Transcript
WEBVTT
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Welcome to Baseball Coaches Unplugged with Coach Ken Carpenter, presented by Athlete One.
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Baseball Coaches Unplugged is a podcast for baseball coaches, with 27 years of high school baseball coaching under his belt, here to bring you the inside scoop on all things baseball, from game-winning strategies and pitching secrets to hitting drills and defensive drills.
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We're covering it all.
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Whether you're a high school coach, college coach or just a baseball enthusiast, we'll dive into the tactics and techniques that make the difference on and off the field.
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Discover how to build a winning mentality.
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Inspire your players and get them truly bought into your game philosophy Plus, get the latest insights on recruiting, coaching, leadership and crafting a team culture that champions productivity and success.
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Join Coach every week as he breaks down the game and shares incredible behind-the-scenes stories.
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Your competitive edge starts here, so check out the show weekly and hear from the best coaches in the game.
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On Baseball Coaches Unplugged.
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Hello and welcome to another edition of Baseball Coaches Unplugged.
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I'm your host, coach Ken Carpenter, and on today's show, a refreshing perspective from former high school teammates who compete against each other at Division III, ohio, wesleyan and Otterbein University.
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The outfielder is Ohio Wesleyan University's Sammy Stoner and the pitcher is Luke Walter at Otterbein University.
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They share what many players think about their high school playing days, to the challenges of not being the best players on their team, because every team at the college level is filled with the top players from their high school program.
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At the college level is filled with the top players from their high school program.
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They open up about the grind and why you have to be different to play and succeed in college sports.
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Oh, and did I mention one is also a starter on the football team?
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Before we hear from Luke and Sammy, let's talk about what it takes to have your facilities looking their best.
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The netting professionals improving programs one facility at a time.
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Will Miner and his team at the Netting Pros design, fabricate and install custom netting for baseball and softball.
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This includes backstops, batting cages, bp turtles, screens, ball carts and more.
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They also design and install digital graphic wall padding, windscreen, turf, turf protectors, dugout benches and cubbies.
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And the netting pros aren't limited to just baseball and softball.
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They also work with football, soccer, lacrosse and golf courses.
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Contact them today at 844-620-2707.
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That's 844-620-2707.
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Or you can visit them online at wwwnettingproscom.
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Check out Netting Pros on X, instagram, facebook and LinkedIn for all their latest products and projects.
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If you'd like to be a guest of Baseball Coaches Unplugged, go to our website, athlete1.net and fill out the guest registration form.
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If you enjoyed today's show, be sure to share it with a friend.
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And now to my interview with Ohio Wesleyan University, sammy Stoner and Otterbein University's Luke Walter.
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Hello and welcome to Baseball Coaches Unplugged.
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I'm your host, ken Carpenter, and joining me today is Sammy Stoner, outfielder and pitcher for Ohio Wesleyan University, and his high school teammate, luke Walter, who's a pitcher for Otterbein University.
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Guys, thanks for taking the time to be on Baseball Coaches Unplugged.
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Of course.
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Thanks for having us.
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Seriously thanks for having us.
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Well, guys, it's middle of January, central Ohio.
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I'm looking out right now and it's blanketed with snow and I would imagine you guys are probably pretty anxious.
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And when I talked to you just before starting here, luke, you're saying you're ready to go.
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Is that correct?
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I'm all, yeah, I'm ready to go, ready to get after it.
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What about you, sam?
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Yeah, I'm ready to.
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I'm ready to go outside again.
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I want to want to see a fly ball one more time.
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Well, looking.
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I want to start with.
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You know I met you guys when you were in high school.
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I had the opportunity to coach with Chris Huseman and Sam your dad was the pitching coach there and that's where I got a chance to meet you guys as players.
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And you know, I'm sure at some point throughout your career one of the coaches was saying you know, your four years in high school is going to fly by and you know, looking back on it, luke, what is it that you miss about those days?
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I think the freedom within the game really Once you kind of step outside, once you get to college.
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You come in as a freshman, you're not expecting much, but especially I think it was the same for me and Sam we both got some good playing time our freshman year in college and then ever since that starts, then you kind of set too many expectations on yourself, you kind of lose that loose feeling where you're just showing up to the field with the boys trying to get after it, just trying to have a good time, enjoy the game, and and you kind of get caught in a loop of I gotta do this, I gotta yeah, that's that's.
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I think that's what I miss the most about high school what about?
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you sam, yeah, I'd agree a lot more.
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I mean, I, I agree with everything that luke said, definitely just kind of it's a lot less, a lot more, just kind of go have fun, and that's kind of what I'm trying to get back to now.
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But also, um, one of the things that I was thinking about is that uh, oh well, I forgot what I was just thinking about actually.
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So maybe not, but, um, um, in high school, I mean, there's a lot, it's a lot more.
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Yeah, it really is just a lot more playing with your, playing for fun, I guess.
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Yeah.
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Yeah Well, most high high school players don't go on to play college baseball, and that's just the reality of it.
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And what was your biggest surprise for you, Sam, when you started competing at the division three level there at Ohio Wesleyan?
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um, one of the definite big things that changed for me right away was just like, kind of not being one of the best players on the team because, like in high school I mean junior year obviously got cut from COVID, but senior year, like, I was one of the one of the better guys in the team and I was just kind of I've always been just one of the like you know, I thought of myself as one of the best players.
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But then all of a sudden in college freshman year, um, I'm fighting for even especially cause I played football.
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I play football as well.
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So I didn't, I wasn't there in the fall.
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So then when it came to the springtime, I was fighting just to be able to make it like on our spring break trip and able to actually go.
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So that was kind of a big big culture shock for me, but it was.
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It was definitely good for me.
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I felt like having that really made me work all that much harder to get to that spot where I'm actually on the team and trying to be one of the best players.
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So what about you?
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Luke, I think one of the biggest realizations for me is there's dogs everywhere, like especially here at Otterbein, we kind of funnel.
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Like Grove City, I'd say, is our main, like that's where we're getting most of our guys from.
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But then you're getting into guys from like D3, d4, like smaller high school schools, like around Central and kind of just all throughout ohio and and those what sammy to harp on what sammy said like those guys were the guys at their school and even though it's d3, like they're not good, they're not, like they're not overwhelming with talent but the work ethic that comes with a guy that isn't naturally as talented like those guys.
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Those guys played most of the guys here, at least, were on varsity, sophomore, junior, senior year of high school and like they're not expecting anything different from them, like they're ready to play.
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Yeah, basically all these guys are the best, probably the best players on their high school team and it changes a little bit.
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And what would you tell a high school player right now who is good enough to play in college but has that uh, d1 or I'm not gonna play attitude luke?
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I think it.
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It comes down to the love of your game, like the love of the game for you, because there's a shelf life on this game.
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We're all granted with the ability to play this game for you.
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Because there's a shelf life on this game, we're all granted with the ability to play this game for as long as you're able to, and that's that's how I look at it.
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I want to play this game as long as possible because I love it.
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I'm rooted within it, like it's a part of my daily routine.
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And it just comes down to the fact, like, are you going to go to a big school and say you're going for academics and you're going to be sitting there?
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Man, I wish, I wish I could still play baseball.
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Like cause that once you pass that opportunity up, there's no really getting that back.
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Sam.
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Yeah, and I would say also, I agree with everything that Luke said.
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But also there's a it's still.
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It's still good baseball.
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It's not like like obviously you know D1, you're going to get the most looks, but there are guys from D3, d2, naia, guys from D3, d2, naia, juco every year who can easily transfer up to D1 or even get drafted out of wherever they're from.
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So there's definitely like, obviously, going D1 right away, that's the main goal as a high schooler.
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But I feel like I mean, you're going to find good baseball no matter where you go, and if you play well, then there's always a chance to move up to D1 or just get drafted out of there.
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Yeah, I totally agree with what you guys are saying.
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Now, sammy, you just mentioned it earlier, you're one of the rare college athletes that you see out there.
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You also play safety on the football team at Ohio Wesleyan, which is you know.
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You just don't see very many college athletes getting a chance to do that, and I got to ask you which is tougher to be more successful at baseball or football.
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I'm going to say, if I have to choose, I'm going to say football, because with baseball, I know, I know, I know hot take Because with football there's a lot more conditioning, got to be in shape, got to be at the top of your game for those 10 weeks, versus with baseball.
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I mean, you always have an off day with baseball, I guess, so you can kind of you have to.
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There's a lot more time to get back into it.
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I feel like that was one of the things that I didn't have a great as good of a senior year for football as I wanted to, and I feel like a big issue for that, big reason for that, was that I didn't, I didn't get back into shape as early as I should have.
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So I was still kind of fighting through it weeks one and two and then I had a pretty bad weeks one and two.
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So once I got through that I was a lot better.
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But with baseball I've just found that it's, I mean, other than my arms, because my arms have been hurting, but other than that, everything has been really easy to get back into and start swinging again, start throwing, start doing some bands, get myself going.
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So yeah, that makes sense.
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Well, luke, I wanted you to take us through how you prepare yourself between outings, because you know, when you're a pitcher, you're not like Sam, where you're getting to run out there every day and play and you've got to have that downtime where you're getting to run out there every day and play and you've got to have that downtime and take us through your routine from you know, you just pitched a game until the next time you start.
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Okay.
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So typically for us we play doubleheader on Saturday and then Sunday.
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I think within the first couple of days less is more.
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Like I'm a guy that I love like doing as much possible in each of my days to become better.
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But once you get into season, like your work is already kind of done.
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So you just kind of you got to take that downtime.
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So Sunday I'll go in, I'll hit some stretching, probably like 45 to an hour of just stretching, mainly working on my back and my hips, because that's that's kind of where I struggle as a player is I get, I get sore in those areas.
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And then Monday just a light throw, just we're playing some catch, we're we're not, we're not getting the ball down really on a line, we're just kind of feeling it, seeing how it's spinning out of our hand, making sure like there's no major issues with we're cutting the ball too much, it's got too much tail, just getting that foreseam right, just making sure because that's the table, that's all the other pitches are set off, how the foreseam is spinning.
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And then Tuesday, but for us at Otterbein, that's when we'll get back into practice for those weeks so we'll be doing some pickoff plays, some PFPs, some defense.
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And then I like to throw two light intent bullpens before I go out and start, besides just one heavy intent bullpen, because I feel like, as a pitcher, where do I play?
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I play on the mound.
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You need to be off the mound as much as possible.
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It's shown that on a flat ground there's more stress on your arm and when you're throwing off a slope it's around the same level of stress put on your arm if you're throwing off a mound consistently versus if you're just throwing a flat ground.
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So Tuesday for me that would be a light bullpen day, always keeping it light.
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I I always throw way too many pitches always.
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So I always gotta I always gotta say I'm gonna throw 15, I go throw 25, but then I think, okay, 25, that's fine.
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Take wednesday pretty light.
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No, no throwing, just stretching, a lot of stretching.
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I think that's where pitchers get into this loophole of they get caught up in the weight room trying to become as strong as possible when that only has a little bit to do with your ability to create velocity and throw the ball hard consistently.
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It's about being able to throw the ball hard, consistently and healthy.
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Can't do anything if you're not able to play.
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So Tuesday, thursday for me is my light and 10 bullpens, and then Friday, we're getting some good carbs in.
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Friday night, just relax and get into bed early.
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Yeah, that's my week.
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How hard are you throwing right now?
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We just we're starting practice next week.
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I threw lives on Thursday.
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I was 70, I mean not 70.
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I was 86 to 88 on, uh, our last live day.
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It's pretty good, and you're off.
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Speed is what what's that?
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so I'm throwing.
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I got a whole bunch.
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Right now we're really, we're really mastering the craft.
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I got a, I got a nice sinker going, a good change up, a gyro slider because I'm a pronator so it's hard for me to throw a pure slider and then I'm working on the sweeper right now.
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And then a good 12-6 curveball.
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The slider is about 77 to 78 right now, curveball below 70s and then changeup is high 70s as well.
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Okay, well, sam, you showed up in college, you pitched in high school and you were playing the outfield.
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If you go on the Ohio Wesleyan website, there's a picture you've thrown the ball to.
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Are you going to be pitching a little bit this year?
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then sure, um, probably not.
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I mean, the last time I threw for owu was freshman year, because I kind of came in and and that was like the spot either our outfit was full of older guys so they were playing there, and then we needed some pitching so I filled in there.
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But then since then I've really only played outfield, other than my the stint on the paints where I threw seven innings.
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So, but other than that, no, I'm full-time outfield for the most part, but if I can get my arm feeling good again we'll see if I can get some innings in, yeah there you go.
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I was Sammy's bullpen catcher right there.
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Yeah, For the paints.
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I was designated bullpen catcher for Sammy Stoner, the only guy I could have out there.
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There you go, but why do talented players in high school fail or struggle when they start playing the college game?
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Luke?
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I think it's a little bit with the people around them, especially as a coach, I don't think you should be telling a player what they're capable of, so you kind of set up their mental landscape in a different way when you're telling it could be variable goals.
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Say, you're a young guy, you're succeeding in high school, you're throwing hard, and then you get to college and these coaches are telling them what they want these players to be at.
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Like it kind of sets up this guy that's constantly pressing when he's already good enough to perform.
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And it's just also some of the guys that I noticed in high school that succeed are sometimes a little more physically developed, like at a younger age, so they're better than the competition.
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And as you get older and get into college, all those guys that were smaller than you they start to catch up and then you're kind of on an even playing field.
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Well, sam, what do you think about the talented players in high school?
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But they struggle when they show up there on campus.
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Why do you think that happens?
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Yeah, I definitely agree with Luke.
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I think a lot of it has to do with just the mental side of the game we talked about earlier, with kind of like not being the best anymore.
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You're going to have a lot more struggles when you're facing, uh like guys that so in high school I mean, there's a lot of pitchers that you know they're not going on to play anywhere at the next level, but then when you get to call it, these are the guys that went on to play at the next level.
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Everyone here is has the, has the want to be there, has a drive like is trying to get better all the time.
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And if you don't have that same or a similar drive, then you're not going to, you're not going to find as much success as you did in high school, where I mean, everyone's just getting, everyone's getting better.
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And if you're not getting better, than obviously you're going to find you're going to find a lot more struggles and success.
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So and on top of that you've got college coaches, and this is their job and they're.
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They're looking for somebody to replace you and you yeah, you gotta fight.
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Why I, I gotta ask you guys had the opportunity to play summer collegiate ball with the chilla coffee paints and you know what was that experience like.
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And how do you compare playing summer ball versus for your college team?
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And we'll start off with you, sam.
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I mean it really was a lot of fun.
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There was definitely some times where I was wondering why I was there, just because I mean you're playing 60 games in under 60 days, so there's a little bit.
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Or was it 50 games in 60 days?
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So you're, I mean you're there, it's, it's a full-time job, like you're there the whole time, whole summer, you're not doing anything else.
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And then, if you're, if you miss it, if, as as a fielder, there were a lot of games where I obviously didn't play in and that was you know.
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So it started to piss me off that I wasn't playing all the time.
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But I mean, at mean, at the end of the day, like it was a great experience.
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I'm so glad that both Luke and I did it, because it was a lot of fun hanging out with him the whole summer.
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So I really did enjoy it so much.
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And it was just compared to.
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I mean it was great to see, like you're seeing guys that are, you know you're seeing the D1 level guys.
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You're seeing NAI that are, you know you're seeing the D1 level guys, you're seeing NAI.
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You're seeing D2, d3, juco, everything.
00:20:09.000 --> 00:20:24.575
So you kind of it's kind of cool to see how you stack up against these other guys and when you find success against uh guy against you know schools like you're finding success against these other schools that you're competing against, basically like, oh wow, so I guess I am, I am, I am good, I am, uh, I'm good, I'm a good player, I can compete with these guys.
00:20:24.575 --> 00:20:27.449
So it was really fun at the end of the day, a lot of fun.
00:20:28.500 --> 00:20:32.788
Well, I know that they wouldn't ask you guys to play for them if you guys weren't doing the job in the spring.
00:20:32.788 --> 00:20:34.925
What was your experience?
00:20:34.925 --> 00:20:35.648
Like Luke?
00:20:38.663 --> 00:20:42.712
I played for the Paints my last summer too, my sophomore summer.
00:20:42.712 --> 00:20:45.259
I think it's just such a fun experience.
00:20:45.259 --> 00:20:57.589
You kind of it is a lot of games though, so you kind of get down there, you hit, you hit the middle, the middle months, like you're in the heart of the games and you're kind of like like I'm ready to go home.
00:20:57.589 --> 00:20:58.794
I'm ready to go home.
00:20:58.794 --> 00:20:59.958
Like it's a lot of baseball.
00:20:59.958 --> 00:21:13.580
My teammates, all from school, are sitting back at home relaxing, enjoying their summer, but as soon as that last out's recorded in the last game of the year for the paints especially, it's like what a hell of a summer, like that's just.
00:21:13.580 --> 00:21:14.522
I think it's.
00:21:14.522 --> 00:21:27.124
It's such again like harping on what I was talking about with the shelf life of the game, like so now I'm two years and I've played two full college seasons, but in reality I've really played four at this point.
00:21:27.124 --> 00:21:31.942
So I just just playing more baseball and I think it is.
00:21:31.982 --> 00:21:40.955
The schedule is a lot different compared to spring schedule, especially for d3 players, because I think it's pretty standard what we do and I think Sammy's kind of in the same boat.
00:21:40.976 --> 00:21:57.089
We play weekend double headers for our conference and then we play some weekday double headers for our conference and then, like throughout the year, you're playing weekends, in a wednesday normally, and just kind of like learning how, because that's it's like.
00:21:57.089 --> 00:22:13.191
It's like a simulated, like minors slash indie ball, like environment, like you're just, you're just grinding and I just personally, I love it and being able to be with sammy and other guys like you're on a team and I think, especially with guys at smaller schools.
00:22:13.191 --> 00:22:20.244
They like, when they get to a place like that, they're thinking about their label, they're thinking about that title behind their name, because it always says where you're from.
00:22:20.244 --> 00:22:26.506
And once you get, once you start playing, you get that that anxiety shaking off a little bit.
00:22:26.506 --> 00:22:29.673
Then Then you're like there is dogs everywhere.
00:22:29.673 --> 00:22:31.246
We played with a lot of guys.
00:22:31.246 --> 00:22:45.585
We played with some Juco NAIA guys and those are the guys that are playing professional right now, and there are some D1 guys that aren't doing that and it's just like it's different, it's a different landscape.
00:22:48.346 --> 00:22:56.873
Yeah, and the game can be very humbling and it doesn't matter what level you play at, that's for sure.
00:22:56.873 --> 00:23:17.305
And you know I got to ask when your careers come to an end and you know you guys are trying to get every last ounce of fun out of it, but it does come to an end for everybody how will you look back on your high school and college playing days and do you think?
00:23:17.305 --> 00:23:27.230
I'm a big believer in this it prepares you for the next stage of your life being a husband, you know, an employee, a father, things like that.
00:23:27.230 --> 00:23:29.207
And Sam, we'll go back to you.
00:23:30.320 --> 00:23:31.767
Yeah, I definitely think that.
00:23:31.767 --> 00:23:34.509
I mean there's so many lessons in the game of baseball.
00:23:34.509 --> 00:23:40.169
It's just like I mean even just like the basic you know, working hard will lead to success.
00:23:40.169 --> 00:23:46.964
I mean there's so many different things in baseball that will just help set you up for success as you go on in life.
00:23:46.964 --> 00:23:59.769
And I think that honestly, like playing baseball in college, it's even more of those lessons that we learned in high school, but even more so Now I'm free.
00:23:59.769 --> 00:24:14.230
I don't have my parents over my shoulder like I did in high school anymore, but now I still have to be able to go out and succeed so that when they do come and watch me, I'm not sitting on the bench or not striking out eight times in a game.
00:24:14.309 --> 00:24:17.474
Yeah, what about you, Luke?
00:24:18.160 --> 00:24:20.388
I think I agree with what Sammy's saying.
00:24:20.388 --> 00:24:27.353
I think the discipline is a huge factor into how you carry yourself for the rest of your life.
00:24:27.353 --> 00:24:48.343
And I also feel, like when you were talking about being a husband, like I think it helps within relationships because a lot of the times like you are just living your own life, like it's easy to individualize, but when you're on a team like sometimes you're not going to agree with things that coach is telling you or the other guys around you are telling you, but you got to realize it's bigger than yourself sometimes.
00:24:48.343 --> 00:24:53.807
So I think that's one of the most valuable lessons you kind of learn and it just kind of I think it shapes you into a better man.
00:24:56.903 --> 00:25:21.136
Well, I've said this before on podcasts my wife is a vice president of talent acquisition and when she has two candidates that are equal throughout the interview process and if she looks down and sees one is a college athlete, she typically goes with that person because she knows what it takes to be a college athlete.
00:25:21.136 --> 00:25:28.285
It takes more than just what the average college student goes through than just what the average college student goes through.
00:25:28.285 --> 00:25:33.032
But this is the part of the podcast where I like to have a little bit of fun.
00:25:33.032 --> 00:25:43.813
Okay, so you guys gave some great answers to some questions, but this is where I wanted you guys to kind of take us behind the scenes a little bit.
00:25:43.813 --> 00:25:48.748
I always start off with hate losing or love winning.
00:25:48.748 --> 00:25:51.291
Luke, you go first, hate losing.
00:25:52.134 --> 00:25:52.595
Why is that?
00:25:52.595 --> 00:25:56.288
It's just especially in baseball.
00:25:56.288 --> 00:25:58.007
It's your group of guys.
00:25:58.007 --> 00:26:06.971
You're going to school with these guys, because that's what it is when you come in, the fall like you're not playing yet, but you're getting close to these guys and it's your nine versus their nine.
00:26:06.971 --> 00:26:09.002
Just hate losing.
00:26:09.002 --> 00:26:09.986
I hate the taste of it.
00:26:09.986 --> 00:26:11.951
How about you, Sammy?
00:26:13.260 --> 00:26:17.426
Yeah, I definitely agree Hate losing, like obviously it's going to happen, but you got to.
00:26:17.426 --> 00:26:32.887
I mean, if you, if we talked about this a lot during the football season, we had a lot of guys that just loved winning and didn't hate losing, and that was why we struggled, because everyone was just trying to be as good, like be good enough, not be better.
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