Pitch Smart 2.0: From Ranting on Twitter to the MLB Boardroom

In this episode of "the world's most dangerous youth baseball podcast," host Deven Morgan returns after an extended hiatus to deliver a packed update spanning youth baseball policy, sports science research, and the deeply personal side of coaching his son. Deven details the remarkable progress of the Pitch Smart 2.0 initiative — a multi-year coalition effort alongside Rob Hahne and others with the ABCA Youth & Travel Baseball committees, and Major League Baseball — to establish universal pitch count standards and centralized workload reporting across all youth baseball leagues and tournament providers. What started as an idea has culminated in a meeting at MLB headquarters in New York where every major provider in the room signaled their commitment to join the voluntary coalition, a moment Deven describes as "surreal." The episode pivots to a deep dive into Driveline's groundbreaking weighted ball study on youth athletes — the first of its kind — which replicates prior ASMI findings and confirms that heavier balls reduce joint stress because movement speed decreases, framing weighted ball training as fundamentally a resistance training mechanism rather than a risk factor. Finally, Deven shares a raw, reflective segment on parenting through his son Danny's junior season — from a grand slam in the first game to a hitting slump that led to a late-night session at Driveline, unpacking the "see it deep, be flat" approach and ultimately arguing that baseball's greatest deliverable isn't trophies or college offers, but the perspective and problem-solving skills that come from not running away when things go wrong.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro & Housekeeping

02:28 Pitch Smart 2.0: The Coalition & MLB Meeting

14:55 Workload Science: Acute-to-Chronic Ratio Explained

22:40 Going Around the Room — Everyone Says Yes

28:20 What's Next for Pitch Smart

30:30 Youth Weighted Ball Study: Key Findings

38:40 Weighted Balls as Resistance Training

44:30 Parenting, the Lighthouse Metaphor & Danny's Season

50:50 Late-Night Driveline Session: Diagnosing the Problem

58:00 Baseball as a Life Skill: Don't Run Away From the Fire

01:03:00 Perspective Over Plastic

01:08:00 Closing & What's Ahead

Links:

https://t.co/R7TLVHE2EU

Cosplay vs. Competition: 7U Signing Day Insanity

In this episode of "the world's most dangerous youth baseball podcast," host Deven Morgan returns for another Youth Baseball Bummer Power Hour to tackle the growing trend of "cosplay" in youth sports. Deven offers a scathing critique of signing days for 6 and 7-year-olds, utilizing the developmental theories of Jean Piaget to explain why professionalizing the experience for single-digit ages is a psychological "ticking time bomb." The conversation pivots to a proposed systemic solution for the youth coaching crisis, arguing that the current "pulse-only" requirement for coaches must be replaced by a teacher-like certification and a centralized repository for safety and compliance. Deven also celebrates the "disruption" of Jesse Cole and the Savannah Bananas as they expand into youth tournaments, challenging the traditional 90-foot game to either prioritize fun or lose its market share to "Banana Ball." Finally, the show concludes with a deep dive into five months of HitTrax data, proving through "Player 1’s" 3,000 tracked swings that development is not a "wishing contest" but a result of consistent stimulus and falling in love with the work.

Timestamps:00:00 Intro & Housekeeping01:20 Discounts: AxeBat code & Youth Assessments code03:00 6U & 7U Signing Day "Insanity"10:40 Professionalization as "Cosplay"15:30 Piaget & developmental psychology in youth sports21:30 The Coaching Solution: Certification vs. the "Pulse"27:00 Systemic fixes: Centralized reporting & pitch counts36:15 Savannah Bananas & the disruption of youth baseball40:24 Banana Ball vs. tradition48:00 The only two goals: Fun/Engagement and Skill Building50:40 Hitting Deep Dive: 5 months of HitTrax data53:00 Tracking 3,000 swings: The ROI of showing up57:45 Why development is not a "Wishing Contest"01:10:00 Closing: Deeds, Not Words

The Next Time Might Be the Last Time Your Child Plays Baseball

In this episode, host Deven Morgan delivers a comprehensive ABCA convention recap and gets personal about what it means to coach his son—possibly for the last time. The bulk of the show tracks Deven's ongoing mission to establish universal pitch count standards and cross-organizational reporting, from presenting directly to MLB and USA Baseball, to navigating the politics of getting Little League, Perfect Game, USSSA, and private equity-backed leagues to buy in. He breaks down new MLB data showing 34% of Tommy John surgeries from 2010–2022 were performed on players 17 and under, reinforces the case for a "coalition of the willing," and recaps his speaking slot on the MLB Arm Care Panel. Along the way, Deven takes a swing at lacrosse marketing ("America's oldest sport"—miss me with that), unpacks the multi-sport vs. single-sport debate by emphasizing that athletic development must accompany skill work, and announces a podcast-exclusive 25% discount on Driveline youth assessments. The episode closes with an emotional reflection on coaching Danny into third base during a recent scrimmage—connecting that moment to a nine-year-old version of the same kid sliding into the same bag years earlier—and a reminder to every youth coach: the next time might be the last time.

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

01:45 Housekeeping: AxeBat code DL20

02:05 NEW: 25% off youth assessments (code: PODCAST)

04:30 Lacrosse "America's oldest sport" rant

08:35 ABCa recap: universal pitch counts & reporting

12:50 Presenting to MLB & USA Baseball

15:15 Coalition of the willing & Youth Summit progress

18:00 Pitch Smart 1.0 politics

21:55 Pitch Safe app & Pulse workload data

27:30 MLB updating pitch guidelines

28:55 New data: 34% of TJ surgeries are 17-and-under

30:00 Coaching in the HitTrax cage with AxeBat

33:10 MLB Network filming & Arm Care Panel prep

35:25 Youth Hot Stove panel recap

38:30 Multi-sport play deep dive

45:10 College recruiting: athleticism vs. skill

46:15 Scrimmage story: last time coaching Danny?

48:45 The triple—"to me, to me, to me"

52:30 Flashback: nine-year-old Danny, same bag

58:40 The next time might be the last time

1:03:45 "This Week in Pitch Counts" returns

1:05:20 Outro