Barry Zito Meter 10/3 Do we go after no matter what cost

[RealityChuck]

That's how it always been reported: Heilman changed his delivery and wanted to stick to his old one despite the urgings of the entire coaching staff.

[Edgy MD]

Don't screw with Aaron's delivery!

The father of New York Mets reliever and Logansport native Aaron Heilman, Joe Heilman, has advice for young pitchers everywhere.

"The one key thing with his development was simply we let him progress at his own rate," Joe Heilman said. "We put him before the competition. We went out and played in some tournaments and played out of state and those sorts of things. But we let Aaron progress at his own rate. He had his style of pitching. A couple times I had to talk to a few coaches and say, 'Hey, leave him alone. You're not going to change his motion. You're not going to do this or do that just because you want a curveball.'

Never to this day has he thrown a curveball the way you or I would throw a curveball by snapping our wrist and elbows - putting a lot of strain and pressure. He uses the movement on the ball with the pressure on his fingers on the ball."

Hard work is also a key.

"We let him see that if he did want to compete, if he wanted to play at a higher level, he was going to have to work a little bit more, he was going to work a little bit harder," Joe said. "Dad was going to have to rent a few more gyms so we could get in and practice during the winter time. I think he played three sports, four sports until about eighth grade. He gave everything else up and really concentrated on baseball."

Joe added that while no overhand throw is natural, Aaron's three-quarters motion feels the most comfortable to him. He also said Aaron has never had an arm injury nor does he need his arm iced down after he pitches.

As for when boys should start throwing breaking balls, Joe says "when they're adults. You can get a lot of movement and change of speed on pitches just by your finger placement on the ball and how you grip it."

Joe and his wife Deb, Aaron's mother, keep very connected with their son's involvement with the Mets.

"I call him and give him my quick critique of how he pitched after every game and let him know what dad thinks," Joe said. "Other than that we talk about once a week or so and have a longer conversation, of course."

The Heilmans listen to every Mets game on XM radio and when Aaron pitches, they watch the game either on television when it's on here or on their computer on MLB.com with the help of a high-speed Internet connection. They follow news articles on him via a Google News search of his name. They also listen to New York sports radio.

They attend Mets games if they're playing in the Midwest throughout the summer. They plan to attend games in New York if the Mets make it to the National League Championship Series and the World Series.

Aaron isn't the only athlete in the family. Joe played basketball at St. Benedict's College and ran track and field at Indiana University. Aaron's two sisters, Michelle and Jennifer, were standout softball players in high school. Michelle pitched at St. Joseph's College.

"Michelle took up fast-pitch pitching and Aaron wasn't going to be outdone," Joe said. "Every time that Michelle threw a no-hitter, then Aaron had to come back and do the same thing. There was quite a bit of competition there between the two of them."

Aaron led Logansport High School to two regional titles. The Berries, who have the third-most state championships in baseball in Indiana with four, reached the state finals during his junior year in 1996. That was when the state finals were two games in one day, and he didn't start the afternoon game, in which the Berries were defeated by Merrillville 5-3.

Aaron was the Gatorade state player of the year his senior year, when he went 11-1 with a 1.06 ERA and had 105 strike outs in 79 innings pitched. As a junior, he went 10-3 with two saves, a 0.98 ERA and 87 strike outs and 17 walks in 81 innings pitched. He pitched a perfect game as a freshman and had a 17-strike out game in a 1996 American Legion regional contest.

The Mets open National League Division Series play today when they host the Los Angeles Dodgers at 4 p.m.

[stevejrogers]

Yancy Street Gang wrote: Don't forget Guillermo Mota. What a turnaround he had this year after he was traded. Of course, some will argue that it was our old friend "Change of Scenery" who fixed what was wrong with Mota.

I think we now know what fixed Mota!