Competing Without Your Best

Hello Passion for Pitching Family!!!

So we are currently on a five game win streak.  Much more fun playing out in front of the bunch then playing tug-o-war and five hundred baseball.  During the streak we have done an amazing job as a team to simply compete.  Every AB, every inning, we have been right where we need to be with our focus.  No matter if we are down during a certain part of the game or playing out ahead, we have done a very solid job of playing until the bell sounds.

Yesterday (July 29th) we had a young left handed pitcher go out to the mound.  From the start he was having trouble commanding his fastball and working ahead of hitters.  There were times where he would throw a ball in the dirt, then a ball way up in the zone and then a perfect strike.  He basically had no feel for what was going on out there. 

But here is the thing...

when you are a pitcher there are going to be all sorts of different feelings you have when you are on the mound.  Some days you are going to feel amazing and nothing will bother you.  Some days you will feel horrible the entire game and you are just going to have to deal with it the best you can.  Some days you will feel amazing and then all of a sudden in the middle of the game you lose feeling.  Some days it will be the opposite, where you start out feeling horrible but then little by little you gain that feeling place back and you roll through the rest of the game.

No matter what the situation is you MUST be able to compete without your best.  That is exactly what our left handed pitcher did last night.  He was able to battle, not get too discouraged where he was unable to make pitches when he needed to.  There were specific times where he knew he needed to get a little extra focus to get out of a jam and he dug down deep and made it happen.  This is something that is not always easy to learn or to deal with for young professional pitchers, but it is a huge part of their makeup and will allow them to play at higher levels and increase their chances of becoming big leaguers some day.  Very rarely will a pitcher feel absolutely perfect on the mound.  We want to strive for that but not let it discourage us or beat us up if we don't get that each time out. 

Ok, all for now...just a friendly reminder from your friend here at Passion for Pitching.  Hope all is well and happy pitching!!!

Attention to Detail

As I spend more and more time down here in Extended Spring Training there is one main focus these kids are missing and that is attention to detail.  Being specific and having attention to detail is a major factor in whether people become successful at whatever the endeavor.  When you go out and work on whatever it is you want to do in life there must be some sort of attention to detail.  Some people would say sense of urgency, some people would say desire, some people would say motivation.  But in the end you can have all the desire and motivation in the world but if you don't have an approach and a way to direct that desire and motivation then it is going to be tough to evolve into the professional you would like to be.

The examples for attention to detail are fairly simple when you are a coach in Extended Spring Training.  Each day I walk around and observe the pitchers I work with, I focus mainly on their approach.  If these pitchers got drafted and were able to be good enough to have someone notice them and give them a shot to make it to the big leagues, then you would think there shouldn't be a reason why they struggle so much when they get into an organization.  But then as you walk around and watch these young guys you can see why they do struggle.  There is no real direction to their process and their workouts.  The attention to detail is lacking.  This is not saying that it is a fault of anyone because if you haven't been exposed to these type of experiences in your life then how would you pick up attention to detail.  If you are the best in your city all of your life and you really are never challenged on a daily basis in competition, then one could understand why there would be a lack of attention to detail.  But now, since you have a chance to read this Blog, there should be no excuse and you should read these words very carefully.

Ok, so let's get into it then.  Attention to detail is having an awareness of what you are doing during your workouts and that you are not just going through the motions.  An example of this is when pitchers do their flatground work or especially their bullpens.  A lot of the time pitchers start throwing and have no real focus to their process.  They start throwing and don't have a consistent direction to the fastball.  It is up in the zone for most of the workout.  Then they move on to another pitch even though they never really accomplished anything with the fastball.  Now they start throwing the change-up and they slow down their motion to take speed off of the pitch.  Or perhaps they throw four or five in a row and never hit the strike zone with it and then switch to another pitch and just continue on like they are getting quality work done.  I am sure while you are reading this at home you are thinking to yourself, "yah right", but trust me, it is true.  Some of these younger pitchers never really ever threw bullpens or flatground work before.  Some of the kids out of high school threw on Tuesday and Friday night games and that was their work.  Add in a little long toss in between and they were golden.  When you are blessed with an arm and are not challenged as a young pitcher there really is no reason for these kids to have a clue about the process.  To be honest, I guess that is a good thing or they wouldn't need any coaches...lol!

I really didn't want to make this a long, drawn out blog but I did want to get a certain point across.  Know what you want to accomplish every day you are working on your craft.  If you are a pitcher and it is your day to throw long toss, then before you start, know what you are trying to accomplish in that specific workout.  And once you start the workout, be in the moment and focus on what it is you set from the beginning.  Do the best you can to not jump ship from the plan you.  Also, do your best to stay present and not forget what you are doing.  The attention to detail part kicks in while you are performing the actual workout.  So, again, if it is long toss that day and you want to work on the overall rhythm and movement of your body, then focus on that and make sure that that is what is happening.  The attention to detail is focusing on each individual rep and accomplishing what it is you are working on. 

The game of baseball is a very tough game.  The higher up you go the more guys that are there who look just like you and perform just like you.  You have to start establishing yourself as the one who works harder, who is more focused, who is more composed, who is more intelligent on the field, who self motivates and stays present from moment to moment.  In the end that is what really gets you a chance and it will create you more opportunities then the next guy.

Ok, done for now...hope everyone is enjoying the baseball season thus far!!  Go Cardinals!!!