written by JOSH GESSNER | The Learning Engine

Today at a Glance:

• How to Throw a Nasty Sweeper in 3 Easy Steps

• Yu Darvish throws his FB like unleashing a lariat

• Lessons from the most followed productivity expert

^{1) How to Throw a Nasty Sweeper in 3 Easy Steps:}

The 3 Steps to throwing a nasty sweeper:

1. Grip

2. Cue

3. Thought process

Step 1) Grip:

Most of the best sweepers I see have been from the 2 seam grip. This is so that you can take advantage of the seam effects and get absurd horizontal movement. This is the grip that I use:

Step 2) Experiment with these cues:

1) ‘Karate Chop’ as you throw it (what Trevor Bauer does)

2) Throw it like a curveball

3) Spin the ball sideways and up

4) Throw through the side of the ball like a FB

Step 3) Thought Process:

Throw it with the intention of stealing a strike, rather than it be a wipe out swing & miss pitch. With the rise in usage of the pitch, hitters are making adjustments. If you don’t show that you can consistently zone the pitch, it becomes an ‘auto-take’.

^{2) How Yu Darvish throws his Fastball:}

Prior to the 2020 season, Darvish was tinkering with his 4 & 2 seam. He didn’t like how he slightly cut the ball when he threw.

He experimented with various grips, without success.

Then in a spring training game he tried something new. When he got his pitching report back, he saw the exact characteristics he wanted. What did he try?

He tried to throw his FB with complete pronation. He describes it as:

Throwing like you’re about to unleash a Lariat.

The result is a nasty 4 & 2 seam:

^{3) Lessons from Ali Abdaal:}

Ali Abdaal is the most followed productivity expert.

He recently released his book, “Feel Good Productivity”.

Here are the 3 best lessons:

1) How to Destroy your Fear: Use the 10/10/10 rule.

2) Always remember the spotlight effect. Everyone is too concerned about themselves, let alone about you.

3) Set N.I.C.E goals: Input based, daily actions that lead to your ultimate goal.

That’s it for today, Thanks so much for reading!