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Rochester Visit

September 16th, 2009

As previously mentioned, I travelled to Rochester, NY mostly to work with the Rochester Institute of Technology baseball team. We went over cage drills, hitting approach and swing mechanics. I was able to demonstrate the features of a radar device that measures bat speed, batted ball exit velocity, swing quickness and timing error (will have more on this is the not too distant future…) and discuss off-season training. Coincidentally, RIT was having their alumni game that weekend at Frontier Field (AAA home of the Rochester Red Wings), so I was able to catch up with a lot of familiar faces…..really enjoyed the trip.

R.I.T. alumni game at Frontier Field

The first thing I had to do in town was get a Pontillo’s pizza. After all these years, and now 9 removed from Rochester, this is still my favorite pizza. Ever.

Pontys --> the best!

RIT was just starting their fall workouts, so I got to hang out at the field during practice and talk to the groups of hitters. We went over a cage routine to work on basic swing mechanics and also emphasized areas related to hitting approaches in different situations, as well as categorizing pitchers and coming up with a game plan. I always have a lot of fun interacting with the players, and probably talking/explaining a little more than I should.

R.I.T. fall practice

On Friday, I was able to make a quick side trip to my old high school – Bishop Kearney. The outside of the building looked a little run down, but the changes to the classrooms inside were all hi-tech, computerized, each student with a laptop….much different from 10 years ago! I caught up with an old friend, Fred Tillinghast, who also continues to run “The Battery“, which is an indoor baseball facility where I spent most of my winters hacking away. Special thanks to Mr. La Liberte for giving me the guided tour.

Bishop Kearney High School

could use a mow

Another nice part of the trip was that RIT actually played a double-header on Saturday against the University of Rochester. It was great to see the guys play, especially after talking and working on hitting for a few days. One of the things I like about my job is that during the season I’m able to work with the guys daily and also have the feedback of the game at night, so it was good to see what guys strengths and weaknesses might be. I didn’t say much in the dugout, other than one or two reminders about having a good approach and plan for what the pitcher was likely to do (although this was tough because each team brought in new pitchers every couple of innings to get guys work). At the very least, I hope I was able to convey a logical thought process leading to a simple plan of attack. That was the idea.

Pre-game

Frontier Field Scoreboard

Right Field View

Lastly, I did a follow up TV interview with RIT Sportszone, which airs on ESPN2 locally in the ROC. They were down in Palm Beach a few weeks earlier and hooked up with me there for the first part. Not sure when the episode comes out, but I’ll update the site (hopefully with the video) when it comes out.

It was a lot of fun to get back and to see progress with baseball in Rochester. If you’re looking for any more information on anything baseball related in the area, here is a good place to start – RochesterBaseball.com. Enjoy!