FUNGOMAN JOURNAL

It's been several weeks since Mariano Rivera's historic election into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Some of the controversy surrounding his 425 ballot nomination raised a few questions in the baseball community: Was he worthy? Of all the previous Hall of Famers, did he deserve the first unanimous vote? I'd like to put forward these questions instead: When someone honors a player, what's our first instinct? Do we quickly acknowledge his achievement or poke holes in his career? In the context of life, the answers of these questions tell us something about ourselves.

A well oiled practice regiment is a fantastic thing. But you know what's better than filling your hour and half with drills? Developing skills that lead into real game outs (video below). The key to turning drills into skills is giving your player the chance to practice the exact feed (i.e. game ball) until he masters it. Too often, we focus on getting through the drills, giving everyone a handle full of tries to complete a play that isn't really the same ball. The instructors at Texas Rangers Youth Academy in Dallas, TX are making sure their players get quality feeds in practice—and it's already paying off.

Last week FungoMan participated in STATES PLAY, a tournament hosted by MLB Develops and USA Baseball, highlighting the best seniors of California and Texas. Dallas, TX: At Mercy Street Sports Complex—Texas Rangers Youth Academy—MLB Develops served this year's top high school prospects with premiere opportunity to train with FungoMan, an automated fielding and pitching baseball machine, and showcase their talent. WATCH HIGHLIGHTS FROM THEIR ELITE PRACTICE