The Mental Game

I have always been very interested in the mental game of baseball. It is the most undertaught and important aspect of the game. Some may argue, but without the proper approach to the game and mental toughness, a player with "Big League" talent will never reach the "the show" without a strong mental game. This is because baseball is the biggest game of failure without a doubt.
I dont have a specific approach to discuss at the moment, but if anyone has any ideas for specific topics regarding the mental game that would be great. I am open for anything, I just want to talk baseball. Thanks.

 

Glad to have ya aboard...There's a lot of us that would enjoy that discussion. You may have to wait a day until Braves has an hour or two off to move the messages around and rebuild our forum....

 

I think Pete Rose made the best quote ever on this topic. In similiar words, he said that he went to the plate at every at-bat expecting to get a hit. He said the day he didn't, he was going to retire. I think confidence is as big a part of this game as anything. When you've got it going, the baseball can look like a balloon floating in there and the seams are crystal clear. However, on the flipside, if things are going bad, if you don't stop the bleeding soon, everything will spiral down. This is part of the reason coaching is such an important position in this sport. It is his decision to decide when to let a player ride it out and when to let a player take a seat and get his head right again.

 

someone once said baseball rewards failure...hit the ball a little over 3 out of 10 times and you have a chance to wind up in the Hall Of Fame...

 

Baseball is a thinking mans game. I used to tell my players to watch as much of it on the tube as they could. Listen to the broadcasters that were former players themselves and soak up every little bit of knowledge you could. I also used to go over a different rule, no matter how quirky, each day after practice. Get a blue book and learn the rules, this will be a big help to your understanding of the game. Sport Illustrated's "Baseball" written by former University of Arizona head coach Jerry Kendall is VERY GOOD for players and coaches alike, I got mine at a Walden Books store. Your idea of the mental approach is the correct one, it will be what separates you from the rest of the field.

 

You don't have to like chess to like baseball, but it is the closest sport to a chess match than anything I can think of. A 1-0 game can be just as exciting as 11-10 game.

For a player sitting on the bench not paying attention to what is going on in the field will be lost.....every pitch, every swing and every catch will draw a strategy to help beat your opponent.

Every decision before and after every pitch by a player or coach can be second guessed, which can lead to grabbing your bottle of Malox in a hurry!....ooooh, I love this game!

 

Baseball is one of those games where the mental aspect is so important. When everything is going well, it's great. But let the slightest little thing gets in a player's head, watch out because the wheels are likely to fly off.

It is a thinking man's game where you can't think while you're doing. Remember in Bull Durham when Crash had just joined the Bulls, and he went to the plate after getting the note from Annie? He started thinking and the edge was gone. Nuke Laloosh is the classic example of what thinking will do to you and the power of superstition in baseball.

People who have never played can't understand the little nuances that make this game what it is. You have to think, but then clear the thoughts from your head. You want to get in your opponent's head, but stay out of your own. I played with a guy, our catcher, that would talk to the batters while they were getting ready in the box and throw dirt on their shoes before he called the pitch. He got in their heads and there wasn't much they could do about it. I remember getting in a pitcher's head ragging him about his haircut . . . took him completely out of the game. Of course he wanted to fight after the game.

This a great game, excellent discussion topic, and a much better board than what we had.

 

This is great.

You are right allrightnow, this game is a game of "hills and valleys". It is the players who recognize when things aren't going well and make adjustments, have the inner confidence and mental toughness to find a way to compete when things are not going their way who are most successful. For example, every pitcher will have days that their stuff just isn't there. Many pitchers will just accpept this concept and "hope" that the other team has a worse day, but the great pitchers dig down deep and find a way to compete by making adjustments. The great ones refuse to accept the fact that sometimes their "stuff" isn't their.
Before every game I pitch in I read a book. This allows my mind to focus and relax, yet begin visualizing the way I will throw to each hitter. Before a game last year I was reading The Pitchers Bible, a collaboration of Nolan Ryan and an author that has slipped my mind at the moment. Anyways, they depicted this idea of competing when it's not their perfectly. The book tallked about how before one of Nolan Ryan's games, he was awful. It said that he was throwin all of his off-speed in the dirt and his fastballs were going every direction in the bullpen. Before he finished the bullpen, he tossed the ball to a kid in the stands and just walked in the clubhouse. Nobody knew what was going on and not until the national anthem was finishing up did Nolan come out of the clubhouse and take the field. In the first inning he threw 11 pitches and struck out the side. When he came into the dugout he looked at some of the team and said, "Get me one today fellas." That game Nolan went on to throw his SEVENTH no-hitter.

I thought I would share that story with you guys. I hope that helps some other pitchers as much as it did me.

Braves, you hit the nail on the head when you related chess to baseball. I played chess for 7 years like I play baseball today. Everyday I worked to better my skills in chess. In both games, you must be one step ahead of your oppenent, you must prepare for any situation that could happen 1 move ahead or 20 moves ahead, just like you must prepare for the next pitch, as well as the hitters who are on deck, in the whole and on down. In baseball the second that you show timidness or become too defensive, your opponent will crush you.

Thanks for all of the great posts, I hope to read many more on here.

 

Bump for new folks