Growing up with a major league pitcher as a father certainly has its perks.
Jack Leiter, the 20-year-old son of former MLB pitcher Al Leiter and highly touted draft prospect, told a story on Barstool Sports’ “Starting 9” podcast of how his father began teaching him proper pitching mechanics when he was only two years old.
“Living with my dad from the time I was born is an incredible thing to have,” he said. “...From a young age we had these little plastic balls all around our apartment in New York City, and he said when I was two years old I would pick up balls and throw and he would start raising my arm up and as I was throwing he would just working the mechanics of a 2-year-old. So, obviously that was a huge advantage.”
Jack, who currently pitches at Vanderbilt and is likely a top-five pick in the draft, added that as he got older, he would watch games with his father and the two would discuss the pitching strategy of each hitter during games.
“Watching baseball games on TV always becomes a pitching conversation,” he said. “What pitch is he going to throw here? How do you think he’s going to sequence this guy? What are you thinking if you’re right here if Mike Trout’s in the box…think that’s really helpful to the mental side of it and more important than the physical side.”
While Al certainly educated Jack along the way, his son added that he never felt pressured into playing baseball and it was just a sport he loved from being around the game at such a young age.
“He always said whatever you’re going to be, be as good as you possibly can at it,” Jack added. “He didn’t really push being a pitcher. It wasn’t coming from him. I was around the game when I was younger, but that’s a different story. I was five when he retired in 2005. I was almost too young. I was scared of being around Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez in the clubhouse. I would cry when my mom pushed me in there and I was four years old. Looking back, obviously, that would have all been so cool.”
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