Phillies have words of wisdom for Little Leaguers

This story was excerpted from Todd Zolecki’s Phillies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The Phillies and Nationals play in the MLB Little League Classic on Sunday night in Williamsport, Pa.

We asked a few Phillies recently what advice they would give Little Leaguers:

Aaron Nola, on pitching

“I was fastballs and changeups when I was a kid. My dad always taught me command. Throw your fastball for strikes. In Little League you’re not picking corners, you know what I mean? Fastball and changeup first. Command first. I have to say to Little Leaguers, don’t try to gain your arm strength so fast. Your body isn’t even close to being finished growing. My velocity probably didn’t start to creep up until my junior year of high school. I was a late bloomer.

“We were always focused on throwing down in the zone. That’s how it was then. The game has changed today, obviously. Little kids watch us. They see what we do. They watch what every pitcher does, all the catchers, how they set up. We’re role models for those guys. I would just say work your fastball command down first, then go off that. You don’t have to be perfect when you’re a kid in Little League. You’re just competing, having fun and trying to win.

“I did a three-finger, four-seam grip until I was 12 and 13. That’s when I switched to two fingers because my hands got a little bigger. I was always three fingers. Your fingers aren’t big enough to grip the baseball when you’re that young. Some kids, yeah. But a lot of them, no. Three fingers are definitely good.”

Kyle Schwarber, on hitting

“Everybody is different, but don’t try to lift it. Try to find a way to put the barrel of the bat on the ball, however you can, without trying to lift it. That would be my best piece of advice, but if you’re hitting the barrel, that means good things are going to happen somewhere.

“I like hitting off the tee. I love the tee because it tells me how to get to the pitches before the ball is even moving. Put the ball on the tee on different places of the plate. It teaches you different contact points. You realize how to get to that pitch before the ball is moving.”

Garrett Stubbs, on catching

“Catch the ball. It sounds simple, but I got to meet and become friends with Johnny Bench. His entire advice was just catch the ball. I think there’s some beautiful simplicity in that. We talk about framing now. We talk about blocking and all these other things.

"But at the end of the day, if you catch the ball and you catch the ball in a way that gives the umpire good presentation … when you’re a young kid, man. Just focus on catching the ball. Blocking will come second and throwing down to the bases will come third. Make sure you’re catching every single ball and then work from there.”

Zack Wheeler, on pitching

"Concentrate on throwing strikes, and not trying to throw too hard and make things nasty. Spinning stuff. I don’t think it’s good to spin stuff that young.

“Learn how to command the ball when you’re that young. The velo and all that will come as you get older and get bigger and stronger. I did a three-finger, four-seam grip back in the day, just because your hands are so small and the ball is so big. That’s what my dad taught me.”

Want more advice? Before Father’s Day, I asked Phillies coaches their best advice for parents trying to help their kids play better.