Spin Doctor

About Spin Doctor

Steve Ontiveros is the Spin Doctor - 1995 American League All-Star and 19 year MLB veteran. Currently Steve mentors gifted pitchers of all ages, are you ready to take your game to the next level.

Proper mechanics is defined by a pitcher in which he can deliver a quality pitch, with a minimum amount of exertion and attain maximum results. If you can achieve this result you will be on your way to being a successful pitcher. All of the college and Professional scouts look for different and subjective qualities in which they make their assessments. However, there is one common trait that they all look for: A consistent, effortless, repeatable delivery. My initial and most important focus is to do just that. Mold and shape each pitcher on their mechanics so that they can effectively deliver a quality pitch. More important than the actual pitch is the hard work that it took to get the body in a strong, consistent and balanced posture in order to deliver that pitch. Once you attain your sound delivery then the rest is easy. Learning how to make the ball move in a variety of ways (i.e. breaking balls, change ups, cutters, etc.) is the easiest thing that I teach.

My goal is simple: One delivery, multitude of pitches.

There are four categories in which I work on.

1. Mechanics
2. Pitch assortment
3. Pitch selection
4. Swing recognition

About Steve Onitveros

Steve attended the University of Michigan where he focused on his major of sports medicine. It was here that he took pre-med courses in Anatomy, Physiology, Biomechanics, Kinesiology, and Exercise Physiology which would prove very valuable in the years to come.

Steve became the cornerstone of the pitching staff at the University of Michigan posting the most wins, strikeouts, ERA, innings pitched and appearances record. In his first two years at the University of Michigan, his teams won two Big Ten titles and played in the College World Series. During Steve's junior year, he was the Oakland A's first selection of the 1982 June Amateur Draft.

Steve's professional career started during the summer of 1982 and endured until the end of the 2001 season. He played for five Major League clubs: Oakland (six years), Philadelphia (three years), Anaheim (two years), and parts of two seasons with Seattle and Boston.

Career highlights:

• A sensational rookie campaign where he was eight of eight in save opportunities and posted a 1.93 ERA, good for second in the league.
• Being selected as American League Pitcher of the Month in June 1987, posting a 5-0 record and a 0.66 ERA. It was his first month as starting pitcher after 100 appearances in relief.
• A member of the 1988 Oakland World Series team that fell to the Dodger's in four games.
• Being used as a pinch runner in pivotal games by manager Tony La Russa.
• Winning the American League ERA Title with a 2.65 ERA besting Roger Clemens (2.87).
• Being selected to the 1995 American League All-Star Game.
• Carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning, finishing with a one-hit shutout over the N.Y. Yankees.
• During his career, Steve was highly skilled in the Art of Pitching, mastering seven different pitches and was gifted with the ability to teach these pitches.
• Throughout Steve's career, he has effectively utilized his skills in pitching, hitting, and fielding to become a valuable resource and mentor at Line Drives and to the baseball community at large.
• Since the inception of his training center, Line Drives, located in Scottsdale Arizona (www.linedrivesaz.com) Steve has had the opportunity to work with many pitchers of all ages. In total, Steve has trained (200) little league all star pitchers, 4 all state high school players, 2 high school pitcher of the years, 25 of his pitchers have gone on to play in college (20 have received scholarships) numerous minor league players and 4 Major League Players. (Ismail Valdez, Huston Street, John Webb, Pete Walker)