Tyger Pederson- MiLB Hitting Coach, St. Louis Cardinals

During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Tyger Pederson, Hitting Coach at St. Louis Cardinals. Tyger discusses working with amateur players as well as more experienced players, communicating with players with whom English isn’t their first language, helping hitter improve their adjustability, and the importance of players getting into a good hitting position.  Episode Highlights:    How did Tyger Pederson get involved in baseball and as a coach?    What are some of his main goals for the off-season?  What are some resources that Tyger is making use of?  What is Tyger’s process for working with amateur players?  How does he approach more experienced players?  What are some different ways that Tyger trains for adjustability?  How does Tyger help out with decision-making?  Is there anything that Tyger Pederson is very intentional with players?  Does he ask more questions than give answers? How does Tyger work with players when English isn’t their first language?  What do conversations look like when communicating from the top down? How does he communicate with players when emotions can run high? What does his pre-game time look like?  How does he balance individual training for each player?  What are some training things that Tyger is excited about? Are there training activities that his players love to do? What are the three things we would notice if we watched Tyger Pederson’s practice? What are some of Tyger Pederson’s favorite books and resources?    3 Key Points: Never stop learning.  Get to know your players, what they need, what works best for them, and what their goals are.  Hitting adjustability is key. Pitchers are getting better and better. Hitters need to make better decisions when they decide to swing.    Tweetable Quotes: “I grew up in a baseball family in Palo Alto, California. My dad played 13 years professionally and definitely raised me and all my siblings up in a sport athletic environment.” – Tyger Pederson (00:26) “There comes that time in everybody’s career where you kind of decide what’s going to be the best move for you after your baseball playing career and I always knew that I wanted to be a coach.” – Tyger Pederson (01:14) “I would say one of my main goals as a coach is to definitely to continue learning. Continue to develop as a coach.” – Tyger Pederson (03:14) “When I get an amateur player who wants to work with me I usually start trying to get to know them as well as I can. Ask them about where they have been and their experiences and are they working on anything.” – Tyger Pederson (07:05) “A lot of amateur players have different goals and a lot of people aspire to play at the higher level. Maybe it’s college, maybe it’s pro. Some amateur players just want to have fun and enjoy their time.” – Tyger Pederson (07:52) “Being able to move efficiently and get yourself into a good hitting position is the number one most important thing. Once you can get into a good position and move efficiently it definitely promotes adjustability.” – Tyger Pederson (11:32) “Being able to challenge yourself in an environment where you can feel your misses is really important. The importance of feeling your misses is now you see where your swing is breaking down.” – Tyger Pederson (11:53) “I think it is really important to create a setting where you are challenging hitters to make game-like decisions.” – Tyger Pederson (13:36) Resources Mentioned:  Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Tyger Pederson: Linkedin Twitter Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices