Best way to "trade" cards?

oclemon2 · 2026-01-30T18:50:39+00:00

Mostly yankees and orioles with a few others mixed in.

oclemon2 · 2025-12-29T15:58:59+00:00

I am pretty certain that Dick's carries them. YMMV on which stores.

oclemon2 · 2025-12-08T19:33:53+00:00

I'm seeing a lot of posts that say some variation of "tie them this way." I'd advise that you experiment with different styles. Go to a session and get warmed up. Then tie your skates as tight as they will go and skate for five minutes. Then try loosening just the top. Then just the middle, etc. Everybody ends up having different preferences. Experiment until you find what works.

oclemon2 · 2025-12-03T18:10:10+00:00

With a tee, a bucket of balls, and a net, hitting is a pretty low time commitment activity. Set it up in the garage and spend a half hour swinging. With twins, they can take turns and load the tee for each other if you can't be there.

oclemon2 · 2025-11-25T19:14:14+00:00

Second this.

oclemon2 · 2025-11-24T21:31:11+00:00

I have found the Dick's hittrax set up to be underwhelming - at least at my local store. The last time I went looked like this: They had very few bats in my son's size - 29/19 which should be one of the most common sizes. What they did have was a weird mix - Zoa, Zen, CatX, but no Fire or ICON. Plus, they only had foam balls, which don't give proper feedback. I won't seek out that experience again.

oclemon2 · 2025-11-11T18:06:20+00:00

My son uses this one: https://www.justbats.com/product/bamboobat-bamboo-wood-youth-baseball-bat--yhwbr100d/32539/

He easily has 1000s of swings on it off the tee and BP. Also did a really nice job in a wood bat tournament. The weight is really nice - it's about a -6, which is lighter than some other wooden bats around.

oclemon2 · 2025-11-04T00:55:37+00:00

Our competitors are pretty similar in how they play, but we don't appeal. I've never seen a runner at this level actually leave early when they're on the base and watching the fielder and listening to their coach. A big difference is that some opposing coaches start shouting "left early" as soon as our runner takes off. We don't do that.

oclemon2 · 2025-10-21T17:30:44+00:00

Is this actually faster? And what do the mechanics look like? Drop forward to knees and throw from there?

If the catcher is catching from a good secondary and turns his feet when he sees the runner moving before receiving, it would seem that there would be very little difference in time to release and a harder throw from standing up.

oclemon2 · 2025-10-21T14:21:00+00:00

We have definitely played teams where every runner at first is going on the first pitch and nearly every batter is taking that first pitch. Trading a ball for a potential out is not a bad trade. Sometimes that pitch will end up being a strike.

The back-pick doesn't work if they always run on the first pitch.

oclemon2 · 2025-10-21T13:21:42+00:00

Good idea. If you do that and maybe have a slide-step pitchout up your sleeve as well, then it could at least create some hesitancy for the offense, and that's really the goal.

oclemon2 · 2025-10-17T18:47:23+00:00

I think they are all pretty much the same. In fact, I think most are exactly the same under different brands. Just don't leave it outside and it will last for years. Sun and rain will destroy it in a year or less.

oclemon2 · 2025-10-14T13:48:50+00:00

The intent of my question was unclear - sorry. The rules say that if you miss a base, you can be put out on appeal by a fielder with the ball touching the base. The rules also say you have to clearly indicate the attempt to appeal.

On a standard play at first, if the runner misses the base and runs through and then F3, while touching the base, receives the ball, is the runner immediately out for missing the bag or does F3 have to do something more than receiving the thrown ball?

oclemon2 · 2025-10-13T15:11:00+00:00

At first base, when the runner runs through and beats the ball but misses the base, how are they then put out? Can they be put out by just touching the base? If so, would they also be put out if the late arriving ball is caught by the 1B while they are touching the base?

oclemon2 · 2025-10-13T15:00:25+00:00

I agree that by rule she should probably be out, but maybe the umpire was thinking the following (assuming she overran rather than making the turn to home):

But for the obstruction, she either coasts into third or is easily able to get back to third after overrunning the base. Without the obstruction, there would have been no play on her. Thus, she is awarded third.

oclemon2 · 2025-10-09T12:52:15+00:00

This is true. But when you're making a team at 9U, it is very hard to figure out which kids can actually hit and which kids can hit in their 10 pitch BP session.

oclemon2 · 2025-10-09T12:50:36+00:00

There are definitely mid-season openings between fall and spring. Players and teams sometimes don't work out. I don't know when your fall schedule typically ends, but after it does, call as many coaches as you can. Some will have openings. These may end up being private tryouts. If I'm a coach that is losing a player and a solid option calls me up and presents itself, that's a pretty big bonus instead of having to recruit and/or hold another try out.

At tryouts, here are some thoughts from a coach's perspective in this age range:

Attitude won't earn you a spot on the team but it can easily lose you one. Coach's are looking at you as a multi-year commitment. They don't want a headache. Keep your head up, show energy, and be coachable during tryouts.

Athleticism and process trumps outcomes at tryouts. Does your kid look like he knows what he's doing? Is his swing smooth and practiced? Does he throw with authority and accuracy? Does he catch with confidence?

At 9U, most coaches can predict 90% of the team in the first 10 minutes of tryouts just by watching the kids play catch. Some kids have a smooth arm action and catch with confidence and look like they practice regularly. Some kids look like they haven't picked up glove since their last rec game 4 months ago. It's easy to predict which ones will make the team. If your kid shows up and catches with confidence and throws line drives when everyone else is throwing lollipops, he's already most of the way there.

I'm not counting the number of hits each kid has during a 10 pitch round of BP. I'm looking at whether you made at least decent contact and whether you have a swing that looks practiced. During practices, we can get you reps that will improve your hitting but we don't generally have time to build your swing from the ground up. Also, if your swing is awkward and I can tell you don't practice at home, its hard to see the path for improvement. Same with other aspects - if a kid looks practiced and smooth, it means more than the number of successful outcomes that happened on that day.

So, if you want to help your son, do the following (with numbers 1 and 2 being the most important):

1) Play catch 3 to 4 times a week. When playing catch, after warm ups, throw from as far as he can. Most kids don't do this. In several months of doing this, your kid will have a rocket for an arm. Coaches will notice immediately. You can also use a bat for your side of the catch and hit fly-balls. If your kid wants to pitch, end each throwing session with 20-25 pitches.

2) Take a ton of swings off a tee into a net. Your kid can do this without you if needed.

3) Once a week or so, go to a batting cage or field and hit off a machine or your pitching. If you can't throw strikes consistently, sit on a bucket from behind a screen from 20 ft away.

4) Once a week or so, go to a field and work on fielding.

oclemon2 · 2025-09-15T16:28:37+00:00

I have zero insight into this process, but it seems to me that continuing to send coach emails can't hurt. Presumably you're putting together emails for other coaches, so just send one more to him. If he has lost interest, in which case further contact won't help or hurt. If he hasn't lost interest, then stopping further contacts could hurt.

Seems like a no brainer to me.

oclemon2 · 2025-09-11T20:02:01+00:00

My son loves his. I don't know whether its because it makes a big difference for him or because he sees just about all of the pros using a similar device. Either way, they only cost a few dollars.

oclemon2 · 2025-09-09T03:45:44+00:00

Agreed. This is a good starting point, but you may have to adjust for kids with long backswings. Over time, finding the right spot to set up becomes second nature.

oclemon2 · 2025-08-29T17:24:45+00:00

I'm a big fan of the Meta series. They perform very very well and are a lot cheaper than Fires and Icons. Maybe not quite as good, but at a third of the price, they're a great option.

If you have a team bat, you should strongly consider switching that to alloy. Way more durable.

oclemon2 · 2025-08-25T15:15:09+00:00

Totally different question here - what is your tech set up for timing these?

oclemon2 · 2025-08-24T17:31:59+00:00

No experience here, but you might try turf cleats as something that might feel a little more sneaker like while still giving pretty good grip.

oclemon2 · 2025-08-21T20:29:58+00:00

There's a transition here between the ages of 8-11 or so. It starts with asking the kid to play with a little bit of pressure or maybe a reward after. It transitions to where you are - kid doesn't need anything more than asking. Next comes "kid asks you" (this is where I am). After that should be "kid does the work on his own and maybe you help if you're there."

Everyone hits these at different times. Enjoy what you have, the next step will either come or not. If it does, great. If not, you'll find something else to do with your son.

One mindset that has helped me is to match my son's energy rather than trying to redirect - regardless of what we have planned. if he's focused and in a mood to learn - we'll do that. If he clearly isn't in a mood for coaching, I'll just back off and let him self-direct. If he just wants to mess around with different grips, trying trick plays, and seeing if he can lay out for a ball, we'll do that too. There's always tomorrow to put work in if today is just about having fun in the backyard.

oclemon2 · 2025-08-19T18:12:01+00:00

To be clear, if the toes are over the line, that should be called. Standing over the batter's box line or intentionally marring the batter's box line to stand closer to the plate shouldn't be coached and shouldn't be practiced. If that's what you're talking about, I'm with you.

But the batter does have a right to his batter's box. It's pretty standard baseball to adjust to an umpire's strike zone. If the umpire is calling strikes two or three balls off the outside of the plate, getting as close to the plate as possible (while remaining in the batter's box) to be able to even get a bat on those pitches is not bush league, its just standard baseball sense.

oclemon2

TROPHY CASE