Baseball Is A Game Of Adjustments
A is for...
[This post is part of the Mental ABC's Of Pitching series. Check out the rest here.]
To think a pitcher or player…
Or anyone..
Will never make a mistake is unrealistic.
If you haven’t heard it yet, you will, “Baseball is a game of adjustments.”
So it stands to reason that our first word in the Mental ABC’s Of Pitching is Adjustment.
Here’s the A’s of Mental ABC’s of Baseball:
- Adjustment. Making an Adjustment is more than just making a change, its adapting. It means being thoughtful and rational in your game – think of what to do, rather than what is happening “to you.” Be proactive not reactive.
- Aggressiveness. We aren’t talk about charging the plate kind of aggression. For a pitcher Aggressive should mean attacking the strike zone, asserting your will on the hitter, not the other way around. For other players on the diamond we want proactive, aggressive, play – not re-active. Before each play ask yourself, “If the ball is hit to me what do I need to do with it?” Every play.
- Anxiety. Performance Anxiety is a normal reaction you can have before or during a game. This heightened sense can be hard to handle if you don’t know what to do. As a young ball player I developed a process of dealing with pre-game anxiety by focusing on pre-game preparation.I would focus on my plan: what I wanted to do vs. the other team, remind myself of my mental “keys” and mechanical“keys”. Remembering to keep it simple.
During the game stay in control by making adjustment, by adapting to the flow of the game. Stay aggressive and make the other team play your game. Understand that there is nothing wrong with performance anxiety. Many of the best athlete, singers and public speakers have it. But they control it, which you need to learn to do, instead of it controlling you.
Pitcher’s if you are struggling on the mound, call a Time Out, tuck your glove under your arm and rub the baseball. Your self talk needs to be, “My next pitch is going to be a strike and I will attack the plate on the inside and outside. Coach is signaling to the catcher where I should throw it, hit that target.” Focus with intensity on the target the catcher is giving you, and let it fly!
