Pitching Instructors

Mo pitched professionally from 1988 to 2000. Mo, originally from MS, was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 1988. Given Mo’s ability, he quickly moved through the minor leagues – and after a brief stay in AAA he was drafted into the majors in August 1991. Mo won his first major league game on August 9, 1991. Over the next four seasons Mo pitched for the Reds, Colorado Rockies, and Minnesota Twins.

In professional baseball Mo established himself as a dominant power pitcher, recording more strikeouts than innings pitched in six of his first seven professional seasons. Today, Mo is become widely recognized as one of the top pitching instructors in the Midwest.

Mo has worked with hundreds of the local pitchers and uses a strong focus on mechanics and health. Ted Power noted, “Mo Sanford is a true professional in every sense of the word. His #1 concern is the welfare of the athlete he is working with. I have known him to be tireless in his efforts to improve the performance of every youngster he works with. Mo is straightforward in developing proper mechanics.”

Mo currently resides in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Buster Keeton was the 60th player selected in the 1978 draft and started his professional baseball career in AA with the Milwaukee Brewers. Buster moved through the minor leagues quickly and made his major league debut on May 27th 1980. Buster played with Hall of Famers Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Rollie fingers. After his 10 year playing career Buster coached professionally for another 10 years; those teams included the Brewers, Astros, Royals, Twins, and Pirates. Along the way Buster coached many successful players including Carlos Beltran and Mike Sweeney.

Buster’s twenty years of professional baseball experience and his strong interest in youth baseball has allowed him to develop the reputation as one of the top pitching instructors in the tri-state area. Buster’s approach focuses on working on a good pace, throwing strikes by hitting location, and changing speeds. Buster will develop your young pitcher into recognizing the “pitcher must command the game.”

Buster grew up in Western Hills playing his youth ball with the Cincinnati Storm Club and currently resides in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Will was originally signed by the Seattle Mariners in 1991 and went on to have a truly international career. By the time Will retired he had played professionally for 13 years in six different countries. Will set the season strikeout record in Taiwan and recorded over 1,300 strikeouts in his career. During his professional career Will played on two championship teams.

Will began his coaching career in 2003 in the Independent League and coached at the high school, junior college, and professional levels of baseball. Additionally, Will has been involved in pitching instruction in youth baseball since 1991. Will continues to be active in professional baseball by scouting and placing players.

Will’s international professional experiences and experience at all levels of professional baseball give him a unique perspective on how to develop young pitchers. Tailoring his approach, knowledge of the game, and experience in professional baseball are Will’s strengths.

Will currently resides in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Josh Spring pitched locally for Lebanon High School, graduating in 1991. He was voted 1st team All-Ohio and was selected in the 10th round of the MLB draft by the Houston Astros directly from high school. Despite signing a national letter of intent and having a full scholarship offer from THE Ohio State University, Josh signed a pro contract. In his playing days Josh was a power strikeout pitcher throwing in the mid-90s. He holds or shares 14 Lebanon High School records including junior and senior campaigns with 100+ strikeouts. Also, he threw 4 no-hitters including a string of 24 2/3rds consecutive hitless innings. In the summers he played locally for Milford (the only team to knock the Midland Redskins out of the regional tourney in the 90s). And then following his senior year Josh played for the Midland Redskins in a year that saw them go on to win the National Championship yet again. During his 6 professional seasons Josh was fortunate to pitch for Manny Acta (Nationals manager), Jack Billingham, major league pitching coach Jim Hickey(Rays) as well as get insight about the game from Caesar Cedeno and many other current and former MLB greats. He played in the minors for the Astros as well as the Toronto Blue Jays. In two seasons Josh led his team in strikeouts as a reliever. After his playing career Josh went on to get his B.A. in Philosophy with a minor in English from the University of North Texas. This blending of an athletic life and academic achievement provides Josh with the perfect tools to effectively COMMUNICATE with his players like few other coaches can. His approach is strongly centered on teaching excellent mechanics to maximize a players physical tools and reduce chance of injury as well as a highly disciplined mental approach to build a mind that can overcome pressure and deal with adversity, two traits that are in the mental make-up of ANY successful athlete. He served as the varsity pitching coach at Lebanon HS for 6 years (2004-2009). He is the pitching coach for the Cincinnati Flames 16U.

Notable players Coach Spring played with or faced during career:
- Billy Wagner
- Vladmir Guererro
- Andruw Jones
- Scott Rolen
- Bobby Abreu
- Melvin Mora
- Richard Hidalgo
- Jay Peyton
- Todd Helton
- Sean Runyan
- Chris Carpenter
- Edgar Renteria
- Preston Wilson
- Juan Encarnacion
- Johnny Damon
- Mike Sweeney
- Russel Branyan
- Daryl Ward
- Trot Nixon
- Bobby Estellela
- Jason Isringhausen