Brent Mayne

TV Show

Here’s a quick one for you. A friend of mine named Bob Gibson (no not that Bob Gibson) is a producer for a local southern California TV show called High School Sports Rewind. Anyway, I ran into him during football season on the sidelines of a Servite playoff game. Bob had done many shows during my playing days chronicling my career from rookie to retirement…but never anything after retirement.

So Bob came out to film a couple of my lessons and here is the 2 minute piece that he produced. Enjoy.

My First Fantasy League Team

I got caught off guard. I’d just woke up and hadn’t had any coffee when my friend Steve Springer called. He threw the full court press on me to join his fantasy league…how much fun it was, how I had to do it, how the draft was the best night of the year, how he’ll probably be in one till the day he dies and so forth.

And for the first time ever, I cracked. I put up a couple weak excuses regarding time constraints, etc. but Spring had a comeback for every one. So, to make a long story short, I am now the proud owner of my first baseball fantasy league team.

So here’s what I have to report so far. The draft was fun and surprising quick. I picked a lot of guys I’d never heard of before. Don’t laugh…I didn’t know who Ben Zobrist was, or that Chris Coghlan was the NL rookie of the year last year. Adam Jones? Shin-Soo who?

And despite not having a great opening week, Steve was right. This fantasy thing is bitchin’. I’m paying attention to baseball like never before. I’ve got the app on my iPhone that has up to second reports on my guys and the rest of the league. I’m looking at free agents, cooking up deals in my head, and generally having a ball.

Here’s the reality though. My squad (team Ernie McCracken) might not be all that hot. Or did we just have a slow first week? Ah, the dilemmas of a rookie GM. We’re  hovering around the bottom of our 12 team league. I think I’ve got some decent guys, but I’d be lying if I told you I’m not panicking a bit. Take a look, here they are…

Suzuki, Kurt C OAK
Hernandez, Ramon C CIN
Atkins, Garrett 3B BA
Youkilis, Kevin 1B BOS
Utley, Chase 2B PHI
Zobrist, Ben 2B TB A
Wright, David 3B NYM
Tejada, Miguel SS BAL
Choo, Shin-Soo RF CLE
Coghlan, Chris LF FLA
Ibanez, Raul LF PHI A
Jones, Adam CF BAL
McCutchen, Andrew CF PIT
Encarnacion, Edwin 3B TOR

Active Pitchers MLB

Bell, Heath RP SD
Buchholz, Clay SP BOS
Carmona, Fausto SP CLE
Greinke, Zack SP KC
Jackson, Edwin SP ARI
Millwood, Kevin SP BAL
Pettitte, Andy SP NYY
Price, David SP TB
Vazquez, Javier SP NYY

So I’ll keep you posted. Regardless of the outcome, I’m sure glad this happened…thanks Spring.

New Art of Catching Video Clips Available!

Alright, the wait is over. I’ve finally got some more instructional catching clips available for aspiring receivers, coaches, and fans. The first lesson is the freebie on “Athletic Posture” and how it relates to success behind the dish and for athletics in general. This one is followed by three new additions…“Catcher’s Stances,” the “Off-Set technique,” and the “Drop-Knee approach.”

These clips are guaranteed to help you understand the catching position better and will make you a better player or coach. They will simplify the position and enhance your enjoyment of the game.

CATCHER’S STANCES CLIP #2

This video will teach you all three stances which make up every good catcher’s repertoire.

1. The “sign stance”…the stance a catcher uses to give the signals to the pitcher.

2. The “comfort stance” … the position a receiver squats into when no one is on base and there is less than two strikes or three balls.

3. The “blocking/throwing stance” …  the most athletic stance, used to block balls in the dirt or throw out attempting base stealers.

*Check out the preview of this video on the bottom right of my home page.

THE OFF-SET TECHNIQUE CLIP #3

In this clip, I demonstrates how a catcher’s lower body should move to receive a pitched ball correctly and safely. This information is a fundamental building block to proper receiving mechanics, but also a vital component to improving a catcher’s range and blocking technique.

THE DROP-KNEE APPROACH CLIP #4

In this lesson, I’ll teach the ins and outs of the famous “drop knee” approach to catching. This technique is a valuable tool for increasing a catcher’s lateral range and greatly simplifies the receiving of low pitches.

When taught correctly, the “drop knee” technique becomes a very important part of a catcher’s lower body foundation and leads not only to effective receiving, but proper blocking mechanics as well.

There will be lots and lots more clips available in the future…keep checking back and clicking the “Video” button on the top right of any page on my website. Enjoy and Happy Catching.

I’m Breaking Camp…On the Big League Roster!

Mixed in amongst all the emotions of the last days of spring training is the great thrill of finding out you just made your first opening day roster. All your childhood dreams are about to be realized. Money, girls, big cities, charter flights, free gear, and the chance to finally stack your skills up against the best in the world. It’s a surreal feeling.

No matter how well you played in spring, or what the newspaper might be predicting, or what the rumors are, nothing is for sure until you hear from the manager’s lips that you made the squad. Most guys will never forget that moment. Looking back, mine was pretty funny and here’s how it all unfolded.

To give a little background, I was in my second spring training of professional baseball. My first season was spend in AA Memphis where we won the Southern League championship and I got called up to the big leagues for the last couple weeks of the 1990 season. The following year I got invited to big league spring training as kind of another body. Another catcher to handle bullpens and maybe mop up the ninth innings of some B games. So that’s what I did.

I was happy as a pig in shit. Catching eight million bullpens, squirreling away all kinds of big league equipment, keeping my mouth shut, learning from veterans…just taking it all in, realizing that when the clock struck twelve, the fairy book story would end and I would join my new team in AAA Omaha. And I was perfectly fine with that scenario.

But the weeks kept passing. It finally got to the last week of spring training and I hadn’t been sent down yet. I also hadn’t really played much. I continued my role as bullpen catcher and occasional mopper upper in the ninth inning. Then it got to the last couple days and I’m still there. Big League guys who had never shot me a second glance were now giving me the “what the hell’s the little skinny guy still doing around here” look. Geez, when I looked in the mirror I was giving myself that same look. Screw it I thought, one more day of Grande League meal money.

The Duke, my first Big League manager.

I was in my usual spot, the bullpen, warming up the starting pitcher for the last spring training game when manager John Wathan strolled up to me. To put it mildly, there hadn’t been a whole lot of interaction between the skipper and myself over the past six weeks. Matter of fact, I wasn’t entirely sure he actually knew who I was. But here he comes. He rolls up to me, puts his arm around my shoulder and asks how I’m doing. I mumbled something about feeling great and was just about ready to thank him for letting me hang around for so long, when he cut me off.

It was then Coach Wathan said the words I’ll never forget, “Congratulations Brent, you made the squad…we just don’t have anyone else.” He was dead serious.

Holy crap, I just made the team? I was shocked, thrilled, overwhelmed, everything. And even I had to chuckle about the “we just don’t have anyone else” part. Pretty classic. Immediately that old baseball saying shot into my mind…”better to be lucky than good.” I’m living proof…amen brother.

Directing traffic during my rookie season.