DENVER — Rockies right-hander Aaron Cook didn’t have time to contemplate becoming a National League All-Star this year. There were much bigger issues, like keeping the Rockies from sinking so far that they couldn’t rise, even in the mediocre NL West.

Cook stopped seven losing streaks and tied a club record with 11 wins before the All-Star break. The performance earned him his first career selection to the squad by Rockies manager Clint Hurdle, who is managing the NL team this year.

Rockies left fielder Matt Holliday, through voting by peers, was selected to his third straight All-Star Game.

The 79th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, at Yankee Stadium on July 15, will be televised nationally by FOX, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and Sportsnet HD and televised around the world by Major League Baseball International, with pregame ceremonies beginning at 6 p.m. MT. ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio coverage, while MLB.com will provide extensive online coverage. XM will provide satellite radio play-by-play coverage of the XM All-Star Futures Game.

1 If a batter fails two-thirds of the time, they’re still considered an excellent batter. It’s too bad this standard isn’t applied to everything else in life.

2 It is legal to “steal” in this game. This is, perhaps, a questionable example for children.

3 If you aren’t such a good hitter, you can have a pinch hitter bat for you. If you aren’t such a fast runner, you can have someone—a pinch runner—come in and run for you. At what point, you might wonder, is a team entirely comprised of “pinch” players?

4 There’s a rule preventing pitchers from spitting on the ball. They can spit anywhere else they like, apparently.

5 If a batter walks with the bases loaded, he is credited with an RBI (Run Batted In). That’s right: even though he didn’t hit the ball.

Figuring a pitcher’s Earned Run Average (ERA):

According to the official rules of baseball, an earned run is a run for which the pitcher is held accountable. The pitcher is charged with an earned run for every base runner that scores who hasn’t reached base because of an error. In more basic terms, the pitcher is responsible for runs scored as a result of:

Hits Sacrifice bunts Sacrifice flies Stolen bases Putouts Fielder’s Choices Bases on balls thrown by the pitcher Batters hit by the pitcher Balks by the pitcher Wild pitches thrown by the pitcher

The earned run average is the average number of earned runs scored on a pitcher per game. A quick glance at the formula involved in determining a pitcher’s ERA can be a bit scary — reminiscent at times of the complex formulas used to determine how much rocket fuel is needed to get the Space Shuttle to lift off — but it’s really not that difficult at all.

ACE A team’s best starting pitcher.

ALLEY The section of the outfield between the outfielders. Also called gap.

Around the Horn: The 5-4-3 double play — third to second to first. In the infield the numbers go: Pitcher #1, catcher #2, 1st base #3, 2nd base #4, shortstop #6, 3rd base #5.

ASSIST Help from a fielder in putting an offensive player out. A fielder is credited with an assist when he throws a baserunner or hitter out at a base.

AT BAT The offensive team’s turn to bat the ball and score. Each player takes a turn at bat until three outs are made. Each Batter’s opportunity at the plate is scored as an “at bat” for him

BACKDOOR SLIDER A pitch that appears to be out of the strike zone, but then breaks over the plate.

BACKSTOP Fence or wall behind home plate.

Q: Who holds the American League Record for the most home runs in a month?
A: Rudy York hit 18 home runs in August of 1937 with the Detroit Tigers, an American League record that stands to this day. His 18 home runs in August was over half of his total of 35 home runs for 1937. Rudy’s accomplishment was the Major League record until June of 1998 when Sammy Sosa hit 20 home runs.

Q: Who was the opposing team when Jackie Robinson played his first major league game?
A: Jackie Robinson played his first major league game for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. The Dodgers opponent on that day was the Boston Braves. Brooklyn won the game 5-3. Robinson went 0 for 4 in his first game.

Since I’m a natural health professional by trade, I got to thinking on things that could help professional baseball players play better, have better attitudes and ideally, win more games. So, I started looking for information on using hypnosis, creative visualization and the like.

From what I’ve read, psychology and its associated techniques, have been employed - from as far back as 1920 with the God-like slugger, Babe Ruth, to the early to mid-1980s. Interestingly, I couldn’t find much on CURRENT use of techniques such as visualization and hypnosis in MLB.

But, what I did find is interesting…

Baseball is a mental game

“Succeeding in pro ball is 90 percent mental. It’s big,” said Diamondbacks infielder Andy Fox. “Baseball is 80 percent mental,” said one manager, “you have got to make players believe in themselves to perform well.” [2]

Conditioning
Most young pitchers do not realize the importance of both strong legs and stamina. Long distance running is a mainstay for professional pitchers. You should add long distance running to your regimen if you are truly serious about pitching (run 3-5 times a week!)

Thinking properly
While in the field, always have the thought process of, “What should I do if the ball is hit to me on the ground or in the air.” If you are always thinking this, you will always know where to throw the ball.

Hustle
Hustle is what determines the winners from the losers and the players from the athletes. Hustle catches the attention of coaches. A coach may take a player who hustles over one who is more talented, because that person is more valuable as a team player. It doesn’t take any talent to hustle. Run on and off the field. Run out all ground balls and pop-ups. Hustle will set a player apart.

Interesting game - even though we lost it (grumble). The home plate umpire was hit by a shattered bat and sent to the hospital for stitches and then in the 9th inning, KC pitcher Ramon Ramirez appeared to be doing his best to bean our catcher, Yorvit Torrealba, with the baseball.

Suffice it to say Rockies manager Clint Hurdle isn’t pleased - well, neither am I to tell the truth lol.

KANSAS CITY — If indeed the Rockies start hitting the ball and salvage what had been a great start to June, they might look back and see that two inside fastballs sparked all of it.

The drama came at the end. It had nothing to do with the outcome of the game, another half-hearted loss to the Royals, this time, 7-3. After striking out two batters in the eighth, Royals reliever Ramon Ramirez, who was traded from Colorado to the Royals, opened the ninth by throwing a fastball by the head of Yorvit Torrealba, one way outside and another behind him.

In 1997, Mike Piazza hit .362, the highest batting average for a catcher in more than 50 years, and racked up a slugging percentage of .638. With 40 homers, 124 RBIs, 104 runs, and 201 hits, Piazza had the greatest offensive season of any catcher in the more than 100 years. Here are some of Mike’s baseball batting tips:

* Look for a good pitch to hit.

* Have a quick bat.

* Stay inside of the ball so you can hit the ball to all fields.

* Try to spread your feet a little wider than shoulder width for balance.

* Hold your bat at a 45-degree angle to alleviate unnecessary movement in your swing.

* Keep your back elbow close to your body to help your hands and the barrel of the bat swing through the ball.