Baseball Arm Care Tips

Baseball Arm Care-What to do if you experience pain or soreness

First of all, there are several ways to prevent arm soreness and pain to an extent. You could try wearing a baseball arm sleeve. What baseball sleeves do is they provide compression which increases blood flow in your arm, ultimately helping sore muscles and joints. You can wear one when you play or even when you aren't playing. 

A Great Ice Pack for Baseball Players

Other ways to prevent pain and soreness include stretching and going through a proper warm up before you play or work out. Even taking an extra five or ten minutes before your workout to warm up and stretch can make a huge difference in the health of your arm. 

Now if you begin to experience soreness after a game or workout, here is what you can do:

ICE

Icing right after a game or workout will reduce swelling in your arm, which means you will be able to get back on the field faster and play at full strength. This is especially important if you are a starting pitcher, as you are usually throwing 80+ pitcher per start. After an outing, you should apply an ice pack or bag of ice to your shoulder or elbow for fifteen minutes. After fifteen minutes, take the ice off for another fifteen minutes. Repeat this process as many times as you feel you need to, but remember not to overdo it because it can be harmful to your arm if you do it too much.

REST

This option is maybe the most obvious, but it can be one of the most important. Allowing an adequate amount of rest between outings or games is important to help your muscles recover. Playing with soreness or pain can and will harm your arm and could potentially give you long term arm problems. As hard as it might be, taking a game off may be the best option to give your arm time to heal if you are experiencing pain.

HEAT

Heating is a very underrated and unpopular method of arm recovery. Using heat stimulates blood flow, much like baseball arm sleeves. This will help speed up recovery time for your muscles. A heating pad, hot shower, or jacuzzi are all resources that you can use to heat up your arm. However, if there is swelling in your arm, you should consider icing first.

For more info on baseball arm care, check out the Everything Baseball website

Facts About Pro Baseball Trophies

Baseball Trophies

The Commissioner's Trophy, the baseball trophy that is given to the team that wins the World Series, is worth $15,000, making it one of the cheapest championship trophies in professional sports. The trophy also has 30 flags on it that represent the thirsty teams in the MLB. It is the only championship trophy across the four major sports in America that is not named after a person.

Only 46 Commissioner's Trophies have been awarded in the history of the MLB. Trophies were not given to the World Series winner until 1967. However, rings were commonly awarded to members of the winning team.

The Commissioner's Trophy takes around three months to make and weighs almost 30 pounds. It actually used to be what is now the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player.

The Gold Glove Award

The Most Valuable Player Award is the oldest active award in professional baseball. It has existed since 1931. The award is presented by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

Jackie Robinson won the first Rookie of the Year Award in 1947.

First ballot Hall of Famer Greg Maddux won 18 Gold Glove awards during his career, the most of any player in baseball history.

There is an award called the Oddity of the Year Award. It is given to the player or team that makes the most bizarre play of the year.

There are many strange awards in the minor leagues, including Best Theme Night of the Year and Best Celebrity Appearance of the Year.

Despite the name, the World Series has only been won by one non-American team. That was the Toronto Blue Jays in 1992 and 1993.

The Little League trophy that is awarded for winning the Little League World Series is very similar to the Commissioner's Trophy in the MLB. It is the most coveted youth baseball trophy.

For more facts about professional baseball trophies, check out professional baseball trophies on the Everything Baseball website.

Ranking Top Brands for Youth Baseball Bats

1. DeMarini

DeMarini continues to set the bar high for youth baseball bats. They continue to use high quality materials and improve their designs each year. Their bats are very popular among youth baseball players and continue to dominate bat racks each season. 

These bats are typically two-piece and have a balance point that is very close to the handle, meaning that the bat is not top heavy and is easy to swing. They also have more flex than other bats, but whether that matters to you or not is just personal preference. DeMarini uses very high quality aluminum that causes their bats to be very durable. This also means that the bats are ready to use right when you get them. Some bats take a couple hundred swings in the cage to "break in". This is not the case for DeMarini as their bats are at their best right when you leave the store. 

Some of the top bats DeMarini offers are the CF8, the Voodoo series, and the NVS Vexxum. The CF8 can be purchased for about $249, while the Voodoo and NVS Vexxum can be purchased from anywhere from $100-$200 if you know where to look. These bats are pricey compared to the other brands, but you will certainly be getting your money's worth. DeMarini makes the best youth baseball bats by far.

2. Easton

Easton is better known for their one-piece bats, so if you are one that likes the extra power that a one-piece bat provides, then Easton may be the brand for you. They make the most popular one-piece youth baseball bats and by a wide margin. While these aren't the most popular bats in dugouts, you will always be able to find at least a few Easton bats hanging around. 

What Easton does well with their models is that they limit the amount of vibration that occurs when you hit the ball off the handle or end of the bat. Also, if you do happen to hit the ball of off these parts, it will travel noticeably farther than a DeMarini bat or any other one-piece bat. The only downside about Easton is that their models don't have a balance point that is close to the handle. However, if you are a player that can get your hands through the zone quick, you will be able to make the ball travel very far. 

The top models for Easton are the MAKO, the S series, and the XL series. The MAKO can be bought for $279 and up, while the S series and XL series can be found from anywhere between $49-$199. If you are able to get one of these bats through the zone, an Easton bat can be a great investment for you. 

3. Marucci

Marucci doesn't make very many models, but the models they do make are made with very high quality composite and have a lot of pop. They specialize in making one-piece bats, much like Easton. While they aren't nearly as popular as Easton, Marucci bats still provide that same pop that a one-piece bat should have.

Marucci bats are fairly easy to swing, but there is not much give when in comes to hitting the ball off the handle or end. If you happen to hit the ball off a bad part of the bat, it will sting. The balance point is closer to the handle than Easton, but not as close as DeMarini.  Also, a Marucci bat does not have as much pop as an Easton bat, but still more than a DeMarini.

The top models for Marucci are the Cat 6 and the Hex series. The Cat 6 costs about $200, while the Hex series costs about $129. These bats aren't nearly as specialized as the others, but they are good all around bats that should last you for at least a season if not longer.

For more info on youth baseball bats, check out Everything Baseball