This Week

• ⚾️ The First Pitch

•  🤖 ABS in 2026?

• ⚾️ The Good, Bad, Ugly

• 👣 Happy Feet

• 🤖 What is Statcast?

• ⚾️ That Pesky Pole

• 🧢 Coach’s Korner

• ⚙️ Gearin’ Up

• ⚾️ 59-0

• ⁉️ They said what?

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🤖 ABS Is Coming in 2026!

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said this week, the league plans to bring Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) technology to the majors in 2026.

After a trial run in Spring Training, MLB is ready to give it the green light.

🧠 How It Works

Details are still being finalized, but its believed that each team will get two challenges per game. Win the challenge? You keep it.

Pitchers, catchers, or hitters can trigger a review by simply tapping on their cap or helmet.

Behind the scenes, Hawk-Eye tracking, the same technology used in Tennis, will determine if the pitch hit the defined strike zone.

The goal? Accuracy—plain and simple.

⚾ Let’s Get It Right

I saw ABS in action this Spring—and it worked like a charm.

Fast. Precise. No nonsense.

It’s 2025. We’ve got AI in everything from cars to coffee makers—so why are we still debating balls and strikes like it’s 1979?

Human umps will still be part of the game. That’s fine. That’s baseball.

But this? This is progress.

Call them robot umps if you want. I call it getting it right.

It’s only June, but baseball’s already delivering the full spaghetti western.

The Good? Ohtani and Judge are lighting up the night. Stolen bases are back. And the young guns? They’ve officially crashed the party.

The Bad? Some preseason darlings are flopping harder than a bad Netflix pilot. Looking at you, Baltimore and Arizona.

The Ugly? And then there’s the Colorado Rockies.

This week, we embrace the brilliance. The bizarre. The chaos.

Let’s break it all down.

🎬 A Bronx–Hollywood Rematch Brewing?

Are we barreling toward another Yankees–Dodgers World Series?

The two squared off in LA last weekend—and boom. It felt like a sneak peek of October.

Just don’t tell that to the Mets. Or the Cubs, Tigers, Mariners, or anyone else still dreaming big.

Ohtani is back to launching moonshots—23 homers and counting.

But the real fireworks is still to come. His long-awaited return to the mound could be just around the corner.

And not a moment too soon.

With LA’s rotation looking like a triage unit, Ohtani could be both the bandage and the bomb.

Pick your poison: Ohtani the slugger or Ohtani the ace.

Meanwhile in the Bronx, Aaron Judge is putting on his own show—batting near .400 with 21 bombs, leading a Yankees team that isn’t backing down from anyone.

Stolen bases? Buckle up.

They’re back—and running wild like Rickey in his prime.

Last year, MLB totaled 3,617 steals—the most in 109 years.
This season? On pace for more than 3,800.

Speed is beautiful. And it’s officially back.

And how about Cal Raleigh?

The 28-year-old Mariners catcher is quietly leading the Majors in home runs—doing serious damage and flying under the radar no more.

Then there’s the youth surge: Paul Skenes. Bobby Witt Jr. Elly De La Cruz.
All under 25. All electrifying. None of them waiting their turn.

The future of baseball isn’t coming.
It’s already here—and it’s loud.

The Baltimore Orioles might be this year’s biggest disappointment.

After back-to-back playoff runs, 2025 was supposed to be their year. Instead? A faceplant.

Injuries. Slumps. Zero juice in the dugout.

Can’t stay healthy? Can’t hit? Can’t get outs? You’re gonna lose.

The manager’s already out. And O’s fans are left wondering:
What happened to all that promise?

And right behind them? The Arizona Diamondbacks.

Just two years removed from the World Series, they were expected to challenge LA.

Instead, they’re stuck in 4th place—6 games out—and going nowhere fast.

Late Friday brought more bad news. The team announced that all star pitcher, Corbin Burnes will undergo Tommy John surgery and is done for the year. A huge blow.

Disappointment with a capital D in Arizona.

For two months, the Colorado Rockies flirted with historic disaster.

The 2024 White Sox? Tough act to follow. But somehow, the Rockies looked worse—projected to finish 35–127 with a run differential of –532.

Then… something weird happened.

They started winning.

A three-game streak, capped by a sweep of the Marlins, gave Rockies fans an unexpected reason to smile.

Not bad for a team that began the week with just nine wins.

Let’s not kid ourselves—this is still a franchise in desperate need of a full teardown and reboot. And the 27,000 fans who continue to show up to Coors Field every night deserve better.

So, there you have it.

Two months down. A long road to October ahead.

And if this first act was any indication?

Buckle up—we’re in for one hell of a doozy.

📡 What Is Statcast—And How It’s Reshaping Baseball from MLB to Little League

Ever hear a broadcaster say, “That ball left the bat at 109.7 mph”?
Yep—that’s Statcast doing its thing.

Statcast is MLB’s high-tech tracking system, powered by high-speed cameras and radar. It records nearly everything happening on the field—in real time.

We’re talking pitch spin rate. Bat speed. Sprint speed. Even how efficient a fielder’s route was to a fly ball.

Since its league-wide launch in 2015, Statcast has quietly—and completely—changed the way baseball is played, coached, and understood.

⚙️ What It Tracks

Statcast captures over 23,000 pieces of data per second during a single game.
That’s more than 7 terabytes of info per game. (Translation: about 1,700 HD movies’ worth.)

It’s like having a supercomputer analyzing every pitch, swing, and sprint—down to fractions of a second.

⚾ How It’s Changing the Game

Smarter Coaching & Player Development
Hitters use it to refine launch angle.
Pitchers tweak grips and arm slots based on spin rate.
Even baserunners break down their routes to shave off milliseconds.

Sharper Strategy
Teams now shift defenses, call pitches, and manage workloads based on data—not hunches.

Better Fan Experience
Diving catch? Now you know how far the fielder ran, how fast, and how improbable the play was—thanks to catch probability and route efficiency.

🧠 Why It Matters for Parents and Coaches

Here’s the real game-changer: Statcast didn’t just change the big leagues—it opened the door to the wave of affordable tech now flooding youth baseball.

Bat sensors. Pitching monitors. AI-powered video breakdowns.
All rooted in the same principles Statcast introduced to the pros.

Whether you're coaching a 12U team or tossing balls in the backyard, you’re part of a new era—where success isn’t just about talent, but also about data, feedback, and measurable growth.

This is the modern game.
And it’s only getting smarter.

⚾️ Happy Feet 👣

Oh, George.
What were you thinking?

Blue Jays outfielder George Springer had one of the more 10U-level moments you’ll ever see on a big-league diamond last week.

After sliding safely into third, Springer hopped off the bag—literally—like he was jumping for joy. Happy feet!

Just one problem:
A’s third baseman Max Schuemann had the ball… and calmly tagged him out midair. Inning over. Crowd confused. Dugout stunned.

Mental lapse? Absolutely.
Teachable moment? Without question.

Keep your foot on the bag.

Especially when you’re making $20 million a year.

⚾️🧢 The Science of Reaction Time

Hitting a baseball might be the hardest thing to do in all of sports.

Why? Let’s break it down:

In youth baseball, a pitch reaches the plate in just 500 milliseconds—that’s half a second.

In that tiny window, the hitter must:

⏱️ Decide whether to swing — in 125–150 milliseconds
⏱️ Execute the swing — in another 150 milliseconds

That’s faster than the blink of an eye.

So how do you catch up to that fastball?

Here’s the good news:
Reaction time isn’t fixed—it can be trained.

With smart drills, simple tools, and a little creativity, young hitters can sharpen their instincts—and start turning near-misses into base hits.

Curious how to train it?

Check out our full blog post:

“How to Train Quickness at the Plate”

📍 box-seats.com/reaction-time-training

Looking for a no-frills way to sharpen your kid’s swing?

Meet the SKLZ Power Stick—a steel training bat with a skinny barrel that makes every swing count.

⚾ What It Is

A 30-ounce, slim-barrel steel bat that pairs perfectly with mini wiffle balls. The small sweet spot forces hitters to lock in and make precise contact—no lazy hacks allowed.

💬 Why Coaches Like It

Tough, simple, and brutally effective. Coaches say it builds bat speed, improves barrel control, and makes regular bats feel like pool noodles. A favorite for warm-ups and pregame focus drills.

👨‍👩‍👧 What Parents Are Saying

Affordable. Durable. Surprisingly fun.

💪 What Players Say

It’s a challenge—but in a good way. Players love the instant feedback and the feeling of improvement after just a few sessions.

⚠️ Pro Tip

Use practice balls only. Real baseballs can damage the bat (and maybe your ego).

✅ Final Call

The SKLZ Power Stick isn’t a magic fix—but it is one of the smartest under-$50 training investments you can make for your young hitter.

Especially if you want cleaner swings, better focus, and fewer whiffs on game day.

🔗 Grab the Power Stick on Amazon

Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, I may earn a commission—at no extra cost to you

For more gear recommendations: Follow our blog; https://box-seats.com/

Wanna know what perfection looks like? Here it is:

The 2025 LSU Shreveport Pilots — NAIA Baseball National Champs. 59-0.

The Pilots became the first college baseball team ever to finish a season undefeated.

And they didn’t just win—they steamrolled the competition.

They capped it off with a 13–7 win in the NAIA title game, outscoring their opponents 49–17 during the World Series.

Of their 59 victories, 27 were by double digits.

Including blowouts, 37–0 and 42–4.

Yes, those are actual baseball scores.

Domination beyond imagination.

Perfection.

The Shortest Walk-Off Ever? Maybe. But It Still Counts.

No, Red Sox rookie Ceddanne Rafaela didn’t exactly crush it. But he finessed it—just enough.

Bottom of the ninth. Game tied 9–9.

Rafaela steps in and slices one down the right field line… everyone holds their breath.

The ball hugs the chalk. Keeps tailing. Keeps drifting...

Clang. Just inside the Pesky Pole. Home run! Game winner!

Cue the dugout explosion. “PESKY!”

Pesky pole is named after Red Sox legend Johnny Pesky, it marks the shortest outfield distance in baseball—just 302 feet from home.

Rafaela’s game-winner? A gentle 308-footer. According to Statcast, it’s the shortest walk-off homer since they started tracking in 2015.

But hey—walk-offs don’t need to be majestic. Just fair.

And this one? Pure Pesky.

The Quote of the Week:

"The doctors x-rayed my head and found nothing." Dizzy Dean

That’s it for this week.

Enjoy the weekend! Thanks for checking in.

John Boxley - High N Tight

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