Tips from Eric Cressey | The Transition to Professional Baseball
The transition to professional pitching brings a host of challenges, one of the biggest being the shift from a seven-day rotation to a five-day rotation. According to Eric Cressey, a renowned figure in athlete training and development, one of the significant hurdles faced by professional pitchers is this adjustment in rotation cycles.
Various organizations have experimented with different strategies, from implementing a six-man rotation to employing shorter starts. For years, the conventional wisdom has been to adjust to this tighter schedule by scaling back intensity, aiming for around 90% effort. Yet, amid these attempts to adapt, Cressey suggests bolstering the recovery process within the initial 48 hours following a start. This period presents an opportunity for pitchers to optimize their recovery, which in turn can significantly impact their ability to perform high-quality work between outings.
How to Optimize Recovery Between Starts
Since pitchers are required to recover faster and the 48 hours following a start is such an important window, Eric Cressey highlights the importance of using tools like Marc Pro. One of the biggest benefits he’s seen from Marc Pro is its ability to let players bounce back faster so their bullpens become higher quality and they’re able to get more work in between starts.
This shift in perspective could mark a turning point in pitcher development. Rather than simply adapting to a demanding five-day rotation, the focus is shifting toward optimizing the recovery process within that timeframe. It’s not just about bouncing back; it’s about using that recovery as a catalyst for more effective, purposeful training sessions, ultimately propelling athletes closer to their peak performance.
As the industry continues to evolve, Cressey’s insights and the reevaluation of recovery and its impact on pitcher development could hold the key to unlocking greater potential and achieving new heights in the world of professional pitching.
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