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General  | Blog | 3/26/2024

Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 37

The 5% That May Hinder Many Travel Ball Pitchers' Success This Spring

There isn't a single travel ball coach, parent, or pitcher who wouldn't agree with what the Tampa Bay Rays see as the crucial factor that often determines the outcome of a baseball game. Yet, immediately after their resounding concurrence, many of these individuals would raise questions like, "But what about..."

Velocity?
Spin rate, horizontal and vertical break?
Generating nasty movement?
Changing speeds?
Hitting different spots within the strike zone?
Consistency and recovery?
Hitters adjusting to your game plan?



If we were to inquire with the folks at the Rays organization, I'd bet their response would be, "Yes, these factors can matter, but THIS... this specific aspect holds unique influence over the game's outcome."

So, what's the insight the Rays possess that others don't quite grasp?
It's not about receiving recognition; as I mentioned earlier, everyone 'gets' this. The distinction lies, in my view, in the Rays' unparalleled commitment to embracing and executing one simple yet profound truth.

And what is this truth?

"Throwing a first-pitch quality strike leads to a positive outcome 95 times out of 100. They consistently emphasize the 'Cost of Ball One.’ “

Who talks like this?

They're fully dedicated to 1) Repeatedly echoing this concept as a philosophical mantra and 2) Tailoring their pitchers' daily practice towards consistently delivering quality pitches and executing them for strike one.

So, if everyone acknowledges this, why isn't everyone adopting it?

It's because of that elusive 5%.

People struggle to move beyond it. They become fixated on avoiding the 5%.

It might help to look at this process from a different perspective, unrelated to baseball.  For instance, being a world-class investor isn't about never being wrong; it's about being consistently right over time.

Vegas doesn't thrive in gambling solely because they win every hand. They succeed because they ensure the odds are in their favor, guaranteeing more wins than losses. They understand this, stick to the process, and emerge victorious.

In my opinion, the Tampa Bay Rays aim to be the Vegas casinos of baseball.

They recognize that approximately 5% of the time, the first pitch will be crushed. They accept this as a harsh reality and an inevitable cost of pursuing victory. While they try to minimize this damage, their primary focus remains on executing the 95%.

They understand that, for a hitter in 2023, the league average on-base percentage is .266 after falling behind 0-1. However, the same hitter, ahead 1-0 after the first pitch, boasts an OBS of .380. Essentially, the 'cost' of ball one transforms a hitter from Martin Maldonado to Mookie Betts.

That's how games are lost.

So, what’s the key takeaway here?

Continue improving your velocity. Excellent suggestion!
Keep refining your breaking ball's sharpness.  Absolutely!
Enhance your strength, mobility, and overall athleticism. 100% agree!
Prioritize your arm care and body's well being, and focus on recovery. Great advice!

But if you aspire to emulate Las Vegas and maximize your current abilities, become fixated on consistently throwing strike one with your best stuff.

During the season, forget about the 5%. Concentrate your daily efforts on the 95%.

You'll be glad you did.

Coach Ron Wolforth is the founder of the Texas Baseball Ranch® and has written six books on pitching including the Amazon Best Seller, Pitching with Confidence. Since 2003, The Texas Baseball Ranch® has had over 579 pitchers break the 90 mph barrier, 208 have toped 94mph or better, and 135 of his students have been drafted in the MLB’s June Amateur Draft. Coach Wolforth has consulted with 13 MLB teams, dozens of NCAA programs and has been referred to as “ America’s Go-to-Guy on Pitching” and “The Pitching Coaches Pitching Coach.” Coach Wolforth lives in Montgomery, TX with his wife, Jill. They are intimately familiar with youth select, travel baseball and PG events as their son Garrett (now a professional catcher) went through the process. Garrett still holds the PG Underclass All-American Games record for
catcher velocity at 89mph which he set in 2014 at the age of 16.

- - - - - - - - -

Summer Events at the Texas Baseball Ranch®

Join our 3-Day “Elite Pitcher’s Boot Camps”, designed for pitchers aged 12 and above. We’re
hosting seven unique camps this summer between Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend. For additional details, visit: https://www.texasbaseballranch.com/elite-pitchers-bootcamp/

Interested in learning what sets our boot camps apart? Request our comprehensive information package by emailing Jill@TexasBaseballRanch.com.
 

General | Blog | 2/3/2026

Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 62

Ron Wolforth
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Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 62, Part 1 Demystifying the Curveball, Pitch Counts, and Weighted Balls - Part 2  Now, on to Part 2 of our three-part series on baseball's most misunderstood topics. We tackled the curveball. Next up: pitch counts. And in Part 3, we'll address weighted balls, another subject where fear has outpaced reason.   Why these three? Because they share something in common: each has been reduced to a simplistic, one-size-fits-all rule that ignores the complexity of human performance. And in each case, well-meaning people have latched onto these rules as if they're gospel, while the arm injury epidemic continues unabated.  It's time to think more clearly.   Part II: Demystifying Pitch Counts   Let me be clear from the start: I am not anti-pitch count.   Pitch counts are a valuable tool. We use them at...
College | Story | 2/3/2026

Conference Preview: Patriot

Anthony Gambardella
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2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order*  Team W L W L Army West Point 25 25 14 11 Bucknell 18 27 10 15 Holy Cross 31 27 17 8 Lafayette 14 35 9 16 Lehigh 24 26 11 14 Navy 26 25 14 11 Preseason All Conference Team Pos.  Name  School  Stats/Notes  C  Ty Deperno  Navy  Named PL Rookie of the Year & to 2nd Team All-PL in ‘25; batted .307 w/ 33 runs & 32 RBI  IF  Thomas Schreck  Army West Point  Named to 1st Team All-PL in ‘25; batted .335 w/ 40...
High School | General | 2/2/2026

Monday Morning SoCal Notebook

Steve Fiorindo
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Three hitters and three pitchers that really impressed or improved their stock at the Area Code Select at Dodger Stadium.  Gotta start with James Clark as he stole the show offensively, and right out of the gate, with a pull side home run as just the second hitter of the game.  Added a triple to the pull side again, again on the barrel.  Added a single up the middle.  Really showed exceptional feel for the barrel.  Flew out to center field on two occasions, both barreled up pretty well, with one getting lost in the sun.  I’m old and salty, so didn’t give him the double for the cycle, but he was the most impressive bat (easily) on the day.   One of the other position players that impressed, I’ve been somewhat critical of, have spoken with his travel coach a little bit about him behind the plate, but Vista Murrieta catcher Taytum...
Softball | General | 2/2/2026

PG Softball Announce Leadership Hires

Perfect Game Staff
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    667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923  www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    PERFECT GAME SOFTBALL ANNOUNCES KEY LEADERSHIP HIRES    Charlotte, North Carolina (Monday, February 2, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced the hiring of two industry-leading softball directors to lead and expand its footprint in the Charlotte, North Carolina market. The additions underscore Perfect Game Softball’s long-term commitment to North Carolina and its mission to elevate tournament standards, scouting opportunities, and player development across the region. Both were...
High School | Rankings | 2/3/2026

Top High School Team by State

Tyler Russo
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As we continue to roll out our Preseason High School content, we look at what teams come into 2026 as the “team to beat” in each state, whether through prior success or talented rosters. Many of these teams will win titles in their respective states, but most are closely followed by other talented teams in their state that will look to take over the label as the “top team in the state” when we update this after the 2026 high school season. State School Alabama Hoover Alaska Service Arizona Casteel Arkansas Valley View California St. John Bsco Colorado Regis Jesuit Connecticut Fairfield Prep Delaware Sussex Central District of Columbia St. Johns Florida Stoneman Douglas Georgia Etowah Hawaii Kamehameha Kapalama Idaho Eagle Illinois Brother Rice Indiana Center Grove Iowa Waukee Kansas St. Thomas Aquinas Kentucky Trinity Louisiana Barbe Maine Fryeburg Maryland...
High School | General | 2/2/2026

High School Top 50 All-Prospect Teams

Cam McElwaney
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High School Preview Index | High School Top 50 As we have finished unveiling the National High School Top 50, we now look at the abundance of high-level prospects that make up those rosters, building 3 teams at the Class of 2026 level and an underclass team, all made ONLY from players on the teams across the Top 50. Upperclass 1st Team Pos Name High School State Team Rank C Jorvorskie Lane Jr. Grapevine TX 7 1B Will Adams Hoover AL 43 INF Tyler Spangler De La Salle CA 12 INF Cole Prosek Magnolia Heights MS 16 INF James Clark St. John Bosco CA 1 OF Brady Harris Trinity Christian Academy FL 6 OF Malachi Washington Parkview GA 34 OF Trevor Condon Etowah GA 5 UT Matt Ponatoski Archbishop Moeller OH 35 2W Coleman Borthwick South Walton FL 8 P Gio Rojas Stoneman Douglas FL 2 P Kaden Waechter Tampa Jesuit FL 4 P Bo Holloway Nolensville TN 36 P Joseph Contreras Blessed Trinity GA 9 P Savion Sims...
College | Story | 2/2/2026

Conference Preview: Mountain West

Joey Cohen
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2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order*  Teams W L W L Air Force 12 18 20 34 Fresno State 18 12 31 29 GCU 13 11 31 27 Nevada 19 11 34 23 New Mexico 17 13 30 23 SDSU 14 16 20 39 San Jose State 13 17 29 30 UNLV 16  14 31 23 Washington State 11 19 18 36 Preseason All Conference Team Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Walker Zapp Air Force  .330/.420/.579 with 7 HRs, athletic catcher with strong catch/throw ability.  1B  Jayce Dobie Nevada .339/.413/.526 with 7 HRs. Physical presence. On base skills...
College | Recruiting | 2/2/2026

Northeast Recruiting Notebook

Ryan Miller
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Jack Nicholls (‘27, NJ) working the 85-88 T89 mph range on the FB w/ some angle & life. Shorter & compact AA thru it. Mid-70s CB w/ good bite & depth to it. Mostly FB attack early on. @PGMidAtlantic @PG_Uncommitted @Oilers_BPC #WWBAWorlds pic.twitter.com/7WYz7ExUPE — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) October 3, 2025 Jack Nicholls, RHP, Class of 2027 Commitment: Tennessee Josh Elander and the Vols’ staff venture into the Northeast to snag an up-arrow right-hander out of New Jersey. Nicholls works from a medium frame with athleticism and present lower half strength. He starts at the belt exclusively from the stretch, transitioning into a high and compact leg lift. Nicholls fires down the mound via a whippy and quick arm action and high three-quarters slot. The South Jersey product works a lively fastball into the low-to-mid 90s, mixing in a sharp two-plane...
College | Story | 2/2/2026

Conference Preview: Coastal

Ryan Miller
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2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order*  School W L W L Campbell 25 31 15 12 College of Charleston 37 22 15 12 Elon 25 32 13 14 Hofstra 18 36 8 19 Monmouth 24 30 10 17 NC A&T 15 37 9 18 Northeastern 49 11 25 2 Stony Brook 25 27 11 16 Towson 21 35 11 16 UNC-Wilmington 34 24 19 8 William & Mary 21 35 14 13 Preseason All-Conference Team Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Tyler Smith North Carolina A&T Switch-hitting backstop who slashed .323/.414/.542 in ’25 and earned a Team USA training camp invite....
High School | General | 1/31/2026

Preseason HS Top 50

Tyler Russo
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The start of another high school season is right around the corner in a handful of states and with that, as always, comes our Preseason High School Top-50. A whopping twenty states are represented in the initial Top-50, a number that is staggering when you look at the amount of depth some of these rosters have across the nation. Leading the group is St. John Bosco (CA), a team that brought home a CIF Southern D1 title in 2025 and bring back a strong group of seniors to look to repeat. Stoneman Douglas (FL) is a name most people should know by now in the high school ranks and comes in as our preseason #2 team, looking to win their sixth straight state championship in Florida. Orange Lutheran (CA) had a good case for preseason #1 but come it an No. 3, bringing a roster with seven seniors ranked inside the top-200 in the country to the table. Four other Florida schools are represented...
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