Special Guests

Spring Training has unfolded very well this season.  Just when I have been writing blogs on consistency we have had the perfect guests to come in and reiterate the thoughts I have been writing down.  This month we have had Tony LaRussa, Albert Pujols, Bob Knight and Mike Matheny come and talk to all the young minor league players.  The best part of it was that not one of them talked about mechanics or talent or ability or anything that relates to physical capabilities.  The focus to all their talks was mental toughness.  Being able to understand that to be good in the game of baseball and to achieve the highest level of success you must be mentally tough. 

For this blog I thought it would be nice to share with all of you what the main points of each of their talks were.  Some more serious then others but all equally pleasing and beneficial.

Mike Matheny was first.  He spoke to us at the beginning of Spring Training because he is not around as much as everyone else.  Matheny works with the big leagues and minor leagues as a catching instructor.  Matheny played for a few major league teams and won a couple gold gloves while he was there.  I got to meet Mike Matheny last year when he came to work with the catchers in Johnson City.  He has a wealth of knowledge and a big time character guy to back it up.  Matheny spoke about the other things in baseball that are more in a persons control.  Such as being a good teammate.  His message was that to be able to be a guy around the clubhouse who sets a good example, who works hard and does his job quietly, who picks up guys when they are not going so well, who doesn't take their performance out on someone else or blame someone else when he is struggling, that that is what truly matters.  His point was that if you are able to do these types of things then the successes will come based on your attitude alone.  Your job is to come in and be a professional and truly understand what that means and to embrace it for all it is.  Learning to be a professional takes care of all the other stuff.

Bob Knight was next.  He came down about two weeks ago and had some amazing stories to tell about his time as the head coach of the 1984 summer olympics Gold Medal winning basketball team.  Again he talked about more then just having the physical attributes to play the game of baseball.  Knight spoke about how much he loved coaching guys who were mentally tough.  He was always trying to find ways to challenge his athletes and get the best out of them.  Bob shared a few amazing stories on his time with Michael Jordan during the summer of 1984.  The way they would banter back and forth, it really seemed like there was something special there between himself and Jordan.

Then came Tony LaRussa.  Tony has spoke to the camp each year that I have been with the Cardinals.  Each year he speaks in detail about what he looks for in a player that he wants to play for him in the big leagues.  Tony has a list of three things when referring to a player he wants on his team:  you must be mentally tough, you must be a good teammate, and you must be a professional (on and off the field).  LaRussa is not worried too much about all the physical things because he is aware that most of the kids here in this camp have those attributes already.  But to play for a team and compete for a championship, that is a different thing.  It takes a different type of player to win in the big leagues and that difference is much more mental then it is physical.  I got to ask Tony a question while he was speaking to all of us.  I asked him what the younger pitchers could do to make themselves better.  To be able to learn about the game more.  His answer was simple.  Tony said, while you are on the bench or in the bullpen during the game, you must watch the game.  Watch the game and see how the game shows you all you need to know.  The experiences that happen during the game will show you the answers.  That is so very true.

This brings me to the last speaker but of course not the least.  Mr. Albert Pujols, La Maquina (the machine)  Man, what a treat.  Every year I am here I get to speak with and hear from the best hitter/player in the entire world.  It is great to hear his story each year.  But I don't care about his story of how he got to the bigs because it wasn't really that big of one.  What I love the most about his talks are how much confidence he exudes when he speaks.  There is no question in the world of why Pujols is Pujols when you get to hear him speak and watch him go about his work on a daily basis.  The amount of focus, concentration, confidence, consistency that goes into his approach is why he is who he is.  It radiates from him.  Talk about habits of thought.  I remember Albert answering a young man's question about being positive with himself.  Albert said that for every time he says something negative to himself in his head, he counters that with five to ten positive things.  He has trained himself into his success and there is no two ways about it.  I also got to ask Pujols a couple questions.  The first one was about how he deals with the failures of the game and how he is able to turn those failures into successes.  People forget, even though he is the best player in the game, he still fails 7 out of 10 times when he walks to the plate.  His answer to that was to focus on the bigger picture.  Going 0 for 4 is not a bad thing if his approach at the plate was good and he hit the ball hard.  Sometimes the results won't be there but that doesn't mean his approach or preparation was bad.  He also said he does the best he can to turn the page and look forward to the next day if he happened to have a bad one.  The second question I asked him was how he created the consistency in his results.  Albert answered that with being able to keep his focus and concentration on a day to day basis.  He has his off days just like everybody else, but he doesn't let that get in the way of his work.  Being able to concentrate and focus his the reason why he is as successful as he is. 

Well, that is the wrap up of my fourth spring training experience with the St Louis Cardinals.  The next step for me is extended spring training.  I get to work with guys who are rehabbing and then all the young pupps who are working on their process to make it to the big leagues.  I love how each year brings me more clarity so that I can convey a clearer message each year to these young players.  If I can get them to see the bigger picture, to disregard results and get lost in the work, then I have done my job.  Until next time Passion for Pitching family!!!!!  Hope all is well and you are pitching your butts off!!