The Glue Guys of Baseball: Jaeger Sports

With the current state of baseball and the world – and just because we just think it’s a neat idea – we are doing a series on “the glue guys” of the baseball world, people who aren’t players or a part of teams but who are important connectors and folks who amplify the joy of baseball for others.

Next up, is Jaeger Sports, a pitching training grounds in Southern California that is renowned by MLB and college coaches and players alike.

Jaeger Sports has been part of the pitching fabric of this country for decades, training young athletes in areas of arm strength, arm health, and mental training. Their “J-Bands” are in wide use in throwing programs at all levels.

We spoke with Jaeger’s Vice President, China McCarney about Jaeger Sports and baseball.

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Good Men Project Sports:

When did you start doing what it is you do (i.e., Jaeger Sports) and why?

Jaeger Sports:

Jaeger Sports was founded in 1991 by Alan Jaeger to focus on Arm Care, Arm Conditioning and Mental Training. I was first to the program in 1999 when I was 12 years old at a Jaeger Sports Clinic.

I immediately fell in love with the throwing program. As I grew older, I fell in love with the Mental Training and realized how important it was to success in athletics and life in general.

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Good Men Project Sports:

What do you think what you do brings to the baseball universe – why has it been so successful?

Jaeger Sports:

The beautiful thing about Jaeger Sports is the simplicity in the implementation of the programs.

We live in an age of analytics, data driven training, and so much information, which is all fine.

However, at times we can get “paralysis by analysis,” and Jaeger Sports provides a simple approach to Arm Health, Arm Strength and Mental Training. The foundation and basic principles of the program are simple but there are nuances and intricacies that can take an athlete to the highest levels of training.

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Good Men Project Sports:

How do you do it? How much time do you put into it?

Jaeger Sports:

This is a great question, because we do it in a variety of ways.

Alan Jaeger, Jim Vatcher and myself are basically always “on” for Jaeger Sports. It is not just a job, it is a lifestyle, and it is what we love to do. We don’t look at it as time put in, because we are all always thinking of how to give back and help the athletic community.

Alan Jaeger has dedicated his life to athletes – and human beings in general – to their development and well being. He continues to invest his entire life in this so that athletes and coaches can maximize their potential. Alan has written books, throwing manuals, articles, etc. to answer all of the questions he has received over the years.

Present day content creation is ever evolving. We do a lot on social media content (@JaegerSports) where we can directly interact with our community. We are also focused heavily on digital content as we know that is the way the community has moved for information consumption.

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Good Men Project Sports:

What is or was your “real” job and how long have you been involved in the game of baseball?

Jaeger Sports:

Jaeger Sports is my “real job” and there is not a day that goes by that I don’t realize it is a blessing. I am beyond fortunate to have connected with Alan and Jaeger Sports in 1999 and then worked hard to continue to grow within the business.

I’ve been playing baseball since I was 5 years old, so 28 years in total….Don’t do the math, haha!

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Good Men Project Sports:

Why baseball for you? What is it about the game of baseball that you love? What makes it bigger than ‘just a game’ for you?

Jaeger Sports:

This is hard to put into words, because baseball is a feeling. You have it within you and it makes you feel different. The smell of the grass in Spring Training. A new glove and breaking it in with your dad. BP sessions with your buddies. There are just so many unique things that make it so beautiful.

I personally love the difficulty of baseball. It presents you with failure so much and you have to keep going and persevere. You have to learn to use failure for improvement, and that is such a valuable lesson for life, especially in today’s culture.

There is no perfection in baseball (OK haters, yes I am aware that there can be perfect games), just as there is no perfection in life.

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Good Men Project Sports:

One thing about baseball that you would change and one thing that you would never change?

Jaeger Sports:

I would change the competitive mindset of the younger age baseball culture (5-10 years old). So much goes into rankings, winning, tournaments, etc. that we lose sight of teaching the young athlete to have fun, practice fundamentals and life lessons that can be learned in the game.

I’m open to most change in life, so I can’t say there is an absolute that I would not change.

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Good Men Project Sports:

Any ideas for what types of things baseball can do to better connect to its fans?

Jaeger Sports:

I think, like any business, baseball has to adapt to modern consumption of information. Social media highlights, fun player personalities and things to draw the younger fan in are key.

If MLB can capture the young fan’s attention on their devices it will go a long way in creating a life-long relationship with the sport.

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Good Men Project Sports:

For this Series, we are focusing on “the glue guys of baseball,” people who aren’t players or a part of teams but who are important connectors, people who amplify the joy of baseball for others. If I asked you to name one or two of those people, who would you name and why.

Jaeger Sports:

The first two people that come to mind for me are hitting instructor Steve Springer of Quality At Bats and Jeremy Sheetinger. Jeremy is now a college coach, but he has always been INCREDIBLE in connecting people and giving back to our beautiful game.

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Photo Credit: Jaeger Sports

Like this? For More Great Baseball Content from Good Men Project Sports, check out:

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