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A Busy Winter at the Metro Baseball League
Happy Holidays! We hope everyone is having a great holiday season. Does anyone else drive past their local ballfield right now and say to themselves, “Can we fast-forward to baseball season already?!” We know many of our ballplayers are involved with winter sports – which is awesome – but be honest: 70 degrees, sunshine and a seat behind the backstop sounds pretty good, right?
HAPPENING NOW: TOURNAMENT REGISTRATION, PLANNING FOR 2025
What’s going on at the MBL right now? Think tournaments and planning for 2025 – with an emphasis on coach/parent education. MBT State Tournament bids were released late last month and the scramble to register teams is now in full effect. Local qualifier tournament directors are busy registering teams for next May and June. The MBL made a point to communicate with our association travel directors in October and November to make sure our members were prepared for tournament registration season. Tournaments are such a fun part of the baseball season, and we want to do everything we can to make sure all teams have the opportunity to play in the qualifiers they want next summer.
OFF-SEASON TALKER: ARM CARE
The off-season has included much discussion on the topic of arm care, pitch counts and rest days. We’ve been talking to doctors and health care professionals, and reviewing guidance from USA Baseball, to make sure our MBL pitching rules and recommendations are aligned with the latest research. Safety is of the utmost importance when it comes to our young athletes. One of our goals for 2025 is to provide more resources and education for our coaches – and parents – on this topic.
WINTER YOUTH BASEBALL CLINICS
Any players out there doing winter training? We know many associations have tryouts in late January or February – which is not that far away. Recommendations are for baseball players to take at least a two-month break every year from competitive throwing. After that, players can ease back into a throwing program. For those with tryouts in February or March, January becomes a good time to start working some baseball activities into the mix. If you’re looking for a clinic in January, MBL has a “Get Ready for Tryouts” session on Sunday, January 19 at Redline Athletics in Woodbury. (You can still attend even if you’ve already had tryouts.) The clinic will be led by instructors from The RBI Academy. Stay tuned for details on how to register. Coaches: MBL will also be doing a drawing for free cage time at Redline Athletics. Details to come.
WINTER BASEBALL COACHING CLINICS
Our surveys and meetings with association leadership over the past year made it clear that coaching education should be a priority for the MBL. Last March we held a full day of well-attended coaching clinics in Burnsville with excellent clinicians from the collegiate and high school levels. Details will be coming on an even bigger version for early April 2025. The MBL will also be hosting shorter, topic-specific coaching sessions in January, February and March. We are excited about our first clinic coming up next month! The MBL has teamed up with Mustard, a pitching instructional program created and designed by throwing expert Tom House, to present and discuss youth pitching on Saturday, January 25 at Redline Athletics in Woodbury. Coaches will be able to register through the MBL site in the coming weeks.
LOOKING FOR BASEBALL DRILLS FOR THE WINTER?
We all know how hard it can be to find indoor facility time, but there are a lot of baseball activities kids can do at home. Try the links below and think about how easily some of the drills can be adapted for a basement, hallway or living room.
@PicknPivot: https://x.com/PicknPivot/status/1849084360198148107
@BRrebellion: https://x.com/BRrebellion/status/1127966753986891776
@PlayBall: https://x.com/PlayBall/status/1067494012410568704
NEED A GIFT IDEA?
Speaking of the holidays, are you finished with your shopping? If you still need a gift for someone, keep baseball in mind. Gear, apparel, training aids … the list goes on. There’s plenty of baseball items to choose from. Keep one of our great sponsors, Dick’s Sporting Goods, in mind this holiday season. Check out the links below for ideas and discounts from DSG!
Stocking Stuffers for Baseball Players