depth Look into Recruiting from Behind the Seams. Nunzio Signore interviews Walter Beede about travel baseball and college recruiting. Beede both coached college and had a son who played at Vanderbilt and MLB
• Mental Game: It’s Not that Simple from ABCA. ABCA talks with Ken Ravizza about the mental approach to playing the game, which is much more important than in other sports given the amount of time players have to think between at bats or plays in the field
• War Room: Assessing Competitive Make-up of Athletes. This is a great discussion of what scouts look for in baseball players specifically related to motivation and drive. It also talks about the importance of having interests outside of baseball as a release to the pressures it creates
• Sparing the Spine. Cressey talks with Doctor Stuart McGill about back injuries in rotational athletes and how baseball players should work out differently than athletes in other sports (hint: downward stress on spine from lifts like squats is not good). A must listen, especially if you have a tall son who would be susceptible to back problems
• Max Power in Rotational Sports: For advanced players, listen to Greg Rose from TPI talk about how to assess an athlete’s deficiencies and best produce force. The best place to start is with the case study at 21:45 and run to the end
• Bulletproofing the Tendons and Ligaments: Back to Eric Cressey as he talks with Dr. Keith Baar about joint injuries and how isometric exercises can help prevent them