Darren Fenster, minor league manager of the Greenville Drive and Coach Your Kids CEO, joins The Baseball Drive to discuss the rise of strikeout rates and the decline of bunting at the professional level.  Darren shares his philosophy on both, and we discuss what the potential impact could be on the next generation of players.  Darren also shares what the biggest difference is between a minor league and major league player.

Darren’s Episode Quotables

On Coaching:

• “You could always build on a kid’s ability, but at the end of the day, we really have to focus on teaching it in a way that they could understand.”
• “What we focus on is getting these guys in a routine, giving them the fundamental skills that they can use that are going to translate into the game, that are going to put themselves in a position to be successful in the game.”
• “There isn’t just one formula, there isn’t just one way to win.”
• “Change the impact of the drill.”
• “If you could present work in a way that is going to translate directly to when they are competing in a game, the benefits are as good as anything else that a coach could put forth for their kids.”
• “Becoming great at failing means #1 they could deal with it and #2 they learn from it. So that puts those guys in a better position to be successful.”
• “By keeping things fun, and making the conscious effort to put the player first, that’s something that needs to be a point of emphasis moving forward in the grand scheme of the game.”

On Hitting:

• “Earn another pitch, that next pitch that you earn, might be the one that is down the middle that you are able to drive.”
• ‘If there was a high school player that is having trouble getting the bat on the ball against high school pitching, that was a red flag for me.”
• “A lot of times the guys that are the best two-strike hitters, are really your most competitive guys.”
• “Swinging is an exercise that someone does to get loose, and hitting is swinging with your brain, and swinging with a purpose, swinging with some kind of a plan.”

On Bunting:

• “All hitters better learn how to bunt.”
• “The very best players give their coaches the most options.”

Episode Links

• The Baseball Drive on Facebook
• Follow your host on twitter: @tbanos15
• Follow the guest on twitter: @CoachYourKids
• Darren’s Post on the Importance of Making Contact: How Contact Crowned the Royals Champions
• Darren’s Post on Bunting: Breeding Selflessness from Selfishness
• Darren’s Recommended Resource: