My Heroes

When I was your age you couldn't get any better than Mickey Mantle, Johnny Unitas and Bobby Orr. These guys were wonderful heros. The best and the best at their respective games in my opinion. If you want to waste any time (in a positive manner) go to You Tube and type these names in. There is some great old footage on these guys and I would especially recommend the Bobby Orr video set to the music "Nobody Does it Better". It almost made me cry.

This Sunday is our last chance to get better this year. We go Sunday at RIPS from 4:30 to 6:00 and then we shut down for the holidays. Hope to see you there.

What I Discovered While Being Home Sick

I missed work on Friday. I had to stay home sick. A real rarity for me. First time at my current workplace (been here 15 years) and probably the second time in my work life. Stayed put on Saturday too.

The good news is I discovered something incredibly fantastic. MLB TV. It is a channel that we added a while back. I have watched it some, but not being a big TV watcher I have not really investigated the channel.

This cold / flu thing had me so miserable that all I could really do was lie on the couch and move my channel surfing finger.

The MLB channel is so cool. I watched games from my youth. Games from 1968. World Series game. Curt Gowdy's voice and Tony Kubek reporting. Amazing. I watch World Series Newsreels from 1947 and beyond. It was incredible.

Plus they have other shows, here it is from their website, my words in italics:

All-Time Games
Feel the excitement all over again as we relive your favorite exciting regular and post season games with All Time Games on MLB Network. (real games shown as if they were happening right now!)

Baseball's Seasons
A look at some of baseball's most compelling seasons. (A documentary on ONE season)

Diamond Demo
Where MLB analysts, visiting players and coaches demonstrate hitting, pitching, fielding and coaching techniques from MLB Network's Studio 42. (Tips from THE GUYS!)

Studio 42 with Bob Costas
Meet legends and gain a new sense of history from those who created it. (Okay, even I admit he can be a bit sappy, AND I hate it when he tries to act like he likes Mickey Mantle more than I DO, ' cause he can't, no matter how may time he refers to him as the "Mick")

This channel is must watch TV, should you watch TV. And do not be afraid to check out a baseball history book based on something you see here.

Have You EVER Thought About Reading a Book Just Because You Wanted To?

Just so you know - I LOVE TO READ. I have been an avid reader all my life. Since I was younger than you guys. And stupid as I was, I hid this fact from my peers when I was your age. I got into enough fights without people thinking I was a reader. I met my future wife while hiding in a library reading. She was stunned that I was in a library and her first words to me (this is a woman who I thought would never want anything to do with me, EVER) were "what are you reading?" Who knew, she was a reader, too.

I am way over being ashamed of being a reader. I am now an advocate of reading. If you are ANY kind of reader, and can read between the lines, I am advocating that YOU start reading.

Yogi Berra might have said (but I don't think he did) "You can learn an awful lot just by reading". BUT Mark Twain DID SAY "If you do not read for pleasure, you are no better off than an illiterate person".

So start reading. It is easy, it is interesting and the funny thing is one book will lead to another. Talk to people about reading, they will give you all sorts of ideas as to what to read next. And once you start; reading get easier. It will be easier to learn new things. You will be drawn to learn new things, and you may not even know you are working hard at learning new things, you will just be getting smarter.

Start with things that interest you. Here are some baseball related books, some I have read some I am going to read. I got more if you want more:

The Boys of Summer, 1972, by Roger Kahn. A tribute to his beloved Brooklyn Dodgers, this combination of memoir and oral history eloquently expresses the enduring impact of the sport: "Losing after great striving is the story of man, who was born to sorrow, whose sweetest songs tell of saddest thought, and who, if he is a hero, does nothing in life as becomingly as leaving it."
(My favorite baseball book of ALL TIME)


Babe: The Legend Comes to Life, 1974, by Robert W. Creamer. No other biography of Ruth matches Creamer's riveting, honest and detailed account of the game's supernova: "Babe hit his 700th home run in 1934. When he hit it, only two others had hit more than 300. When he retired with 714, he had more than twice as many as the second man on the list. The home run was his."
(Best biography I ever read. After reading this book you will come to realize that Babe Ruth was NOT the overweight guy you see in the pictures, but was a lean muscular terror in his prime, and you will find out HOW he got to be the big heavy guy you see in pictures)

If I Never Get Back by Darryl Brock - With respect to W.P. Kinsella (author of Shoeless Joe, the book the movie “Field of Dreams” was based on), this a “favorite,” if not the “best” in this category. Kinsella’s tone and touch are deft–like a nicely laid-down bunt–and imagery vivid and unrestricted. If I Never Get Back, however, is fantasy on a different level–kind of like “Bull Durham” really being a chick-flick disguised as a baseball comedy–that takes the hero, a disconnected journalist named Sam Fowler, back in time to 1869, where he becomes the catcher for the original Cincinnati Red Stockings, watching the birth of baseball as part of a nearly unbeatable team. It is rich in period detail, though it sometimes bogs down in play-by-play, but also has fun with the time-travel fantasy and even includes a cameo by Mark Twain. Along the way, the fable delivers lessons on relationships and life–kind of like a post-Civil War visit with Crash Davis and Annie Savoy.
(This was a fun read about the very early days of baseball, and as a time travel fan I loved it and still wish that I could travel back in time – this is where I would go or maybe baseball in the 20’s I am still not sure)

Eight Men Out: The Black Sox And The 1919 World Series
By Eliot Asinof
The story of the 1919 World Series has inspired contemporary films like Field of Dreams and Eight Men Out. Eliot Asinof painstakingly reconstructed the sordid tale of bargains between Shoeless Joe Jackson, the other seven players of the Chicago Black Sox who were banned from baseball and the bookies. Even though it seems like something that could no longer happen, it does make you wonder.
( Made me love Shoeless Joe EVEN MORE)

The Catcher Was A Spy: The Mysterious Life Of Moe Berg
By Nicholas Dawidoff
A well-written biography about baseball’s most diverse character, this baseball book to read this summer entertains as it reels off an impressive array of baseball trivia. The only reason it’s not higher on the list is because it’s not as timely as the others. While Moe Berg played 15 seasons in the majors through the ‘20s and ‘30s, he rarely impressed fans with his playing abilities. However, many players knew him as both “the brainiest guy in baseball” and “the strangest man ever to play baseball.” After his baseball career, he served as a spy for the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. The book reads as part sports tale and part spy thriller.
(true story AND if I couldn’t be a big league catcher #2 on my list WAS an international spy!)

"You Gotta Have Wa" by Robert Whiting

Robert Whiting, author of “Tokyo Underground”, as well as co-writer for “Slugging it Out in Japan”, has put together this very interesting text on the history, the culture, and the experiences of expatriate professional baseball players in Japanese baseball. Taking us back to the origins of the game as it developed in Japan and as it has evolved into the modern phenomenon and monster it has become, Whiting has articulated a masterful, and exhaustively researched text on the topic. For anyone interested in baseball, sports, or how anyone can really cope and live in Japan, this is a fascinating read.
(Read it last summer, fascinating – and the current Phillie coach is IN IT!)

"The Kid from Tomkinsville"; "World Series" and "The Kid Comes Back" by John Tunis
Eighteen year-old Roy Tucker sat slouched on the train, his suitcase with a bat strapped on perched above him on the rack. The train wouldn’t move, nor would his friends on the platform who stood gawking at him from below. It was the spring of 1939 and he was leaving home and the small town of Tomkinsville, Connecticut for the first time in his life, headed for the spring training camps in Florida to try out with the Brooklyn Dodgers as a pitcher. The excitement, the uncertainty, the fear--all of it weighed upon him as he sat for seemingly endless minutes on that hot, dusty train. So begins the unforgettable story of Roy Tucker, the Kid from Tomkinsville, and his journey into the world of professional baseball. Bewildered, homesick, yet brimming with talent, Roy rides a roller coaster of rookie emotions, the fear and loneliness that eats at his confidence, the crushing disappointment of every failure, and the giddy high of each success. A farm boy who is used to a quieter, simpler life, he is thrown into the fast-paced world of celebrity, big money, swollen egos and hot tempers. The cast of characters he encounters dazzles him: Razzle Nugent, the star pitcher known for his beer-drinking, green suits and practical jokes. Jack MacManus, the Dodgers’ club owner whose explosive temper, staunch loyalty and constant feuds with the Giants’ club owner were famous around the league. Gabby Spencer, the fiery manager who is the team’s best asset when they are winning and their worst when they are losing. But it is his friendship with Dave Leonard, the quiet, steady veteran catcher, that would be most crucial to his success, and to his ability to pick up the pieces when all seems lost. More important than the wins and losses of the hapless Brooklyn Dodgers and Roy’s ride to stardom is the story of his own determination to make good in spite of the odds, and his ability to find the courage to come back when he is beaten down and nearly written off. Gutsy, selfless and aggressive on the field, quiet and unassuming off the field, the Kid from Tomkinsville is one of the most likeable and memorable heroes of baseball fiction. The cliff-hanger ending of this book will only leave you thirsting for more, and fortunately the story of Roy Tucker continues on in World Series and The Kid Comes Back . If you love baseball, especially the nostalgic kind played in the 1940’s, I highly recommend that you read all three
( I haven’t read these – BUT the book I am currently reading refers to them and they are now next on my list)

How 'Bout that Joe Ross

To all my young sponges - Congratulations. I am so pleased with how well you guys are soaking up the wisdom and teachings of Joe Ross. It is amazing to see the difference in your hitting. Tempo, Balance and Strength, Hands disappearing and flashing through the hitting zone with purpose.

I see lots when I throw to you, somewhat to my peril. As I throw to you guys I watch you load, I watch your tempo and see your balance. Sometimes I hang out a little longer that I should and fail to get behind the L screen and you guys nail me (thanks Spencer, I have a rather large, nasty bruise on my back).

I am seeing tons of improvement in balance, confidence and balls flying back at me. We are getting bigger, stronger, better balanced and who knew that you guys had rhythm and tempo!

Keep up the good work.

We are going to CRUSH the ball this year - not that we were slouches last year.

Joe Ross will be working with our hitters

Here is Joe's bio from last year's Husky Baseball program. Joe no longer coaches the Huskies and is now this area's scout for the Mariners:

Joe Ross

Position:Associate Head Coach
Year:17th
The 2008 season will mark Joe Ross' 17th as the Huskies' top assistant coach. In 1997, Ross was promoted to associate head coach.

Ross has made a reputation not only as one of college baseball top hitting coaches, but also as one of its top scouts and evaluators of talent. The most recent validation of his talents as an evaluator and recruiting coordinator came recently as last season's group of newcomers was ranked as the nation's No. 11 recruiting class by Collegiate Baseball.

Ross came to Washington prior to the 1993 season after a long and successful stint as head baseball coach at Normandale Community College in Bloomington, Minn. He's worked alongside Ken Knutson through each of Knutson's 16 seasons as head coach. In his 16 seasons as Washington's primary hitting instructor, Husky players have rewritten the school record book several times over.

The '97 Huskies set new team records for batting, hits, runs, doubles, triples, home runs, total bases and slugging. The team batting average of .340 was 17th in the nation and the third highest in Pac-10 history. Washington also posted Pac-10 all-time top-five seasons in runs, doubles and RBI while also ranking in the top 20 in the nation in scoring and slugging, making the 1997 Huskies one of the most prolific offensive teams in the history of the Pac-10.

That success has continued as more than 85 percent of the Huskies' top-five offensive team performances over 12 different categories have taken place since Ross' arrival at the UW.
In 2007, the Dawgs posted yet another .300-batting season, hitting .304 as a club. The Huskies had three regulars hit .348 or better. One of his hitting protegés, Kyle Conley, belted 19 homers in 2008.

Ross' teams are routinely among the nation's leaders in home runs as well. In fact, the Huskies ranked in the nation's top 12 in home runs per game each year from 2003 to 2006, including finishing second in 2003. Generally, the nation's top home run-hitting programs are those that play at high altitude, while Husky Ballpark is located at sea level.

In 2003, the Huskies had an outstanding offensive season. Chad Boudon broke the school's home runs record with 22 on the year, tops in the Pac-10 and sixth in the nation. Additionally, the Huskies, as a team, ranked No. 2 in the NCAA in home runs with 96.

In 2004, the Huskies ranked sixth in the nation in home runs and 30th in slugging. Seven regular starters hit .300 or better and three Huskies hit double-digit home runs, increasing an already lenghty list under Ross' tutelage. Prior to his hiring, only two Husky hitters had ever reached double digits in homers. Since his first year, 27 UW hitters have hit 10 or more home runs in a season.

In 2005, the Huskies were 12th in the nation in homers and then followed that by ranking 6th in 2006. Additionally in 2006, Matt Hague emerged as the top hitter in UW history, in terms of career batting average, under Ross' instruction.

In 1999, he had two different players break UW home runs records. Dominic Woody posted 19 for the season to break the 13-year old school mark while Ed Erickson moved into first place on the career home runs ledger with his 31st. In 2000, Erickson finished his career with 12 more homers than the next nearest Huskies.

In 1998, he coached two players - Nick Stefonick and Chris Magruder - to .400 seasons, the first time in modern Husky history that two players have topped that high plateau. Magruder, Kevin Miller and Ryan Lentz, all recruited and coached by Ross, finished their three-year Husky careers in 1998 as three of the best hitters in school history, as Magruder finished with the career hits, runs and steals record, Miller with the RBI record and Lentz with the single-season homer mark.

In 1994, he led the team to a .307 team batting average (fourth highest in team history at the time) and an average of nearly seven runs per game. Seven of UW's starters batted better than .300.

In 1993, he helped Derrin Doty to become only the second Husky in modern history to hit over .400 while leading the team to a .304 average. Another of his pupils in 1993, first baseman Randy Jorgensen, broke the school record with 61 runs batted in during the 1993 season.


In six seasons as Normandale's head coach, Ross compiled a 180-38 record and took his team to two NJCAA World Series, in 1988 and 1990. He also led the team to league championships in each of his six seasons at the helm and won three Minnesota state championships, four regional championships and two NJCAA District championships.

From 1990 to 1992, Ross also worked as a baseball coach for the United States Baseball Federation. In 1992, he coached the U.S. Junior National team (16-18 year olds) to a silver medal at the World Games in Mexico. Among the members of that team was current superstar Alex Rodriguez. Ross was also an assistant on the 1991 Junior National team and an assistant for an Olympic Festival team in 1990.

From 1980-86, he was head coach at Wisconsin-River Falls, which he lead from obscurity to state and NAIA District 14 championships in 1984 and 1985.

From 1980 to 1983, Ross served as head coach for two different teams in the Netherlands' Hoofdklasse Baseball League, a league in which he spent three summers as a top-notch professional player.

He was named NJCAA North Central coach of the year twice, NJCAA Region 13 coach of the year four times, MCCC (Minnesota Community College Conference) coach of the year three times and NAIA District 14 coach of the year twice. Ross has also served as a scout in the Mets and Yankees organizations.

Ross holds a bachelor's degree (physical eduation/coaching, 1982) and master's degree (supervision and instructional leadership, 1986), both from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. He and his wife, Laurence, a native of the Netherlands, live with sons Alex and Luke in Kirkland.

A MUST read for all of you boys

I just finished Jon Krakauer's new book, "Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman". I would say this is a MUST read for all of you. The book does a wonderful job of describing the passion behind Pat Tillman's early athleticism and his desire to be a complete person by hitting the books as well as training his body.

Pat Tillman was the professional football player for the Arizona Cardinals who left the game to join the Army after 911. This book chronicles his life story, some mistakes made early in life and a fantastic commitment to living life at it fullest and giving back to society.

Please read this book, it is sure to have a positive impact on your life, and it just might get your English teacher off your back.

PS Are you exercising? Find time everyday. Make the workout something you can do everyday.

PSS Ask yourself right now - Are you ahead or behind in class? If the teacher was going to make out a starting line-up, would you be in it?

Last Meaningful At Bat

Future Coach Cougan with his daughters Kelsey and Melissa

Here is a picture of me after my last meaningful at bat. This picture was taken at the conclusion of my last college game. SU played UPS. My guess is that UPS won by a small score such as 3-2 or 2-1. I think I remember going hit less. My last college hit was a 2 RBI double late in the second to last game which gave the illustrious Mark Bishop a win in his last college game over the University of Portland (who featured former Mariner Bill Krueger). Bish will ALWAYS owe me for that one.

I say last meaningful at bat because although I continued to play a season or two of semi-pro and later and much later played in some adult leagues those at bats did not have the thrill of "meaning". Not that SU played to big crowds, but in my mind the games meant more when playing for a cause, a recognised league where someone tracked the games and there was an ultimate recognised championship (USC beat ASU that year for the Championship, SU finished 3rd in the NorPac, after leading the league in the first half, our pitching was not deep enough).

I think about at bats, I think about them often and I want you guys to think about them. Watch them during the play-offs. Watch them as AT BATS. Watch what guys do with them. At bats are funny things. We hope to control them as either pitchers, catchers or hitters. Sometime we do, sometimes we don't. Sometimes we control them and get the results we want, sometime we do not get the results we want. Sometimes the "other guy" controls them but we still get what we want, most times we don't. Baseball lore, luck and the baseball Gods impact them. All we can do is do our best to control them, and control can change on any pitch. The game of baseball is played during "at bats" and this is the time frame we need to focus on and prepare for.

Our goal is to better ourselves in the off season. Our goal is to better ourselves during the upcoming season. We better ourselves by learning how to shape and meet our at bats.

And here is where I am going to get all funky on you (if I haven't already). I want us to work hard this winter to prepare for our upcoming at bats. But as hard as I want you to work, as hard as I want you to fight during the upcoming season's at-bat's I want you to realize that each at bat you have this summer is going to be a PRE MEANINGFUL at bat. Trial runs. Learning experiences. What will matter is our evolution during this summer as to how we grow from each at bat to the next. We can try different things, take the long term approach, get creative as we learn what kind of hitter we are going to be, what works best in our at bats. Our goal is to get comfortable with at bats, learn about at bats and take this knowledge that we will acquire this summer into the future MEANINGFUL at bats and become the dominating player at the next level that we want to be.

Melissa and Kelsey grown up and only slightly affected by Coach Cougan's horrible parenting

Getting Bigger,Faster and Stronger

Campbell and Tino from last year

You hear this from your Aunt Edna all the time, but I have to say it as well; I was amazed at how much bigger you guys are from last season. Just stunned. I even took out the Polaroids from your 13 year old tryouts and had a good laugh at what scrawny little kids you all were a year ago. It is good to see you guys getting bigger.


This is a pivotal time in your lives. I may not be backed up by science (but this never really stops me) but I think these teen years are crucial to laying a foundation for your bodies for the rest of your lives. What I mean is NOW IS THE TIME TO WORK on your bodies. Exercise, exercise, exercise.


You may have access to a gym. You may have access to weights. You may have access to PE gurus. This is time to open your ears and get some information from them, from them and many others. I plan on contacting an old high school friend real soon who is a High School PE teacher and picking his brain.


Just so you know, but you really cannot tell from my build, I am a big believer in exercise. And as a baseball guy I am much more inclined to do lots and lots of reps with the lighter weights. More times with light weights has always been my routine. I am also a big NON BELIEVER in EVER lifting things up over my head. The shoulder is a KEY component in baseball and lifting heavy things above my head is something baseball has NEVER asked of me.


And even before I talk to my PE guy, here are my suggestions.

1) Push-ups
2) Sit-ups
3) Short quick sprints (pantomime stealing second, or making quick moves from whatever position you play - in all directions)
4) Jumping up on a box, again and again
5)Jumping rope
6) Anything that strengthens your grip
a) Squeezing tennis balls
b) A rope tied to a dowel with a weight on it - roll it up and down
7) Stretching


Develop a routine, do something daily - make something of your self. The muscle you build now will help you in everything you do the rest of your life.

Welcome

Welcome to the blog site for the MBC 14 year old team. This is the site where I will post news about the team, schedules, changes to the schedule, apologies due to scheduling errors, inspirational messages and game write-ups.

For those of you who are new to the team; there is also a magnoliabaseballclub.com website that will have schedules and write-ups and stats and such. That site is out of my control and harder to make changes to. This site will be more apt to have the real deal, changes. For example the other site will post a calender early in the season. If a game time changes, or gets rescheduled or a practice is cancelled, it sometimes will NOT be changed on that schedule. When in doubt rely on this one or a verbal from me (calls are always a valid way to communicate, if I have you confused, your call is no bother).

For examples of how this site will work, go look at last years - www.mbc13.blogspot.com