Professional Baseball Strength & Conditioning Coaches Society

The Evolution of Strength and Conditioning in MLB –

The growth of strength and conditioning in professional baseball has been driven by coaches who challenged tradition and embraced science-based training.

Their efforts helped establish strength and conditioning as an integral part of player development, leading to the formation of the Professional Baseball Strength and Conditioning Coaches Society (PBSCCS) and the profession that now serves all 30 ML organizations.

MORE WORKLOAD IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER — better-managed workload improves performance and keeps players healthy.

This post explains why more throwing, more games, more travel, more showcases, and more training don’t automatically produce more development.

They often produce more fatigue, less recovery, and greater risk of injury and burnout.

Performance improves and athletes say healthy when workload and recovery stay in balance.

Two national teams.
One World Baseball Classic conversation. 🌎⚾️

The PBSCCS Podcast hosted by Chris Messina sits down with:
🇨🇴 Alexa Garcia — Colombia Strength Coach
🇻🇪 Jose Salas — Venezuela Strength Coach

This is a behind-the-scenes look at the performance side of baseball on an international stage

Coming soon.

Subscribe to the PBSCCS Podcast at the link in our bio. 🎙️

This week’s PBSCCS MLB/MiLB Strength Coach Spotlight:

Jonah Mondloch, Portland Sea Dogs (Red Sox Double-A)

From the private sector to rehab and now Double-A with Boston, Jonah’s path has been built around player development, performance, and helping athletes stay ready through the grind of a long season.

RUN FAST TO PLAY FAST! Baseball is a game of short explosive efforts separated by brief recovery periods and your running program should reflect that.

This post explains why jogging and running slow does not improve speed or performance on the field and why players should train for the demands of the game.

Strong hips matter

Adductors and abductors play a major role in:
• force production
• pelvic control
• deceleration
• sprint mechanics
• rotational power
• lower-half stability

For pitchers, these muscles help transfer energy efficiently from the ground through the delivery.

For position players, they help create rotational force, improve movement quality, and control change of direction.

Weakness or poor control in these areas can lead to:
• energy leaks
• reduced force output
• poor movement efficiency
• increased groin and hip stress

Train the hips to produce force.
Train the hips to absorb force.
Train the hips to control movement.

Upper body recovery matters during the season.

Throwing volume, travel, lifts, games, and repetitive overhead positions can all add up over time. If athletes lose access to rib cage movement, t-spine rotation, scap control, and shoulder positioning, it becomes harder to rotate efficiently, accept force, and recover between outings.

Recovery work isn’t just about “feeling loose.”
It’s about restoring movement options, improving positioning, and maintaining quality movement throughout the season.

This quick upper body ROM/recovery series can help:
⚾ Restore thoracic movement
⚾ Improve scap control
⚾ Reduce stiffness from throwing/travel
⚾ Maintain cleaner overhead mechanics
⚾ Keep athletes moving and recovering better

Simple work. Big return over 130+ games.

As the HS season winds down, many pitchers jump straight into summer ball, but if not managed properly, summer baseball can become a “second injury season”.

The HS season isn’t the only time to worry about your arm. The transition from HS season to summer ball is one of the most overlooked injury-risk periods in baseball.

This post explains the risk of overuse injuries for HS pitchers during the summer months and provides suggestions to help reduce the risk.

The risk of injury during summer baseball increases when players continue high throwing volumes after the spring season without enough rest, recovery, strength development, or arm preparation.

Fatigue accumulates, recovery decreases, and the risk of overuse injuries to the shoulder and elbow increases, especially in pitchers ages 13–19.

Summer baseball should be viewed as an extension of the annual workload, not a completely separate season.

The arm and body still need recovery, preparation, and monitoring.

This week’s PBSCCS MLB/MiLB Strength Coach Spotlight:

Tyler Enns, Gwinnett Stripers (Braves Triple-A)

From coaching at UBC to working through High-A, Double-A, and now Triple-A with the Braves organization, Tyler’s built a strong path through player development and performance