Rick Peterson, MLB Pitching Coach
Rick
Peterson is known throughout professional baseball as the leading
practitioner for peak performance coaching.
A lifelong “baseball guy” Rick has developed a unique approach to coaching
that has produced revolutionary results. Over three decades, Rick has
combined athletic skills with the science of human behavior to achieve help
his players set new milestones. His track record has been chronicled in
Michael Lewis’ best seller “Moneyball” (2004) and John Feinstein’s “Living
in the Black” (2008). Rick has applied his unique methodologies with some of
today’s most successful athletes including Michael Jordan, Barry Zito, Tim
Hudson, Pedro Martinez, Johan Santana, Tom Glavine, Roger Clemens, Frank
Thomas, Jim Abbott, Jason Giambi, and many others.
In 2008, Rick took significant steps beyond Major League Baseball. He is
involved in launching an enterprise to serve the amateur market to enable
baseball players to avoid injury and improve their performance. At the core
of this business is providing an innovative biometric analysis of the
pitching delivery designed to help young athletes learn the art and skills
of pitching without jeopardizing arm health, a common malady for youth
baseball players. This solution is provided through a partnership with the
famous ASMI in Birmingham Alabama. Rick has also become a Special Advisor to
NJ based Spring Lake Technologies (SLT). SLT is Web based software company
and the creator of the SmartSeries applications with over 1,000 users to
date. The SmartSeries suite uses psychology and behavioral science to
measure peak performance in organizations and provides specific coaching to
leadership teams to improve company performance.
Previously, Rick was a fixture on a variety of Major League Baseball teams.
Known as the Pitching Professor, Rick was the pitching coach for the New
York Mets and the Oakland Athletics for the past decade. His Oakland staff
led the American League in ERA for two years, posting a 3.63 in 2003 and
3.58 in 2002. Under his guidance, the A's finished in the top three in ERA
from 1999-2003. Tim Hudson, Barry Zito and Mark Mulder all flourished under
his tutelage. Each became a 20-game winner and Zito captured the 2002
American League Cy Young Award.
Earlier in his career, Rick held a variety of positions in the White Sox,
Indians and Pirates farm organizations including a two year stint where he
was the co-director of the sports psychology program as it related to
performance behavior for the Chicago White Sox. Rick graduated from
Jacksonville University where he studied psychology. A Pittsburgh native,
Rick was originally drafted in the 21st round of the June, 1976 Free Agent
Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates after graduating from Mt. Lebanon High
School. Rick currently lives in NJ with his three sons.
