Making Every Pitch Count
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
My Reason for Writing this book –
Modern baseball, in which hitters
began to dominate, started in 1911 when cork centers were put into baseballs.
The idea that the game could be made more appealing for the fans by juicing up
the old horse hide was popular in that far gone era, and it is still appealing
to fans today.
But what has been done for the
poor pitcher who has to keep the baseball in the park to draw a paycheck?
Sadly, not a single thing. He now throws to a much smaller strike zone, hardly
dares to pitch inside, and along the way the mound has been lowered to take
some velocity off his pitches. In the American League, he must face nine
hitters instead of eight with the designated hitter rule. In high school and
college ranks, he must put up with aluminum bats that put a little more life
into the baseball, plus, give the hitter an advantage on inside pitches. A
pitcher might throw a perfect pitch in on the hands but with the aluminum bat,
and some strong hands, the hitter can drive the ball over the infield for a
cheap base hit.
The modern day pitcher must use
every weapon known to the pitchers union to have a chance to survive. In
addition, he must be inventive, willing to try new theories, and work extra
hard to stay in business.
I have a deep desire to help
young pitchers. During my playing career in amateur and professional baseball,
I produced a winning percentage of around eighty-two percent. Not bad for a
youngster coming out of a small town in
In addition to my playing career
in the New York Yankee system, I became a big league scout, and then scouting
supervisor, for the Pittsburgh Pirates. In time, I covered one of the largest
scouting areas in the country, some five states and
I know what it takes to win in
all levels of competition. Most of our pitchers of course have no dreams about
pitching in the big leagues; rather, they want to win in high school, or
perhaps on a good college ball club. The tips in this book will enable them to
do so. Then we have the truly talented pro prospect, and this lad needs special
instruction and direction, to make it to the big leagues and stay there. He
will also find it in this book.
Baseball at all levels should be
fun for all those who participate. Most players play for little compensation,
while in the big leagues we find the wealthiest, and at times the least
appreciative of their good fortune. At heart, it is still a small boy’s game,
and for those who are devoted to it and love its great charm, the sound of the
ball popping into the mitt each spring brings back fond memories of our boyhood
days.
Pitching can be fun, if the
player works hard, and develops his natural talent to the fullest. By reading
this book, he will be starting on a new journey to secure the proper tools for
great success, and true enjoyment.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
With a mere two hundred words,
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the gifted American poet, changed the lives of
countless numbers of young people by composing his inspiring poem, THE PSALM OF LIFE. Ken Beardslee, in this his sixth book, believes he can change
the lives of thousands of young baseball pitchers with his latest effort, MAKING EVERY PITCH COUNT. It is a book
of limited pages, easily understood, and in the long run quality always
triumphs over quantity. With the lively baseball, the much smaller strike zone,
and the lowering of the mound, all present day pitchers are working with a very
narrow window to success. With new approaches, and tested theories of his own,
the author presents a program that will vastly improve any pitcher’s
performance. The author’s record as an amateur and professional pitcher, and
his deep experience as a big league scouting supervisor for the Pittsburgh
Pirates, speaks for itself.
At
MAKING EVERY PITCH COUNT breaks new ground for pitchers of all
ages.
About the Author
In high school Ken Beardslee set seven national pitching records. He still
holds the best percentage of strikeouts for a single high school season, and
for an entire high school career (for one season, 19 strikeouts for every 21
batters faced. For a career, 18 strikeouts for every 21 batters faced). No
other high school pitcher in the nation has been able to match those feats. All
of Ken’s high school pitching records may be found in the yearly edition of the
National High School Sports Record Book, published by the National Federation
of State High School Associations in
As a pitcher in the New York
Yankee organization, Ken won a total of 64 games while losing but 24. Rising
from Class D to AAA classification in a little over three years, he set
strikeout records in two different minor leagues.
When his active playing career
was ended by an injury, he joined the Pittsburgh Pirate scouting department
where he remained for over twenty years. He became a scouting supervisor
handling all scouting operations in the
Besides his writing, Ken pursues
an active role in public speaking, appearing before large audiences in