Here's an antidote to defensive errors & bad at-bats...
Ahhh man.
It’s happening again.
You’re taking your position and you’re hoping the ball doesn’t get hit to you because of a recent error, booted ground ball, or overthrow.
You’re walking up to the plate, and you have no idea what your plan is, and no belief that you have what it takes to beat the pitcher because you’re 0-4 and stuck on your past bad at-bats.
Or - you’re leaving the batting cage frustrated because you can’t find your swing, and no matter how many swings you take, your hand feels slower and slower.
Welcome to the biggest self-esteem-destroying sport on the planet.
Baseball.
Hey, no one said it was going to be easy.
But guess what?
Tomorrow, the Sun Rises.
Understand: our job isn’t to put in the work, and then feel entitled for the game to just unfold for you and to have everything go your way.
No, your job is to trust.
That’s it.
Trust that when you put in the work, the results will arrive when the time is right.
Plant Seeds
I call it planting seeds.
You want the fruit, but are you willing to plant the seeds?
Because without planting seeds, there are no fruits.
Daily swings in the cage -> seeds
Short compact swing -> fruit
Working your mental game and approach -> seeds
Confidence and instincts -> fruits.
Getting the work inside the weight room -> seeds
++ Bat speed -> fruit.
Training your pitch selection at Applied Vision Baseball -> Seeds
Off the charts pitch recognition skills -> Fruit
Seeds require great sacrifice.
Fruits require great responsibility.
An elite hitter is sitting in the tree shade today because of the seeds planted a while ago.
Don't dream of fruits.
Plant seeds, instead.
In others, each time you’re bummed out because you're in a funk at the plate, the ump made a bad call, or the coach didn’t put you in the lineup,
…Remember that that's like planting seeds, and then ripping up the roots out of the dirt to see if the plant has started sprouting.
You have to trust the process.
You have to love the game before the game can love you back.
It starts with having a short-term memory.
Short Term Memory
Clean the slate.
What happened in the past, stays in the past.
The only thing that matters now is the most important pitch of the game, the next pitch.
If you can get this part right if you can be and stay confident regardless of the outcome…
Lastly, if you can cultivate the belief that you have what it takes to beat the pitcher whether you’re 0-4 with 4 strikeouts or 4-4 with four doubles…
You will win at-bats and be the best competitor on the field.
Easier said than done? Sure.
This is why we have a library of training videos inside of Applied Vision Baseball that talk about these exact concepts to help remove the guesswork out of what kind of mental hitting, and defensive principles will help you to be more consistent on the field.
Do me a favor - share below a recent or memorable error, or bad at-bat.
I wanna hear your story and what you’re going to do about it.
Plant seeds
Be and stay a student of the game.
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