LAKELAND, Fla. -- With a new manager comes change. And, one of the most talked-about changes Brad Ausmus has brought with him to camp this year is a new -- and highly entertaining -- baseball drill.
It's called rag ball -- an exercise Ausmus first discovered in San Diego where he served as the organization's special assistant the past three years. He liked it so much, he introduced it to Lakeland -- and, so far, the drill has been the talk of Tiger Town.
"That was the best part," Tigers starter Drew Smyly said Friday. "I wish we did that last year. It was the highlight of the day."
For the past three days, Tigers pitchers have built a human wall of sorts at the warning track in center field on one of four back fields at Joker Marchant Stadium.
Their mission? Simple. Don't let the ball get past them. If it does, their team will be docked a point. In the end, the team that has given up the fewest points wins.
"And there's a prize at the end," said Ausmus, who didn't identify the team leader through the first three workouts.
"We had (infield coach Omar Vizquel) about 20 feet away just smoking balls right at us," Max Scherzer said. "It's something we've never done before but I liked that we did it."
Ausmus said the point of the exercise is to improve pitchers' reactions. It's a "tough" drill, he admitted, but it can help a pitcher avoid being "hit in the face" by a sharp comebacker.
"It's coming at you so fast," Scherzer said. "You have to be 100 percent on your toes."
Ausmus also emphasized that coaches weren't hitting standard baseballs. They were using imitation baseballs, called IncrediBalls, which are softer and, ultimately, safer to use.
Watch the video above to get a better understanding of the new drill. And, for obvious reasons, do not attempt it at home.
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