Zack Jones
@talking_hitting
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Driveline WA Lead Hitting Trainer // Former MiLB Coach & Player // Writer // Reader
Seattle, WA
Joined February 2016
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Please raise your hand if you’ve ever rethought your entire career after a day against the Hack Attack 🙋🏻♂️
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Do whatever you like with this information part 2:
MLB batting average of balls hit 95+ last season was .501.
MLB batting average of balls hit 90 or below was .212.
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Decline receiving can be one of the best tools for catchers learning to make an upward movement.
Work low to the ground, then make your move upward as you go out to get it. Get low strikes upward
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I am extremely excited to announce that I have accepted a minor league hitting coach position with the Philadelphia Phillies!
I’d like to thank everyone that has helped me this past year, especially everyone at
@DrivelineBB
who have pushed me to be a better coach and human
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In response to questions about glove loading pre-pitch, here are ten catchers from the top 15 in framing runs according to baseball prospectus. Used baseball savant to get only out of zone pitches.
All catchers are using some sort of timing mechanism to work down to up.
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Love to work in weighted ball/plyoball receiving. It helps strengthen muscles and emulate a harder thrown pitch. I will usually go from lightest to heaviest and then back down.
#MaskUpMonday
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Made a bet with the players at the beginning of DR Spring Training that if they had a 90+% of 30% or more, I would buy them pizza. Here’s their reaction when they found out they had 30.4%
#RingTheBell
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No better time to announce that I’ve been promoted to Lead Hitting Trainer at Driveline Seattle. Extremely happy to be apart of the best player development system in the world
#NewProfilePicture
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Omar has a huge head movement as he watches the ball in the glove. So much so that he didn’t see a runner on a delayed steal last week.
This week, were cleaning it up with a glove on his head so he doesn’t move as much. Also, silky hands moving everything upward
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Varitek working on his footwork down to second. An arm side pitch equals a jab step and push forward like this one
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Off days mean Plyo HR Derby on the field! Good way to get after it with bat speed and focus on contact quality
Shamelessly stolen from
@C_Hetz
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Some drill work I do at home with a tennis ball. I let the ball hit the wall first before making a move. Usually use this as a warm up as well before progressing into harder drills
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Storytime:
When I was in the complex league in 2023, the FCL Yankees led the league in 2K homeruns. Here's why:
They saw 2K counts as 2-0 counts. They didn't slow down. They shrunk their zones like it was a plus count. This led to more 2k production and cut down 2K chases.
seems like break-even strategy to make it valuable to swing at any pitch in the shadow with 2 strikes is like +3 mph over ur avg.
(dots are all hypothetical batters with different 2-strike strategies i made by resampling 2-strike shadow zone swings)
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Here’s some hip and groin mobility I like to do almost every day. We don’t have hurdles at Dream Big but a baseball on a tee does the same thing. Get the leg up and over and stay balanced. Shoutout to
@billmills
for letting me train here!
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MVP of the Pecos League,
@shermangraves35
, is converting to a catcher. He knows little about the position which is perfect - he is a raw, blank slate and has no preconceptions or bad habits
A stable base to receive from is first, then working on arm/glove action during receiving
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🗣No Soup Drill.
@Mobley_16
loved to go vertical to his glove side. So, this constraint forces all throws to feel like they’re going glove side. He gets the feeling of staying flat and understands that his thumb needs to work under, not over.
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Do whatever you’d like with this information:
In a 15 foot tall cage, 25 degree launch angle hits the top of the cage at 32 feet
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COVID, like millions of others, has unfortunately left me without a job.
I’m currently searching for an MiLB opportunity or a collegiate assistant/associate head coach position.
Previous experience as a Minor League Hitting Coach and Driveline Hitting Intern
#hiremepls
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Anyone know how to learn Spanish as fast as possible? Asking for a friend…
Very excited to head down to the DR and get players to swing faster and hit the ball harder!
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"In order to play this game a long time, you have to obsess over it" an amazing read by one of the games best.
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Luis, again, getting comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Angled receiving to ensure that the glove stays flat throughout the catch and feel the movement using the scap to find space
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A few examples of differently styled rearward coil. Either way you think about it - hips toward the catcher, or back pocket toward the pitcher - it's important in order to activate more hamstring and glute.
Each hitter is evenly coiling their hips with their torso.
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One of my favorite drills to use with my online hitters that don’t understand how to coil effectively.
Come train online with Driveline and we’ll get you right for this season
#LearnToSlug
The Hook 'Em Drill is one of our favorites.
We use it to work on:
1️⃣ Even coil of the pelvis and torso
2️⃣ Create efficient timing of hip-shoulder separation
3️⃣ Blending the linear and rotational components of the swing
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2 years ago today, I retired from playing professional baseball. The memories I made will last a lifetime. More importantly, I retired without regrets - I dedicated the better part of 5 years to going all in on training to achieve what I did.
So, to celebrate, heres me k’d up
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Here is Alex Berg absolutely STICKING 91. What is he doing though? He is pushing out towards where the ball will be and beating the pitch to the spot. See it early and beat it to the spot = silky hands
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HS catchers: don't have wheels on your catchers bag. No college coach wants to see a player wheel gear into a showcase. Be grown, carry it.
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We decided to have a little fun on Bat Speed Day. We challenged the hitting groups in our smash cage: Can they collectively hit 150+ HRs for the day?
Let's see if they were up for the challenge ⬇️⬇️
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You can train bat speed and mechanics at the same time. They are not mutually exclusive
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Something that was touched on but not explicitly said: Travis Bazzana forewent summer ball in order to train more, in order to get the best out of himself.
A great question to ask yourself before playing summer ball is: “am I good enough to make these at bats count?”
In this 11 minute feature video, you’ll learn all about the applied data-driven methods we’ve perfected at Driveline Baseball and how it prepares our athletes for success.
Travis has unique skills and dedication that got the most out of his training.
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Plyo Care balls are one of the best ways to get your arm in shape and understand how the arm and body should work. For anyone in need of any arm care or hitting equipment, use “elite10” at checkout for 10% off of your purchase, on me! Big shoutout to
@drivelinebases
and
@itstaiki
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Swing decision training is as much about zone control as it is maximizing exit velocity and success. Chasing out of the strike zone decreases average and increases miss probability significantly
via
@SavantTips
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Since terrible baseball arguments are making a come back, here is Ted Williams, the greatest to ever do it, talking upward swings and talking hitting homeruns.
Hit it hard, not on the ground.
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Since my time as a Driveline Hitting Intern is coming to a close, I want to share my favorite blog post I've read numerous times courtesy of
@MaxDutto_
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The millions of transfers done this past month with
@KelleyCatching
seem to be paying off 🔥🔥
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One of my favorite drills to do with young hitters that struggle pulling the ball in the air.
Offset closed ➕ Long Bat. This will help with:
✅ Proper Sequencing
✅ Proper Torso Rotation
✅ Better pull-side ball flight
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Here's the hardest hit ball of 2020 so far. It was hit 121.3 mph and landed 483 feet away from home plate. Just a few notes:
- Bat Speed
- Bat Speeeeeeeeeed
- 121.3 mph
- No, you don't have this pop.
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Plyo balls can be an essential tool for catchers to build functional strength and proprioception.
@jbockelie
, here, has shoulder issues that doesn’t allow him to stay flat when he moves glove side
#NoSoup
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Baseball is a game of adjustments. Last week, took a 98 mph ricochet to the face that knocked me out. This week, wearing a helmet to feed
#SafetyFirst
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How many pitching coordinators in MLB orgs do you think can pop a 104 off a machine?
Hint: 1 and his name is
@Berticushill
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Posture is huge for bat path and adjusting to different pitch heights.
Short bat ➕ High/Low Tee is perfect for:
✅ Understanding high pitch posture
✅ Making adjustments to get to a low pitch
✅ Improving Bat Path
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Once again, I'm back to writing in the offseason. Here are the 3 biggest lessons I learned while spending 8 months down in the DR ⬇️⬇️
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Some great stuff from Cubs’ Catching coach at the
@ABCA1945
this past weekend.
Volume ⬆️⬆️⬆️
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Will is going to be a smooth guy for us this year.
He sets up early and gives the target. But, he drops back down so he can work back up toward the ball.
Best part is, I didn’t even teach this, he does it naturally.
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And sometimes laying bricks looks like getting enough sleep, eating right, and doing active recovery and mobility routines.
Building Rome only works when it’s people stay healthy
Rome wasn’t built in a day, but they laid bricks every day.
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Hey Hitting Twitter... just a reminder:
swing up. swing to do damage.
That is all.
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Interesting look into Yasmani Grandal’s pregame routine. He uses knee transfers and a variation of blocking drills to get his feel down BEFORE starting Maeda’s bullpen session.
A quick five min routine prepares him for the bullpen and game all while Maeda warms up next to him
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After my hiatus from writing for my blog, I decided to come back with the 3 lessons I learned from this season. I had 18 hours of driving as I moved out east, so there was plenty of time for me to meditate on the last 6 months. Here’s what I took away:
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Here’s a simple blocking progression that use to start and get loose. Drills progressively get harder and transfer to other drills as well. Featuring
@hundley_mitch
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Too many young catchers just try to get the ball to second. Throw THROUGH the second basemen, not to him
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High attack angle/path issues like me?
@DrivelineBB
Smash Balls ➕ Thin Barrel ➕ High Pitch
Training in a difficult environment will build better, more adjustable barrels
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If you want to be at peace with yourself at the end of your career, then do everything possible to get the highest possible level.
Driveline Remote Training can and will help with that. Give us a call and ask to train with Zack Jones
#LearnToSlug
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THREAD: If you're like me, your sleep scheduled has been destroyed by quarantine. So, the last few weeks I've been doing a bunch of research on sleep hygiene and how to get your sleep schedule back on track. Below you'll find a bunch articles and videos to get your sleep back
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Training Swing Decisions involves focused work in each round, an approach to the “at bat.” Focus in on a part of the plate that you want to attack and don’t swing at anything else. Use feedback from HitTrax, Rapsodo, or even an object behind the plate representing the zone
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Thanks to
@MaxDutto_
, I've decided to start writing and publishing more. So, my first post on medium was about bat speed and why its important.
Shocker, I know.
Take a look! ⬇️⬇️⬇️
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Often enough, a catcher won't be able to get into a "correct" blocking position because of the way the pitch is spiked. The best advice anyone can give catchers in that situation is to get some part of the body on it.
Here is Yan Gomes in the WS getting a body part on it.
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This my guy Lewis who’s 13. He’s the man and i have no doubt in my mind that he’ll be a D1 product. Here’s what he’s been doing:
-Lifting heavy
-Training Bat Speed
-Training overspeed because hitting .800 in BP is 👁 💦
-Being early and slow with his load and stride
-Having fun
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Give yourself an external goal when training ball flight and bat to ball. The line across the cage represents ~15° and the challenge is to see how many lineas under the string you can barrel
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ESPN announcers talking about how hitting the ball hard has been a big reason why the white sox have been so successful. WEIRD 🤨🤔🤔🧐
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June ➡️ July at
@DrivelineBB
@Canon_Reeder
came in with upright posture and minimal load which didn't allow him to move the barrel fast or hit it in the air consistently
6 weeks later, we've found a swing that is going to terrorize college baseball in 2025 📷 💣
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The MLB and Baseball Savant dropping bat tracking gave us access to data about the best in the world.
But the big question remains: how do you train bat speed?
Answer: Overload/Underload Training.
Here we have
@fossum_kyle2
hammering smash balls with BS trainers.
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Today's smash cage challenge was King Of the Hill:
At the end of the day, the hitter with the highest EV with each of our training bats would be crowned king of that hill.
Well, Ethan Keintz of
@PLUBaseball
decided to take all three crowns for himself 🥶😱🤯
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Great example of hip-torso separation from
@JTRealmuto
. This is what it means to "get your hips open into heel plant."
Hips make the move first and create stretch in the core.
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How’s coaching in the DR so far?
Today we traded baseballs for salami sandwiches and Dominican soda. So, pretty awesome.
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🚨 PARENTS! 🚨 Please, please, do your homework when you set up a lesson or training session for your athlete. I have too many kids telling me they had a lesson for $75 with some shmuck who only did tee work for an hour. Be sure to ask:
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YES! A tennis ball and wall can be your best friend
We all love the COMPLEX but don’t overlook the SIMPLE. Growth can come from the most elementary of tasks. Find a wall. No excuses!
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A lot of young hitters don’t understand how to coil properly. Either they coil too much, or not at all. So, here’s my guy Stags doing a Hitting Pivot Pick designed to help coil the hips and torso evenly during the load phase
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If you really want to know what you're doing back there, video yourself and understand what to look for. I want to see arm action + footwork
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In high school and college, I always wondered why I'd be on time for a middle-middle fastball and then hit it right into the front of home plate.
Bat path is both the problem and the solution. Take a look at how to train it more efficiently ⬇️⬇️
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Looking to clean up a disconnected path? I got you! 💪
Here is
@jennings383
using dual machines & a
@DrivelineBB
Barrel Load to fix an out-and-around path.
We’ve got an FB to the outer 3rd & a CB to the inner 3rd. If Bert swings out & around, the barrel load will expose him.
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My guy Luis challenging himself and working his glove flat and in his scap.
He’s focusing on calming glove movement and being able to bring a low and in pitch up toward the zone.
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Summer. Is. Here.
Bay doors open, sun shining, the gym is packed. There is nothing like a summer training at
@DrivelineBB
If you want everything at your arsenal to get better, come hang with the DL crew:
@Tstokey
@AndrewAydt
@JRBaseball8
@jhirsh04
@BrandonDim24
@NateMarko2
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The ball should never stop moving. As soon as the arm is loaded, it is released. Realmuto is so in sync that his arm is ready to go, his front leg is planted and ready to go.
Get your feet down as quick as possible and go.
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Bat Speed training isn't about trying to swing as hard as possible.
Pairing intent to swing fast with drills and an external focus helps fix mechanical issues.
We adjusted Jesus' ball flight focus, producing a cleaner path and better contact quality
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If there are any young catchers out there in middle school or hs or even college, feel free to DM me for a free catcher training program
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Be quick-- beat the ball to the spot
Everyone needs 50 seconds of
#Rockies
catchers blocking balls in the dirt. Makes the day go smoother.
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Here’s some quick ankle and calf mobility exercises that will help loosen up all of the matted tissue in the Gastroc and soleus. I do this along with other mobility exercises before high volume throwing days and competition.
As always, huge shout to
@DrivelineBB
!
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Awesome angle of Robinson Chirinos from spring training. You can see him exaggerating the mid-pitch turn to have a better flow/turn into the throw.
Also that transfer is just gorgeous - doesn't close the mitt and funnels it to his throwing hand. So much good stuff in 4 seconds.
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What's the life of a catcher? Caught three games in two days and I'm currently laying in my driveway with both hamstrings cramped up
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Low curveballs in training help to understand how the glove/arm should act when receiving. Thumb works from 3-6, arm stays bent yet firm
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Pretty ankle sway. Low curveball = thumb under and CATCH it before it leaves the plate
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The best hitting programs pair drills/training environments with an external goal or focus.
For
@zachmacdonald13
it was a Hitting Pivot Pick ➕Long Bat ➕ Hit a pullside HR at 110mph
This environment helped him rotate his hips efficiently and work his POC out in front
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Always need to gain ground on offspeed pitches that you know will be dirted. Don't let the ball play you - make a positive move on the ball!
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“I cAnT gAiN wEiGhT. I hAvE lIkE 3 pRoTiEn ShAkEs A dAy”
Just eat.
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