I have been thinking about this all day today. I woke up at my normal 5:30 am. I usually don’t look at my phone for the first hour as I focus on my morning routine. For some reason, I checked it and saw a text from my original ‘brother from another mother,”, Jay Hill. Jay …
Category Archives: Blogs
World’s Greatest Dad Podcast – Nick Holmes
I had a great time talking life and baseball on the World’s Greatest Dad Podcast. Thank you, Robert Chapman for the opportunity to share some stories and experiences about fatherhood and coaching. Check out the Episode here https://soundcloud.com/user-492536718/s2-episode-16-nick-holmes Love the Game. Live the Dream
Scouting Internationally, A Lesson in Standing Out
My first trip to the Dominican Republic as a scout for MLB Scouting Bureau was better than any Christmas morning. I felt like a kid walking downstairs, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes in order to focus on all the sparkling new toys that Santa left. I could hardly contain my emotional state, as …
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Those who can’t play, coach.
“Those who can’t play, coach.” This was the version of a quote or should I say misquote that a parent said to me one day while we were discussing my former playing career and why I became a coach. “Those who can’t do, teach.” was the way I remembered hearing that saying as I assume …
Oh Man, I Love This Game!
I have to thank my Uncle Tom O’Brien for introducing baseball to me at the age of 7. At least that is as far back as I can remember. I loved to play catch, and field grounders and pop flies with him every day after school and on weekends. He taught me how to use …
A Story About the Young, Eager Christian Yelich
(Photo via the Flickr Creative Commons, thanks to Ian D’Andrea) I tell this story every chance I get to be in front of aspiring baseball players and coaches of all ages. As coaches, we say things all the time that get repeated over and over again, especially when it comes to mechanics or motivating a player. …
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Part 3: Pitchers, Identifying Differences in Latin and U.S. Players
(Photo via the Flickr Creative Commons, thanks to Periodico JIT) I remember years ago watching an SEC college baseball game with some buddies and noticing that all the pitchers had the exact same delivery. We all noticed and then we couldn’t unsee it. It was quite impressive honestly to see the same mechanics from …
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Part Two: Hitters, Identifying Differences in Latin and U.S. Players
(Photo via the Flickr Creative Commons, thanks to Periodico JIT) Part one of this series, on the general differences between Latin and U.S. players, can be found right here. When it comes to hitters, you will hear a lot of talk around the cages from scouts, hitting coaches and other players that Latin hitters all look the …
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Identifying the Differences In Latin and U.S. Players
THE QUESTION I was recently asked a question in regards to scouting in Latin America. “Do you look at those players differently than the kids from the U.S?” I was reminded immediately of the first time I actually scouted in the Dominican Republic while attending MLB Scout School in 2010. There was something that I …
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Costa Rica To Corner Brook: Coach Holmes Returns To “The Rock”
How did you end up in Newfoundland? Is the first question I get asked when they hear my American accent. I tell them the truth. I went looking for baseball opportunities as I do every year. There is an online service that my friend David Burns runs called Baseball Jobs Overseas. If you are a …
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