| In many sports and athletic disciplines, the | | | | have every batter swing, miss and strikeout. |
| difference between a good performer and a | | | | Know that you have good teammates who will |
| great performer is mental toughness, intelligence | | | | track down those fly balls. If you are in trouble |
| and confidence. The same applies to baseball | | | | with people on the bases and no outs, focus on |
| hitting and baseball pitching, the two all important | | | | getting that ground ball, knowing your infielders will |
| aspects to baseball players and baseball teams. A | | | | turn the double play and get you out of the jam. |
| hitting slump or a pitcher who can't find the strike | | | | Believe that your catcher has done his homework |
| zone and get an out are both problems that can | | | | and knows what pitches would be best for you |
| almost always be solved with proper mental | | | | to throw. With 8 other teammates out there |
| techniques and strengths. In this article, the mental | | | | supporting you, take advantage of them and use |
| side of pitching will be discussed in order to | | | | them to your benefit. If you start thinking you're |
| maximize your results. | | | | alone and that it is all on your shoulders, in your |
| Think Success and Have Confidence | | | | striving to be "perfect" you will likely come up |
| Quite simply, those who do not believe in their | | | | short. |
| own abilities will not see the successes their | | | | Think Your Way through Situations |
| physical talent tells you they should have. If you | | | | Not every situation you will face will be the same, |
| think you will fail, that you will not throw a strike | | | | nor is every opponent you face the same. |
| or get a batter to fly out or swing and miss, than | | | | Different batters have different weaknesses, |
| chances are you will fail. You must believe in | | | | strengths and tendencies and different situations |
| yourself and trust your physical talents. Know | | | | call for various strategies. It is important to be |
| that you can hit the corners of the strike zone | | | | intelligent on the mound and think your way |
| and believe that even if you don't have your best | | | | through these moments. While you always want |
| stuff, you are still good enough to do your job | | | | to fall back on your best pitch in a tough situation, |
| effectively. | | | | remember that if your best pitch is a fast ball |
| Separate From Your Emotions | | | | inside, and a batter can only hit those pitches, it is |
| It is easy to let your emotions get the best of | | | | best to fool them with something else. Be |
| you on the mound. There are so many individual | | | | intelligent and always think through all the different |
| plays that can go against you, a missed strike call, | | | | situations you will face as opposed to treating |
| a bad play in the field, a mistake that a hitter | | | | them all the same way. |
| took advantage of for a home run. It is up to | | | | These are just some of the important mental |
| you, the pitcher, to rebound from this. Just like a | | | | aspects of baseball pitching; and many of these |
| poker player going on "tilt" a pitcher who loses | | | | same principles can be applied to baseball hitting as |
| control of his emotions can quickly self-destruct. | | | | well. Remember, at most levels of the game the |
| Do not let these bad moments get the best of | | | | talent across the board is fairly equal. The athletic |
| you. Have a short memory and focus on the job | | | | capabilities of different players only vary slightly. It |
| still at hand. If you throw a bad pitch that | | | | is the mental components that turn those athletic |
| somebody gets a hold of, focus especially hard on | | | | capabilities into pitching successes. |
| needing to get the job done before more damage | | | | There are plenty of players who squandered their |
| is done. If a strike is called a ball, focus on the | | | | 100 MPH fastballs by not being able to control it in |
| fact that the hitter will not always be lucky | | | | tough situations. Just the same, there are all time |
| enough to get that call. As soon as you get | | | | greats such as Greg Maddux who relied on their |
| angry, upset or distressed, you're taken out of | | | | craftiness, intelligence and their baseball training |
| your game and your performance will suffer. | | | | rather than domineering stuff to make a great |
| Trust Your Teammates | | | | career. Hone your mental toughness and follow |
| It is crucial to always remember that you are not | | | | these guidelines to see better results on the |
| alone out there on the mound; you must trust | | | | mound. |
| and rely on your teammates. You don't need to | | | | |