Father, retired baseball coach, freedom and it’s AWesome!!
Joined June 2015
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Mark Nell retweeted
A college coach once told me the best evaluation tool he owned was the parking lot. He watched how a boy carried his own gear, how he spoke to his mother after an 0 for 4, whether he helped drag the field when nobody asked. Forty years later I do the same thing, and I will tell you what that scout knew: the game between the lines shows me a player. The parking lot shows me the next four years.
Mark Nell retweeted
The fastest-growing group getting Tommy John surgery is not professional pitchers. It is teenagers. More than half of those surgeries now happen to athletes between fifteen and nineteen, and the cause is rarely one bad throw. It is years of too much, too young, too tired. The single biggest predictor of an arm injury is pitching while fatigued. So protect the arm now, when no one is watching the radar gun. Count the pitches across every team your son or daughter plays for, not just one. Give the arm real months off. The velocity everyone is chasing means nothing on an athlete who is already hurt.
Mark Nell retweeted
Youth Baseball Pet Peeves
- Holding runners on 3B
- Standing at 2B to hold runners
- Pitcher as the cutoff man
- Not running 1st/3rd defense
- Fake bunt on 3-0 count
- Walking on/off the field
- Parents yelling at umpires
- Pitchers walking halfway to home plate after every pitch
- Pitchers throwing way too many pitches in a weekend
What did I miss?
Mark Nell retweeted
I've played professional baseball.
I've coached collegiate baseball.
I've evaluated thousands of high school players over the last 12 years.
Here are a few baseball truths I've learned:
• Failure is inevitable. How you respond to it is a choice.
• The game rewards resilience far more than talent gives it credit for.
• Body language is visibly LOUD.
• You never know who's watching.
• Talent gets you noticed. Consistency gets you recruited.
• Nobody cares how good you were last week.
• The players who blame others rarely improve.
• Confidence comes from preparation, not motivation.
• The game owes you nothing.
• Coaches trust competitors before they trust tools.
• Your teammates know if you're real.
• Baseball has a funny way of exposing excuses.
• The best players are usually obsessed with improvement, not attention.
• Nobody remembers your excuses. They remember your actions.
Build your floor. Chase your ceiling. ⚾️
Mark Nell retweeted
Travel ball is bleeding families dry. Tournaments fees. Hotels. Food. Equipment.
And now they charge parents insane amounts just to watch their own kid play. What’s next — pay-per-flush bathrooms?
Enough is enough‼️
Mark Nell retweeted
As a baseball scout, there are two concerning hitting characteristics with HS & College hitters that stand out more today than ever before.
1) No Plan At The Plate
Successful hitters don’t just hope to get a hit—they know what pitch they’re hunting, they exercise zone awareness, they know what part of the field they’re trying to use, they know how to work counts, and how they’re going to attack pitch to pitch. They have a plan, they don’t just “wing it.”
If you fail to plan—then plan to fail.
2) Lack Of Competing In The Box
Every pitch is a battle. Fighting off tough pitches. Refusing to get beat. Making the pitcher earn every out. Competing in the box isn’t about the “result”—a hitter can go 0-4, but have four quality at bats. Competing in the box is about your approach, focus, and effort every single pitch.
Yes, swing operation and talent matters, however a “plan” and a “competitive” mindset in the box separate good hitters from the rest.
Never forget . .
Success is never owned. It is only rented, and the rent is due everyday!
Mark Nell retweeted
Why is Good Body Language Important??
Listen to Jose Rijo-Berger talk about a player who got an offer on the game he went 0-4 and not the tournament he went 20-28🤯🗣️
#the108way
Mark Nell retweeted
Throw Strikes. Pitch backwards. Change speeds. You’ll win a lot more high school baseball games than chasing radar gun numbers! #Facts
Mark Nell retweeted
Call me old school, but I’d trade a lot of today’s tournament baseball culture for a little more focus on the game itself.
Less GameChanger obsession.
Less walk-up song production.
Less nonstop dugout chatter.
More competing. More learning. More baseball.
Mark Nell retweeted
One time, I had a parent tell me:
“Coach, my kid’s probably your 12th or 13th guy. I’m just glad he’s on your team because I know he’ll get better.”
18 months later, he was a starter.
Honest. Self-aware. Team-first.
Refreshing.
Mark Nell retweeted
My entire feed is:
“I’m entering the transfer portal.”
Would be nice to see just a few:
“I’m staying at my current school because I like the coaches, the program, and the school.”
The rarest commitment in college baseball today might be staying committed.
Mark Nell retweeted
Want a tougher team?
Start here:
1. Stop rescuing them
2. Stop repeating yourself
3. Stop negotiating the standard
4. Stop accepting half-effort
5. Stop waiting for buy-in
Toughness isn’t talked about.
It’s built.
Mark Nell retweeted
⚾️ ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Reece Stillings
Findlay baseball (@BaseballFindlay) is off to another terrific start. Leading the way is senior Reece Stillings.
Head coach Jordan Nell says you can put him just about anywhere.
"You don't have to worry about Reece on a baseball field."
Mark Nell retweeted
"There was no bigger advocate for pushing college baseball forward than Coach Polk." - @CoachOakMSU
Mark Nell retweeted
One last time for our early morning pre @CollegeGameDay conversations with LC…
Not so fast, my friend! 🫡
Mark Nell retweeted
THE GAME DOES NOT CARE!!
• It doesn’t care if you’re sore.
• It doesn’t care if you have a headache.
• It doesn’t care about your previous success.
• It doesn’t care about you feeling sorry for yourself.
• It doesn’t care about your excuses.
• It doesn’t care about “fair.”
• It doesn’t care how hard you throw.
• It doesn’t care how strong you are.
• It doesn’t care if you’re tired.
• It doesn’t care that you think you know it all.
• It doesn’t care what you think you deserve.
Our great game doesn’t care about any of that. It will humble you in a heart beat. It will put you in your place. It will force you to get mentally tougher if you want to keep playing.
Hopefully you learn sooner than later that laziness, whining, complaining, being soft, pointing fingers, making excuses and being so worried about what everyone else is doing and saying are distractions and holding you back.
Greatness in our game requires confidence, passion, grit, aptitude, being coachable, work ethic, self motivation, humility, responsibility and accountability.
Check yourself.
Mark Nell retweeted
Facts. The game doesn’t owe you a thing it only gives back what you’re willing to pour into it. Excuses won’t hit the ball, complaining won’t make a play, and talent without work won’t last. Baseball is the ultimate truth-teller: it exposes the lazy, humbles the arrogant, and rewards the grinder who shows up every day ready to compete. Confidence, grit, and coachability aren’t optional, they’re the price of admission. Respect the game, respect your teammates, and respect yourself enough to put in the work. That’s how you win on and off the field.