Question and Answer with Dave Keller- ANSWERS POSTED

Enclosed are the responses to your questions and comments sent to Dave for this Q & A. A big thank you to Dave for taking time out of his schedule for us here at NSBB!

Dave Keller Q & A

NCCubbieFan

Location: near Raleigh, North Carolina

As a roving instructor, do you rotate among the minor league teams on a set schedule, or do you go wherever it seems a player is most in need of extra coaching? Also, have you worked with Corey Patterson much since he was sent down? If so, has he made much progress and do you think he's anywhere close to returning to the major leagues?

all of the roving instructors set their schedules for the 1st half of the season during spring training, and we understand which players are at each level, and we try to prepare for possible problems or extra needs as the season goes on....i am in contact with our hitting coaches almost everyday, and we talk about the players on a constant basis, which in the long run helps us from 'emergency' trips....yes, as to corey patterson...pat listach and i were with corey his whole time in iowa, and before he started his 'stint', we met in mesa for a week or so, and tried to come up with a game plan as to what we needed to 'adjust/change' with his approach...his work habits were tremendous and i was very pleased with the direction he was headed when he was called up last week...

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JonMDavis

Location: Evanston, IL

Mr. Keller-

Just between us, do you have a favorite level/age to work with? Are there certain things you'd try to work on with prospects at West Tenn. or Daytona that you wouldn't with guys in Mesa or Boise? And how did your time managing Advanced A ball, A ball, and Rookie ball help with your current role as the roving hitting instructor?

Also, before you join an affiliate, how do you know what to work on with a specific player? Is it a combination of advanced reports from Mr. Flieta and then on-hand observation on your part or is it strictly the latter?

Thanks!

every level has it's challenges...as players get closer to the big league level, the "mental game" becomes more important...as players move from level, we have certain aspects of our hitting program that we need to make sure--if possible--the player undrestands and can accomplish mentally-physically- and fundamentally...managing and coaching at every level has helped me realize what is important at each level and how the "progression teaching " is applied to each player....several people/coaches have input on what kind of plan we need to put into place with each player...we try to establish a base/foundation with each player and using drills, video, and other teaching tools, then we develop a plan for the player and our hitting coaches at each level go over it with the player individually so he understand what he needs to do to improve.

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NorthsideAvenger

Mr. Keller;

First of all, my name is CJ Keller, no lie. So seeing a Keller in the Cubs org. brings a smile to my face. But what gets me, is that you share the same name as my father, David Keller. Again no lie. So i get to mess with him about it. So, it brings smile to my face knowing that a Keller is working for the Cubs.

Now that I go that off my chest...let me ask you something, if you don't mind....is there a player in the minors---not necessarily with the Cubs---that has that great feel for hitting like a Tony Gywnn, or a Wade Boggs? And I know you can't put one prospect over the next, but privately within the Cubs is there one particular prospect you enjoy working with, regardless if he is a top prospect, or a career minor leaguer?

no, but there are players at each level that are tremendous to work with and will go thru a wall for you to get better, then there are others that question everything that we try to teach to help them become successful...that's the challenge of coaching no matter the level...

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series65cubsfan

Location: East Los Angeles/SGV

Mr. Keller,

Thanks for answering our questions here. How hard is it to teach someone an "inside out" swing. This would allow the hitters to hit where they are being pitched and working all the fields.

My problem was that I was a straight pull hitter batting left handed and learned to "inside out" the pitch learning to switch hit right handed. Do you feel it's too late for player coming it to A ball to learn that? Not necessarily switch hit but to go the other way with the pitch instead of weakly grounding out trying to pull everything?

Thanks!

lefties always seem to be able to get away with being pull hitters because of the direction the game is played---'counter-clockwise'...inside out as a right handed hitter isn't all that bad, and as players get more experience, we can taech them to pull...it's very hard to teach a pull hitter to hit the other way after they've grooved thier swing.....work habits come into play anytime there's a change in mechanics..

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abuck1220

Location: Iowa

thanks for taking our questions...

do you feel as though there is some over-arching organizational philosophy toward hitting? the last few years the cubs' on-base percentage hasn't been as high as some would like it to be...do you feel that there is a philosophy of 'aggressive hitting' that kinda comes down from above?

if there is an organization-wide theory on hitting, does it mesh well with your ideas on hitting?

also, i've been slumping pretty bad in slow-pitch softball...any advice?

no, in the minor leagues we stress just about everything, and explain to the players why it's important...you have to be aggressive and learn to hit the fastball!!! but we also emphasize strike zone discipline as well...we as hitting coaches have our philosophy concerning 'progressive teaching' and every player is different...lots of communication and work/physical labor by our hitting coaches to help each player improve....in softball, try to let the ball get alittle deeper, up in the zone and don't try to pull too much...

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Outshined_One

Location: Chicago, IL or Madison, WI

Mr. Keller,

First off, thank you so much for taking our questions here! We really appreciate it.

On this website we have a lot of parents of children who might be interested in getting into baseball as well as some younger posters who want to get into baseball at lower levels (i.e. high school). My question is, what kind of basic advice would you give to these people as a hitting coach? Are there any bad habits that young hitters should avoid at all costs or good habits that could help a player go a long way in life if they start them early enough?

Thanks again!

ELBOWS DOWN--PLEASE!!!! your body doesn't move correctly when they are up and bigger problems result!!!! choke-up, and teach your kids how to play "pepper"...it's a contact game that teaches kids to control the barrel of the bat, and get over the fear of the ball..

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UK

Say you have two different types of hitters, one who is fairly closed that you would like open their stance to take advantage of their pull power more often, while possibly risking a bit of contact in the process (I think of Murton). Second, is the player that you'd like to close their stance (Tony Batista comes to mind) to maybe generate more contact at the risk of losing power, which situation is more difficult to correct (assuming each have the same work ethic and ability to adapt).

NEVER ASSUME!!! great q's, have worked with both, tony in winter ball in the dominican the last 3 yrs....each player does something different, and you have to do what's best for each player...contact is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING...power is god given and you can teach players certain things to help them with 'driving the ball'

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No responses yet?

 

Some interesting stuff. Gotta love hearing from the coaches.

Agreed, this is a cool thread. I'm surprised that there hasn't been any discussion on some of these points. For future reference, if anyone has anything that you would like to ask Dave, please let me know. I got with Dave earlier today in regards to this session and have the ability to communicate with him in the future.

In regards to the responses, I really encourage everyone to make it a point to thank these guys after their session. Some of the guys do not visit the site but there have been some to visit. I know that when a question is submitted there is usually a "thank you" included, but let's make it a point to thank these guys after the session as well. FWIW I can forward the expressions of appreciation after the answers are posted to hte players/coaches.

Thanks in advance for your help and support!

Apparently the Chats forum wouldn't let regular users post in these threads, but all should be fine now. Sorry, everyone!

Agreed. Apparently we found out why there was no discussion #-o

When a hitter is in a slump, how do you handle it? George Brett once said, instead of "trying harder" he had to learn to "try easier" to try and prevent himself from pressing as every hitter does in a slump. How difficult is it trying to relay that type of message to a hitter is a slump? What do you suggest to a hitter in the mental stage of a slump?

 

Also, Duke Snider mentioned this when he was struggling with learning the strike zone.

 

"Mr. Rickey's remedy was to put me in the batting cage for 3 to 4 hours every morning with a pitcher and catcher and umpire. George Sisler, our batting instructor, supervised and Mr. Rickey himself was there every day watching my progress. My assignment was simply to watch pitches go by. All morning long. I was not allowed to swing. I was supposed to call every pitch, ball or strike. It was amazing how wrong I was. But I learned."

 

I know it can't be applied frame by frame because of time constraints but...

 

Is this type of training method practiced by the Cubs at any level of the organization? Also, can you give your opinion on the effectiveness of it when applied properly?

UK, I was able to get with Dave today (who is in Mesa with the Instructional League) and here's his response to your question:

just a quick train of thought...most slumps occur because of mental perfection and trying to do more than you yourself can do physically...most times just a minor mechanical adjustment is needed as well as the player being able to see some video and drills to help the 'feel' part of the swing... we have drills that we use to help players 'track' the ball/pitches, and we always to remember that each guy is different and we have to find what vocabulary works for which player...some guys need a lot of physical work to get them tired to the point where they don't try as hard and learn to let the pitches come to them and mentally it helps the player get the worry or fear of failure out of their system...bottom line: pitchers are different and sometimes you face very tough pitchers for a period of time and you might not feel comfortable and your balance gets messed up and you try to find that 'feel' again and do something different to adjust, and if there's no quick fix invlolved, the mental experimenting causes us to think way tooooooooo much...hope that helps and stay in touch, dave