How the pros get ready before every baseball game.
Who are the pros this video?
Eric Farris, Outfielder
Doug Bernier, infielder
Tanner Tees – Sponsor for this video series
Video transcript /notes
Doug Bernier: “Hi guys. Today we got a treat for you. We’re here with my man Eric Farris.
This is a guy I’ve played with the last few years, awesome teammate, great hitter, plays all over the field, now he plays out on the grass in the outfield. Came up with the Brewers, Big Leagues with them… a fresh face for you guys to talk about a little pre-game routine.
Eric, what do you like to do pre-game wise, what do you like to do to get ready for the day?”
Eric Farris:
“Well first off, first and foremost, when I come down to the cage I like to get some work off the tee, get loose. I have a routine – somewhere between 10 and 20 swings, before I get into flips and batting practice.
I like to come in and start working right side of the field, gradually work my way toward the middle. I like to set my ball up on the tee in a certain position where I’m hitting the laces at the top and inner third of the baseball to make sure I stay inside of everything.
And, I mean, the batting tee for me is simply get my body ready, get my swing ready and warmed up so I’m ready to turn it on for batting practice.”
[In the video, Eric demonstrates the following pregame tips]
Pregame tip #1 – Work outside to inside
- I begin by setting up the batting tee for the outside pitch, something middle to outside,
- This lets the ball travel a bit more, getting deeper in my stance
- Then as a I warm up a bit I work on the inner half of the plate
Pregame tip #2 – Use the baseball’s seams to create a visual target
- The beautiful thing about a batting tee is you can work on developing good habits in ways that are impossible when the baseball is moving.
- I use the seams as visual targets to train my body and brain where the optimum place on the baseball is to make contact.
- Eventually you no longer need the visual target because it just starts to feel right. But this is a great way to develop those good habits, or to keep them finely tuned.
- I use this setup for every ball I hit off a batting tee
Click here to buy your own Tanner Tee (If you purchase after clicking our link, a small portion of that goes to supporting the free info on this site… so thank you!)
True story. As we were preparing to film these videos, our friends at Tanner Tees asked us if we need them to send us a new tee. Doug said no thanks, they had one already and it looks pretty new. Later after the videos were finished, Tanner Tees said “great video! except for the old style batting tee you used…” Turns out the tee was 3 or 4 years old! So, after taking a beating from a pro team for years, the tee still looked new! Just had to share, since it illustrates one of the reasons we’ve partnered with Tanner Tees. They’re the real deal.
Coming next
In the next video, with 5 batting tee drills to do before every game to get your body and mind game-ready, Doug gets more specific about his own pre-game routine.
Eric Farris, Outfielder
Says who?
Eric Farris was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2007 and spent time with the Brewer’s Major League team in 2011 and 2012. Since then Farris has played AAA baseball in the Seattle Mariners and Minnesota Twins organizations.
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Photo credit: “Ericfarrisbrewers” by Jninja – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons
About Author
Doug Bernier, founder of Pro Baseball Insider.com, debuted in the Major Leagues in 2008 with the Colorado Rockies, and has played professional baseball for 5 organizations (CO Rockies, NY Yankees, PIT Pirates, MN Twins, & TX Rangers) over the past 16 years. He has Major League time at every infield position, and has played every position on the field professionally except for catcher. (You should click to watch this great defensive play by Bernier) Where is he now? After 16 years of playing professionally, Doug retired and took a position as a Major League scout with the Colorado Rockies for 2 years. Currently Doug is the Data and Game Planning Coordinator with the Colorado Rockies
