Young Long Island ballplayers will have a unique opportunity next Monday, January 21 at Batting 1.000 indoor facility in Freeport.
2017 World Series Champion Houston Astros Pitching Coach Brent Strom and former Mets’ All-Star and current Brooklyn Cyclones Manager Edgardo Alfonzo will host a Pro Camp Day.
Strom is widely regarded as one of the top pitching coaches in Major League Baseball for his work on young and veteran pitchers with the Astros since 2014, which has coincided with their turnaround from bottom-feeder to World Series Champions.
He has helped ushered in a new era of pitchers, who focus not just on the hitters weakness but their strength. Pitchers like Justin Verlander, who was considered on the downside of his career, have been able to revitalize their career. Another veteran Gerrit Cole, was considered to be an underachiever after being the No. 1 overall pick in the country in 2011, became one of the elite pitchers in the game under the tutelage of Strom and compiled a 2.88 ERA over 200 IP.
Collin McHugh, Brad Peacock and Charlie Morton are three pitcher who have literally saved their career after coming to the Astros. All three had been marginal pitchers until they learned to utilize their strengths and suddenly became effective pitchers.
Clearly, Strom has a special way of communicating to pitchers and is able to unlock their potential. Having the opportunity to learn from him is something that players should take advantage of.
Edgardo Alfonzo was one of the best second basemen in all of baseball between 1997 and 2000, where he helped lead the New York Mets to back-to-back postseasons for the first time in franchise history. Simply put, his 1999 and 2000 seasons were among the best in MLB history for second basemen. He batted .313 with a .404 OBP and .520 SLG which was 35 percent better than the league average hitter and he was doing it as a middle infielder in the most prolific offensive period in MLB history.
He was known for his ability to hit with two strikes and drive the ball to all fields.
Not to be overlooked was his defense. The quarter of he, Rey Ordonez, Robin Ventura and John Olerud was statistically the best defensive infield the game of baseball has ever seen. He committed only four errors and was proficient at turning double players with Ordonez. His son, Daniel, was a member of Adelphi University’s baseball team in the fall of 2017.
To register visit batting1000academy.com and click on the link to register or call 516-801-1277.
