Former major leaguer C.J. Nitkowski uses family dog to instruct young son on sliding (video)

Former major leaguer C.J. Nitkowski has pitched for 17 different organizations in four countries, most notably with the Detroit Tigers. At this point in his life, at age 40, he's probably more likely to be invited to a Yankees' Old-Timers' day than to major league spring training. However, in his time spent pitching, Nitkowski has accumulated a lot of baseball knowledge that he is now passing on to the next Nitkowski generation.

One thing that kids these days apparently lack is baserunning skills, so Nitkowski is working with his son on the takeout slide in the video above. Even major leaguers get that wrong sometimes, so it's not too soon for young Nitkowski to learn. Only, what do you do when you're stuck inside? You do what Nitkowski has done his entire professional career: You improvise.

This is why you go with hardwood floors when purchasing a house, for sliding potential. Tom Cruise taught us that, but sometimes we forget.

While it looks like junior Nitkowski has the sliding down just fine, the pug really needs to work on his/her pivot at second base. Hopefully, this will become a series of instructional videos, in the Tom Emanski mold, so that our pets become the best ballplayers they can be. It's Nitkowski's mission, now. There's no turning back.

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