(Editor’s Note: Neal Heaton spent 12 seasons in the Major Leagues as a LHP for several teams. He was named to the National League All-Star Team in 1990 for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1979 MLB Draft out of Sachem HS. He opted to attend college at the University of Miami, where he set several program records and was named to their Hall of Fame in 1993. He is now a Pitching Instructor at Play Like a Pro.)
Now that the 2022 season has come to an end. Now what should you do?
Now is the time to give your body a much-needed break. When I was in the big leagues, I always took a two-week break after the season to let my body recover. After a long season, your body is feeling drained and warn out.
After that, I began my strength program. Everyone should be on some sort of a strength program regardless of age. That means no throwing in the beginning (I did not throw at all during November). Then you start light lifting to gradually work your way up to heavier weights. As a pitcher, you want to stay flexible and not worry about putting on bulk.
If you are a pitcher that did not throw a lot during the fall, you can begin your throwing program in December, but if you did throw a lot you can begin in January.
It is also very important that you are eating the right food.
What does that mean?
That means eating plenty of steak, fish and grilled chicken. When I was a kid, I would eat anything in sight without worrying about proper nutrition but now there’s much more of a focus on having a good diet from a young age. The key is to build muscle, and you can’t do that eating junk food. You build muscle from protein.
If you are underweight, you can add more carbs into your diet (pasta and bread) in order to gain weight.
It’s important to have a trainer that knows what he’s doing and has you training to maintain your baseball-specific muscles.
One way the game has changed from when I was in the Major Leagues is how players prepare for Spring Training. In those days, guys would report to Spring Training out of shape, knowing they had over a month to get back into shape. Now guys know they will be in front of the media and on TV and they report to camp already in shape not wanting to embarrass themselves.
Also, there’s really no need to throw in any showcase during the month of December UNLESS you are a high school senior that is uncommitted and you need to get exposure for college coaches.
As the season draws closer and you begin your throwing program, you want to decrease the weights you are lifting by 50% in order to prepare for the season
