What is Driveline?

When I coached youth baseball and at the high school level, travel baseball and specialized training weren’t as readily available as is it is today.   We had materials and videos written by Tom House, including the “Winning Pitcher”, “Power Baseball”(written with Coop De Renne)  and of course Nolan Ryan’s “Pitcher’s Bible”.   For hitters, you had Charlie Lau’s “The Art of Hitting .300″ and“A Hitting Clinic: The Walt Hriniak Way”.  Of course, anything written by Ted Williams was a must.   If you lived in Southern California, as I did, you tried to attend any baseball conference where Wally Kincaid, the legendary coach at Cerritos College(he was to college baseball what John Wooden was to basketball) and John Scolinos, the masterful coach at Cal Poly Pomona, spoke as they were absolute legends in area of coaching and baseball training back in the day.   That’s all changed now as travel teams proliferate the youth baseball landscape and specialized training for high school and college players, who want to reach their goal of playing professional baseball, has become an absolute must.   Moreover, technology has invaded the baseball training landscape in ways that we could not have imagined 30-40 years ago.   That specialized training and technology has also reached major league baseball.   

What’s behind all this specialization?   Simple, baseball has become a harder‑throwing game.  Everyone wants to light up the radar gun.  The average fastball velocity in the majors rose from 90.1 mph in 2005 to an all‑time high of 92.1 last year.   Scouts look at for pitchers who can bring it.   Gerrit Cole did not get his $324 million dollar contract because he is a junk ball pitcher.  Nope, he was the most desirable pitcher on the market because he could consistently throw 98 late into a game and because he has a high spin rate on his pitches.   With hitters, it has become baseball is more homerun happy than it’s ever been.   They used to say “chicks dig the long ball!”   Now with pitching, the scouts are looking for that guy who can “throw the ball through a carwash and not get it wet.”   And so it is with pitching, speed (and spin rate) has become a major component of what scouts look for in a pitcher.  Enter Driveline Baseball.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5qTQedmqBw

Recently the Dodgers hired Rob Hill, who has worked and will continue to work, with Driveline Baseball, as a pitching coordinator.   I wasn’t sure what a pitching coordinator does but have come to learn that “A pitching‑coordinator is not as a super‑coach for players but, rather, works as someone who can “coach the coaches” at each minor league affiliate to ensure they’re instilling the same principles organization-wide.”   Rob Hill is one of a dozen or more Driveline employees that have been recently hired by MLB teams. 

That begs the question, what is Driveline Baseball?   On their Linkedin site, they tout themselves as “the first data‑driven baseball player development organization in the world.”   They are located in Kent, Washington, a suburb of Seattle.   The company was founded in 2012, by Kyle Boddy, who is now employed by the Cincinnati Reds as their Minor League Director of Pitching Initiatives/Pitching Coordinator.   Boddy has worked as a consultant and pre‑draft analyst for MLB teams including the Dodgers and Cleveland Indians.  He has also worked as a consultant for college programs including Vanderbilt, Oregon State, and Coastal Carolina. Driveline also works with high schools across the United States, and offers camps in Washington state for pitchers as young as 9 years old.   Driveline Baseball has gained prominence for its consistency in turning around the careers of many players, most notably a crop of pitchers headlined by Trevor Bauer.  Dodgers who have recently(this off-season) been known to work with Driveline are Alex Wood and Kenley Jansen. 

In 2008, Boddy started a blog called Driveline Mechanics. It relied heavily on the theories of former Major League Baseball pitcher Mike Marshall, who, as you might recall, had some very unique ideas about pitching and training.  Thereafter Boddy started a biomechanics lab in Seattle to test some of his theories.  Boddy’s methods are a combination of his exhaustive research into the works of dozens of sources – including former Cy Young Award winner Mike Marshall, long‑toss advocate Alan Jaeger and University of Hawaii professor Coop DeRenne – Through this research Boddy found that throwing with underweight and overweight baseballs would have a significant effect on velocity improvements and that more throwing leads to healthier arms, as long as it’s done with proper mechanics and sufficient recovery.   Like Jaeger, Boddy is at odds with the baseball establishment’s approach toward protecting pitchers’ well‑being, insisting more throwing, not less, leads to healthier arms, as long as it’s done with proper mechanics and sufficient recovery.

Driveline operates in a warehouse‑type building in an industrial park in Kent, tucked in between a gym and an auto‑glass shop about six winding miles southeast of SeaTac airport.  It’s not particularly easy to find, yet pitchers have been making the pilgrimage to the Driveline Baseball facility in such numbers, that Driveline is now in its third location in four years.   The pitchers, amateurs, and pros with a wide range in ability, hail from diverse points throughout the country, usually drawn by the same lure: the chance to increase their velocity.   “We want to be a full pitching‑development service, not just velocity gain,’’ said Boddy, a former high school baseball coach and software developer, “but for better or worse, that’s what a lot of guys are interested in.’’   “I think at this point in the baseball‑training community, we can really say there are quantitative ways to improve your velocity, whether its Driveline or another program, lifting heavier or throwing long‑toss,’’ said Boddy. “Whatever it is, it’s generally accepted that you can now throw harder. Ten years ago, nobody believed that. The belief was, ‘Velocity is God‑given – you either have it or you don’t.’’’ Thus, we can hold out hope that pitchers, like Wood can regain some velocity, and hence his effectiveness (another 16-3 year wouldn’t be all that bad would it?).  Perhaps Driveline can help Jansen regain a couple MPH on his cutter.   How about Kershaw, is it possible that he can he recapture some of the past magic?  

So what is it that Driveline seeks to do?  According to them: “Driveline aims to re‑design pitch characteristics while simultaneously increasing spin efficiency and velocity.”  I’m not certain that I know what that means, but if it can get us a World Series title, without cheating, I’m all for it.  Initially, Driveline’s pitching development focused on the use of weighted balls to increase velocity.  In recent years, Driveline’s objectives have grown.  Now, it’s facility is loaded with all the latest technology: Edgertronic high‑speed video, TrackMan radars to Pitch F/X optical tracking cameras to Rapsodo, a radar‑triggered camera system.    Driveline pairs the gadgets and gurus powering that technology with its weighted baseballs to form the core of its research‑based ballistic training.  As one trainee put it “They do far more for players than just give them tools to throw harder. They provide resources to improve mechanics, reduce the risk for injury, rehab from previous injuries, gain strength both on the mound and in the weight room, and develop secondary pitches.”  That same individual said “the trainers make a huge difference and are the reason why training at the facility is so much different than doing the program on your own. The dedication that they have to the program is unbelievable, as each trainer develops an almost unexplainable loyalty and dedication to the athletes’ development so long as they really buy into the process. Each athlete had a different program with different priorities yet each trainer knew the priorities of each athlete and checked in on them to make sure they were on track with their programs.”   Apparently, this zeal has caused those Major League Baseball teams, that have embraced its principles, to hire more than a dozen Driveline‑trained coaches in player development positions as baseball continues to embrace the deeply analytical approach.  

So what is it that Rob Hill will bring to the Dodgers?   I’m not sure, but as Ken Boddy stated after being hired by the Reds: “The biggest lessons I’ve learned both at Driveline and elsewhere is “front offices want coaches to have key performance indicators and coaches want clear messages and know what’s expected of them. That’s what I’m going to do.”   If he can help the coaches communicate what it is that is expected of them, and in turn, the coaches can better communicate to the players what is expected of them, and that communication is consistent across the board, I think the Dodger player development will become yet more dynamic.   I’m looking forward to what this year brings and how Driveline impacts the Dodgers pitching performance from the major league level to rookie ball.   I think it’s going to be another exciting year for us. 

Some Additional Off-Season Random Thoughts

•    I know he was not going to be a difference-maker, but I was sad to see Casey Sadler traded.  He was a player that seemed to truly love playing for the Dodgers.   Quite often he would post a picture on Twitter or Instagram of he and his young family in Dodger attire on the grass at Dodger Stadium and the like, and express his joy at being part of the organization.   I know we can’t keep everyone, but I am partial to those players who truly enjoy being a part of the organization.   Casey, if you read this blog, I for one will miss you. 

•    When Jessica Mendoza first started as an analyst on the ESPN game of the week, I enjoyed her fresh commentary.  She always seemed prepared and offered insight that was helpful and enjoyable.   Over the past two years, my enjoyment began to wane, as she started to become more and more repetitious and seemed to want to be like Alex Rodriguez, who I personally can’t stand as a commentator.   This past week, I lost all respect for Ms. Mendoza, when she put her foot in her mouth with her comments chastising Mike Fiers for coming out and exposing the ASStericks cheating scandal.  According to her:  “But to go public? Yeah, that didn’t sit well with me and, honestly, it made me sad for the sport that’s how this all got found out.”  Apparently, Ms. Mendoza thinks telling reporters about cheating is wrong.   Maybe she learned that from Rodriguez.   Her later attempt to walk those comments back made her look even more ridiculous.  “I believe it’s very critical that this news was made public; I simply disagree with the manner in which that was done,” Mendoza tweeted. “I credit Mike Fiers for stepping forward, yet I feel that going directly through your team and/or MLB first could have been a better way to surface the information.”   As one commentator put it: “That’s right. Mendoza believes the people she’s supposed to cover for the benefit of her media outlet and its audience should not be open, forthright and transparent with the media.”   Ms. Mendoza also works for the NY Mets front office as a baseball operations adviser.   Okey dokey then, I don’t see any problem with that, do you?   Either way, I’m glad the Dodgers deny her access to the clubhouse whenever she announces a Dodger game.  It will be interesting to see what, if any, punishment she receives.   I don’t she receives any. 

•    I may be in the minority (with AC), but I’m glad to have Alex Wood back.  Obviously, his recovery from past injuries is important, but if he can get his velocity back up to 93 mph (when he is most effective), I think he can be a solid member of the starting rotation.  

•    Spring training will be competitive for Dodger pitchers.   With the addition of Wood, Nelson, and Treinen, and assuming they are healthy, what becomes of Ross Stripling, Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May?   How about Scott Alexander?   Then there is Caleb Ferguson, Dennis Santana, and Josh Sborz?   Is Victor Gonzalez ready to make the jump to the majors?   What non-roster invitee is going to open up eyes and force the Dodgers’ hand?   Only a few more weeks and we’ll be talking about what’s going on in Glendale.   I’m looking forward to it.