The Future of Baseball

WebBall.com - Challenge Essay #3

WebBall.com - Challenge Essay #3: "OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE
THE CENTRAL ISSUE OF INSTRUCTION

- Steve Englishbey, EnglishbeyHitting.com
It seems to me that the central issue is this: How does one go about creating optimum of near optimum performance in actual game conditions, and do this consistently? How does one go about practicing in ways that ways that would facilitate this? And what is it that one needs to take into game conditions that would facilitate retaining that which you have been practicing?

Within this central question are really two questions:

1. Are you in fact actually practicing in ways that would best help to facilitate the enhancement of performance in game conditions?
2. Assuming that this is indeed the case, why is this not 'showing up' in the actual game conditions?


The first question really has to do with things having to do with understanding the actual biomechanics involved that allow for optimal or near optimal performance. Simply put, whatever inefficiencies that you have that will impede your ability to hit the best pitching that you might face at whatever level that you are playing at, will not really be revealed when you are in the cage hitting against batting practice pitching.

Thus, I would argue that if you are not practicing in ways that promote the kinds of mechanical efficiency that you will most likely need against the top pitching you will face at your level, you are not practicing in ways that will best facilitate optimal or near optimal performance in game conditions.

But, for this article, I want to leave out the issues surrounding this question, and instead focus on the second question - why are my good swings that I have in practice not showing up in games?

About eight years ago, I was working as a part-time select team coach, and there was a particular hitter that really hit well in practice, and he practiced a lot, and took lessons regularly, and was very serious about trying to become a better hitter.

But......none of this tended to translate into his game performance.

My advice to him? Did I give him a long explanation as to why his mechanics were breaking down in a game?

No. I said this: 'When you go up to the plate I want you to think - seriously think - I DON'T GIVE A S*** ABOUT WHETHER I HIT WELL OR NOT.'

This seemingly counter-intuitive 'instruction' was given for a very simple reason: He had become OVERFOCUSED on what has been described by motor learning experts as 'outcome orientation'.

As opposed to having a 'process orientation'.

In batting practice, he was very much ' process ' oriented. Meaning he was all about trying to develop a ' sense of feel ' about what his mind and body were doing or not doing as he swung the bat in batting practice. The focus was on the kinds of feelings involved in creating good movement, and not so good movement. And the focus involved the kind of mental outlook, levels of arousal, concentration, etc involved in ' feeling ' this process by which he was thinking and acting as he swung the bat. (And I do mean to suggest that all of this kind of focus is of an explicit nature. No. Its both implicit and explicit, or conscious, and subconscious respectively.)

In batting practice then, the focus was on the process' by which he went about thinking thru the experience of 'being in the moment', i.e. the thinking involved in having an exclusive and concentrated focus on the mind/body engagement involved in 'feeling the process'.

In this situation 'outcome' is part of the process of course, i.e. there is feedback as to where the balls are going, if he was 'early or late', etc.

But, this was not the main or exclusive focus. The real focus was on body awareness and the kind of focus necessary to create this kind of 'getting inside' the swing process.

PROCESS ORIENTATION ABSENT

In game conditions this process orientation was nearly completely absent. In games it suddenly became an kind of anxiety ridden outlook that could be distilled into 'I need to perform now, I need to hit well, I've got to perform well.' etc., etc., etc.

This kind of thinking - thinking about the future, thinking about the performance, thinking about the outcome - was not at all how he was thinking when he hit well in the cage.

And I have known quite a few athletes that tend to suffer from this kind of over focus on the outcome when game time comes.

As opposed to taking the mind /body focus that they have when practicing ---the kind of mind/body experience that allows and facilitates the optimum or near optimum levels of focus, arousal, and engagement physical and mental processes that best allow one to eliminate or better control all the many external factors and distractions that have little to do with the kinds of internal processes that are really driving the process of good performance in games.


FOCUS BECOMES A HINDRANCE

This kind of over-focus on outcome can take the 'psycho-physical ' characteristics of what motor learning specialist Richard Schmidt referred to in his book Motor Learning and Performance as 'hyper-vigilance'.

This is a kind of mental and physical condition wherein the athlete has gone beyond his optimal level of arousal. Simply put, an optimal level of arousal and focus 'would be one that produces an 'attentional' focus narrow enough to exclude many irrelevant cues, yet broad enough to pick up the most relevant ones.'

By focusing too exclusively on the outcome of performance - that which is external to the process of getting into the 'here and now', the level of arousal and focus becomes a hindrance to performance. Which then leads to a kind of 'freezing up' of the mind/body.

As Schmidt writes 'They freeze because the decision-making ability of people in a hyper-vigilant state is severely limited do to an extreme perceptual narrowing and several other factors. Such a condition also degrades the physical control of movements, causing actions that are normally performed in a smooth and flowing manner under more relaxed circumstances to be stiff and halting.'

My experience - both as one who has actually 'been in the arena', as well as someone who works with a variety of hitters - is that aspects of the above, i.e. an over-focus on performance at game time can lead to subtle and not so subtle versions of this kind of 'hyper-vigilance.'


MITIGATING HYPER-VIGILANCE

How does one try to help mitigate against this kind of over aroused and 'out of focus' kind of mental state at game time?

One of the things that I try to do as an instructor is to try to get young hitters to understand certain fundamental components of the swing, i.e. things which I think underlie all good swings. The goal is to find ways to practice these components in ways that leads to both a greater cognitive and kinesthetic awareness of what these components are and what they 'feel like'. This is a process that is largely an intrinsic and internal affair ,which over time begins to operate as a kind of 'internalized coach' if you will. Over time and with this kind of practice and focus ,you are able to better understand what it is you are doing to create your best swings versus your less than optimal swings.

In developing an ability to take what you have been practicing into a game, you have to be able to take this 'internalized coach' into a game setting. And you have to practice in ways that best facilitate this kind of mental and physical focus, emphasis ,and concentration. This is not something wherein you are 'thinking too much' or overanalyzing the swing. To the contrary, it is much more 'emotionally neutral' and is much more along the lines of coming to understand better the mental and physical factors that are involved in your 'good swing'.

And the trick is to ONLY think about those factors in game conditions. And to be able to know how to control your mental and physical state in game that keep you within these parameters.

Exactly what these components are ,and how one would go about working thru this may be beyond the scope of this article. But one quick example would be a player who I worked with 'gave up' thinking about performance in the traditional sense, and instead concentrated on simply trying to swing the bat the in a game like he had been practicing and doing in batting practice. And 'think about the process' in a very similar fashion. By thinking about the process involved in getting off a good swing his performance actually improved.

In terms of development and in terms of transfer from practice to actual performance - this kind of 'giving up performance' can potentially be very beneficial to those who tend to be '5:30 hitters' instead of game-time hitters."

Josh Womack and Prentice Redman Bat Tricks

You Call This Baseball?

The New England Catching Camp» Blog Archive » You Call This Baseball?

You Call This Baseball?

I begin this post with a disclaimer. I run a program for catchers. I sleep, drink and eat catching. I look at baseball through the eyes of the catcher. I try to come up with ways that leagues can better help the development of their leagues catchers.

When I use the term Minors level in this article I am refering to ages 8-9, maybe some 10″s

I discovered a number of years ago one of the reasons that it is often hard to get enough kids to want to catch. At the Minors level, why would a kid want to be responsible for 20 runs scoring? Since the pitchers are still learning to hit the glove, and he is struggling to figure out how to catch the ball in the dirt, it is not uncommon for there to be 20 runs scored solely on passed balls. Why would a kid want to get behind the plate when he knows he’s going to “Let” 20 runs score.

Few kids get the opportunity to learn to tag on a fly ball when on third and score from there because the first pitch that goes in the dirt and gets by the catcher he scores. Actually in many games, every kids that gets on scores. And you call this baseball????

A few years ago the youth program in our town made the change that in the Minors there would be no scoring from 3rd on a pass ball. NO Scoring at all!!!! By the 2nd week of the season we were having games 2-1, 3-2, like real baseball, not 21-17 . It took the pressure off the pitcher and catcher to relax and have fun and not be so overly concerned about runs scoring.

The next season we made another observation. Our infielders never had the chance to make force plays. As soon a player got on first they player would “steal” 2nd, then “steal 3rd” and any chance for a force was usually lost. So we implemented the following rule change. No runner can move, even on a pass ball, until there are 2 strikes on the batter. Now there were many opportunities to make the force at 2nd or 3rd. And we even saw a few double plays that first year. We did have some coaches complain about the reduction in running. But then they have a very unrealistic view of base running at the youth level anyway. Here’s there idea of what happens when a runner gets on first.

Pitch crosses plate, runner goes,…sorta…catcher fakes throw, runner goes back to 1st….sorta….runner dances the jig off of first to bait catcher to throw,…catcher runs out from behind the plate very badly faking a throw…..runner goes back to 1st…sorta….catcher tosses ball to pitcher, runner must go back to first..,…yeah that was baseball.

Try that base running at the Babe Ruth Level on the 90ft diamond and the runner will be picked off every time. Why do coaches encourage all this unrealistic base running that in no way teaches anything that will be used once the player gets to the bigger field. Simple, the coach wants to win, and doesn’t care if the tactics he employs are not ones the kids will use at the higher levels.

No wonder our youth catchers have so much trouble making the throw at the big field. It’s bad enough that the throw is 42 feet farther then the small diamond, but as a youth player they have never been able to use the simple premise of..Runner goes..catcher throws. We have allowed our catchers to get caught up in the ridiculous game of cat and mouse coaches play on the base paths instead of just acting like a catcher and making the throw. Teach your catchers if they see the guy break, make the throw, don’t wait for the coverage to get there, make the throw. That’s real baseball. If the infielder doesn’t go to the bag because he’s not paying attention, then he will be the one that needs the instruction. If your centerfielder is paying attention then he will do what his job is and back up the play. That’s baseball!!!

Put in place rules that limit this joke called base running that has no other purpose then to run up scores at the expense of the development of young catchers and pitchers. I’m not opposed to teaching aggressive base running, stretching a single to a double, tagging up from 3rd on the fly to the outfield. But the ridiculous antics of some teams that run the bases in a manner that will only ensure they will be thrown out when they get to the higher levels needs to stop.

Learning the Pujols Approach

JUSTIN STONE TRAINING BLOG: Learning the Pujols Approach

Learning the Pujols Approach
Ok I'll admit, although I work for the White Sox, I've been a lifelong Cardinals fan. With that being said, players that work with me probably get tired of me talking about Albert Pujols in regards to the swing. One of the things I've been happiest with in talking to my players recently, is how successful their approaches have been at the plate.
There is much more to hitting than mechanics. Players need to understand their strengths and weaknesses, what a pitcher is trying to do to them to get them out, situations, and also how the count affects what they are looking for. Anyone that follows baseball knows the terror Pujols has been on to start the season. When I'm not working, I try to watch as many at bats of his as possible. One thing that I've noticed of Pujols, like most hitters who are in hot streaks, is he is not hitting out of his "zone."
"Zone" hitting simply means that a hitter does not have to cover all 17 inches of home plate all the time. No player is good enough to cover that much of home plate successfully. What hitters need to do is seperate what they consider their "hitter's pitch" from the "pitcher's pitch." If hitter's are patient enough to stay in their "zone" until they get two strikes on them, they are going to find that ball in the middle of the plate eventually. Here is how I know this. No pitcher at the ameatuer level is going to throw three balls on a corner in one at bat. I know this becauase big league pitchers can't do it either. The closest guy to doing so was Greg Maddux, which was why he was still pitching in the big leagues throwing 83mph at the end of his career. That being said, there will be a hitter's pitch in every at bat, or the pitcher walked the hitter. Hitter's just have to be patient enough to get that pitch. It may be the first pitch of the at-bat, or it may not be until later in the at bat, but in any case it will be there.
That is what has made Pujols so good so far this year, and in his entire career. He simply doesn't give in to the pitcher on a "pitcher's pitch." This makes the pitcher either force something into the heart of the plate, or walk Pujols. And Pujols has been patient enough to take his walks. Pitchers often comment that there is no one way to pitch to Pujols and I believe that is true. When Pujols has struggled in short stints in the past, it is because he finds himself trying to do too much and he begins chasing "pitcher's pitches" thus getting himself out. This is no different than most big league hitters. When they stay in their "zone" and try not to do too much, they hit "hitter's pitches." When they chase, they struggle, making their hitting zone much too large and too hard to cover and getting themselves out. Bonds and Manny (Steroids Aside) were also great at this. Here is a great quote by Manny in a recent ESPN article, talking about the pitch on the inner third of the plate, "I don't swing at that pitch unless I've got two strikes. And then I just try to foul it off." What Manny is saying, is the inner third is not a "hitter's pitch" for him, so he lets it go until he has to hit it.
A simple generic approach I have taught my hitters that they have raved about to start their seasons is that early or up in the count 0-0, 1-0, 2-0 or 3-1 I'm looking in a general area 3 or 4 baseball's in width. As I add a strike, 0-1, 1-1, 2-1 we add a baseball on each side, which is still excluding the corners (pitcher's pitches). Of course with two strikes, we have to cover the plate, plus some, and our approach takes us to looking for the fastball away. This general approach has slight changes from person to person based on their individual strengths and weaknesses. There are a dozen drills that we do working on this specific approach. I know it works, based on the feedback from my students and from watching Pujols tear the cover off the ball to start the year! The bottom line is that a "hitter's pitch" is something a hitter should hit hard 7/10 times while "pitcher's pitches" we may only hit hard 1 or 2 out of 10 times. What balls should hitter's be attacking? If a hitter can learn to stay in their "zone", hitting becomes a lot easier.

Statistics That Matter

 Statistics That Matter

There are a lot of details on “statistics that matter” that need to filled in. I hope these show notes are useful.

In the podcast, I mentioned that Pythagoreom formula to calculate winning percentage based on average runs per game. This is really called the “Pythagoreom Expectation” for winning percentage. Click here for some background on this from Baseball Prospectus.

The formula for winning percentage is as follows:

Winning % = (Runs Scored)^2 divided by ((Runs Scored)^2+(Runs Allowed)^2))

This formula is incredibly accurate in projecting winning percentage at all levels of baseball.

At the team level, there are 3 statistics that matter:

Win 3 innings

Have 15 Quality At Bats

Limit Walks + Errors < 6

These are by far the three most important elements of winning baseball and teaching players the right way to play baseball. This is the holy grail of statistics.

Winning 3 innings teaches players to compete relentlessly, inning by inning, at bat by at bat and pitch by pitch. It is really hard to win 3 innings in a game.

There are 4 ways to have quality at bats.

1 - Hit the ball hard, regardless of outcome. All line drives are hard hits. Hard hits also include hard hit groundballs and flyballs that force outfielders to retreat on the ball.
2 - Draw a walk
3 - Execute - sacrifice, advance the runner to 3rd, get a run home with less that 2 outs, hit & runs, squeeze, etc..
4 - Any at bat that consumes 6 or more pitches is a quality at bat - regardless of outcome.

A quality at bat is worth between .4 and .5 runs. Using the Pythagoreom Expectation, if you want to increase your winning percentage from 50% to 67%, you need to score 1 more run per game. This means your team needs to produce just 2-3 more quality at bats per game. Now, that is something that players can focus on and control - IF they understand what a quality at bat is.

Finally, walks + errors are the defensive mirror image to quality at bats. When you walk batters and allow runners to reach base on errors, then you are giving away outs. Any time you give away an out - with a walk or an error - on average you cost your team .4-.5 runs.

So, if you want to reduce runs allowed by one run per game. Then, you need to reduce walks + errors by 2-3.

Those are the statistics that matter for the overall team. This is how you can teach baseball and win games at the same time.

For individual players, the statistics that matter focus on things that are more within the players control.

Here is what I use:

On-base percentage - this the only conventional measure that I care about. You need to get on base in order to score runs. A good target in youth baseball is >450.

Quality At Bats - this was explained above. The target should be >60% quality at bats, with at least 40% coming from hard hit balls. These numbers are hard to achieve. Most players will be at 50% and 30% respectively.

Walk:Strikeout Ratio - this is the only measure on pitch selection that I have found that can be used effectively in youth baseball (this is because there is no record of pitch location). If a player has good pitch selection, he should be swinging at strikes and taking balls. A player without good pitch selection takes strikes and swings at balls. I want players to walk 1.5x more than they strikeout. Strikeouts are OK, as long as the hitter is aggressively swinging at good pitches and laying off bad pitches. You’ll notice that players that are struggling will be striking out more than they walk. This is a pitch selection problem.

Runs Created is the ultimate measure of hitting production. It is a complicated formula that takes into account the relative value of different at bat outcomes. Click here and click here if you are interested in the background and details of how this formula is applied in professional baseball. If you want to use outcome based performance measures, then throw batting average out the window and use Runs Created.

Here are some articles on Runs Created - Article 1 and Article 2.

Over the years, I have made some adjustments to the Runs Created formula for youth baseball. Here is my version of the formula, based on a 6-7 inning game.

RC =((Hits+Walks)*(Total Bases + ROE) + .26(Walks + ROE) + .52*SAC)/PA

RC/6 innings = RC / ((PA-BB-ROE-H)*18)

RC/7 innings = RC / ((PA-BB-ROE-H)*21)

ROE = reach on error (in mlb, the hitter is not given credit for ROE. In youth baseball, a lot of errors are created by hard hit balls and hustling runners. So, hitters should get credit for ROE)

Walks = includes walks and HBP

PA = plate appearances

Again, Quality at Bats are by far the most important stat to use for youth players. If you must use a outcome based measure than use On-Base % and Runs Created. They are much more meaningful than batting average.

For pitchers, the statistics that matter are:

% Strikes - because we want pitchers to keep the game moving and force the other team to swing the bat.

Pitches per inning (3 outs) = because we want our pitchers to be efficient and protect their arms

Opposing team On-Base % - Calculated as (walks + hits)/batters faced

Runs Allowed per batter faced - what percentage of batters that the pitcher faces end up crossing the plate. This is a lot more meaningful that ERA for youth pitchers.

At the more advanced level, the following measures are important:

% First Pitch Strikes

% of batters that are on base or out in 3 pitches

% Offspeed strikes

Here are the target measures for the statistics that matter:

For hitters:

Good at bat %, Target >60%

OB % > .500

Walk:Strikeout Ratio >1.0

For pitchers:

% Strikes >65%

Pitches per inning <15

Runs Allowed per Batter Faces >.200

Opposing Team On-Base % >.350

First pitch strikes >67%

On or out in 3 pitches > 50%

Offspeed Strikes > 50%

Mental Selection Characteristics of MLB First Round Draft Choices

Mental Selection Characteristics of MLB First Round Draft Choices

Mental Selection Characteristics of MLB First Round Draft Choices

by Geoff Miller

WinningMind.com

Predicting success of Major League Baseball draft prospects is a difficult task. A multitude of factors
must be considered by baseball organizations who pore over scouting reports, stat sheets, speed gun
readings and stopwatch times to find that crucial piece of information that can be used to find future
stars. Physical, mental and social factors contribute mightily to which players live up to their
potential.


The following is a review of the attentional and interpersonal characteristics of players selected in the
First Round of Major League Baseball’s First Year Player Draft.


Assessment of Draft Potentials:


Winning Mind, LLC uses TAIS (The Attentional and Interpersonal Style inventory) to directly measure
concentration, distractibility, decision-making, risk taking as well as general personality variables
like confidence, competitiveness, extroversion/introversion and communication style. TAIS has been
used with Olympic and professional athletes, Navy SEALs, the US Army Special Forces, and Fortune
500 executives. It has even been used to distinguish between multiple and single Olympic medal
winners.


Player Samples:


Data has been collected on potential draft selections from December 2000 to June 2002. Prospects
were given a paper and pencil version of TAIS and asked to complete the inventory with the purpose
of providing a mental performance evaluation. Hundreds of high school, junior college, and
collegiate players were evaluated over that time period and twenty-six were eventually selected by a
Major League team in the First Round of the 2001 or 2002 MLB First Year Player Draft (their average
age was 18.80 years). We examined the TAIS profile data on this group of First Round Picks and
compared it to a randomly selected group of thirty picks who were evaluated and selected later than
the First Round in those drafts. The average round in which these players were selected was 8.87 and
the second group’s average age was 18.96.


A Blueprint for your Scouting/Player Development Process:


We have constructed a composite profile for the typical MLB First Round Pick. This composite
becomes a benchmark that may be used to measure future baseball talent scientifically. The data has
value in three different ways:


1. Compare top physically talented prospects against the MLB First Round Pick group to confirm
their mental toughness characteristics. Red flag prospects who have physical tools, but
don’t have the mental tools to make an impact at the Major League level.
2. Compare lesser physical talent against the group to find out which players have the
potential, based on mental makeup, to develop into Major League talent.
3. Pinpoint developmental targets for all prospects. TAIS profile data acts as a roadmap that
shows how athletes can improve performance. We can tell where players will make
concentration mistakes, how they will respond to coaches and staff, what their work habits
may be like, and how they will perform under pressure.


Characteristics of MLB First Round Picks:


Overall, the typical MLB First Round pick exhibits greater mental and emotional control and makes
better transitions than the average MLB prospect. The First Rounder makes fewer concentration
mistakes, makes quicker decisions, is more physically competitive, plays by the book and by the
rules more often, and uses a combination of awareness, analysis, and action to his advantage.


Attentional Balance:


Everyone has a dominant attentional style (Awareness, Analysis, or Action) much like having a
favorite TV channel for viewing the world. That dominant style is the place we feel most comfortable
and the channel we “tune to” most often when we feel pressure. The dominant attentional style for
most elite athletes is Action, the traditional narrow focus that we associate with blocking out 50,000
screaming fans and executing physical skills. It’s also the quality used by athletes who are the first
ones in the clubhouse and the last ones to leave. People with a higher Action orientation are more
likely to take extra ground balls, show up for early hitting, engage in more rigorous conditioning,
because they have a need to roll up their sleeves and get things done.


MLB First Round Draft Picks reported that their dominant style was Action and that their least
preferred was Analysis. Great athletes don’t have a lot of time to engage in complex problem solving
and they are naturally less likely to be caught in their heads. However, the First Rounder group is
more attentionally balanced while players drafted later favor the Action channel more prominently.
Under pressure, the typical prospect is likely to overuse his ability to focus even if the situation calls
for awareness or analysis. In a pressure situation, the balance shown by First Rounders may help
them avoid “tunnel vision,” the downside of being narrowly focused, by staying aware of their
surroundings and thinking more clearly on the fly (i.e. Derek Jeter’s miracle relay against Oakland in
2001 ALDS).


Concentration Errors:


First Rounders make fewer mental mistakes than average prospects. There are three common types
of concentration errors. The first two are made when players get distracted by sights and sounds
around them or by thoughts in their heads. The third kind of error takes place when emotions get the
best of them and keep them from paying attention to what’s most important.
First round picks are least likely to commit concentration errors that are generated by too much
thinking. Any time an athlete is “in his head” thinking when he should be performing, he is internally
distracted. Bill Buckner’s infamous error in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series may have been the
worst concentration mistake ever. Buckner was obviously thinking about his steps to the bag before
he looked the ball into his glove. Athletes can also commit thinking errors by overanalyzing problems
that have simple solutions. If you’ve heard the term “paralysis by analysis”, you are familiar with this
kind of mental mistake. This is a common problem with well-rounded athletes who have strong
academic backgrounds.


Mistakes caused by paying too much attention to the environment are also rare in First Rounders.
Examples of these errors include hitters seeing infielders shifting or paying attention to extensive
mechanical movements by a pitcher (ie. Nomo’s windup) instead of focusing on the pitcher’s release
point. When a pitcher gets rattled by an opposing bench or when he loses a batter because he has
been too engrossed in holding a baserunner close, he has made a concentration error in his
environment.


The most common concentration mistake made by First Round Picks occurs when they become overly
fixated on one subject to the point of fixation. When this occurs, it becomes impossible to switch
attention between external and internal channels. Such a loss in flexibility is most often associated
with an emotion, usually anger or fear. For example, a pitcher gives up a home run and gets angry at
himself or begins to worry about his place in the starting rotation. The inability to control emotions
makes it more likely that his mistake will snowball into more mistakes. The ballplayer who makes an
error in the field after striking out at the plate may be experiencing the same problem. While reduced
flexibility errors are more rare in First Round Picks than in the average prospect, they remain the most
likely lapses your top picks will make and they should be identified as targets for improvement.


Decision-Making Style:


There is a dramatic difference between MLB First Round picks and average prospects in their
decision-making styles. Decisions can be evaluated in terms of two primary dimensions: speed and
accuracy, with low scores indicating speed and high scores tending toward accuracy. First Round
draft choices tend to favor speed over accuracy. Their lower scores tell us that they make faster
decisions than their peers. High scores on the Decision-Making Style scale indicate that athletes
need to have as much information as possible before committing to action. This is a common
symptom for elite golfers, whose collective perfectionism has them reading greens over and over to
ensure that they plan out a precise putting line. Pitchers who get caught in this frame of mind are
accused of “aiming the ball” or trying to be too fine. Athletes who report high scores on this scale
may demonstrate hesitancy when placed in fast-action situations. This would certainly have
implications for hitters, who have just tenths of a second to decide whether to swing at or take a
pitch. In the field, low scorers would get better jumps on balls and move into position more quickly.
Throughout the course of development, it is this ability to commit to quick decisions that aids First
Round Picks in their transitions from high school or college ball to professional competition and
determines their staying power in the Majors. People with perfectionistic tendencies don’t respond
as well to failure because they obsess over their mistakes which undermines confidence in future
endeavors.


Orientation Towards Rules & Risk:


This scale measures impulsiveness versus conformity. Lower scores indicate rule bound people and
higher scores are associated with persons who march to the beat of their own drummers. High
scorers exhibit creative, outside-the-box thinking, but can get in trouble because their willingness to
take risks defies societal standards (and sometimes laws of gravity!). Low scorers are more
conservative, but can become rigid in thought under pressure. First Round Picks are more
conservative than typical prospects and are more likely to exhibit “by the book” behavior when
placed in pressure situations. You are more likely to see First Round picks taking pitches outside the
strike zone and laying off “pitcher’s pitches” early in the count than prospects with more risk-taking
tendencies.


Confidence/ Leadership Style/ Competitiveness:


Confidence plays a critical role in performance situations. The more confidence a player has in
himself and his abilities, the easier it will be to stay focused on the right channel under pressure.
This is most important after a mistake has been made. All of your prospects are going to make
physical and mental errors as they make transitions to professional baseball. Confident players are
able to quickly recover from their mistakes and regain focus. Players without this confidence are
prone to repeated concentration mistakes and choking. The First Round picks we studied are a highly
confident group, more so even than world class athletes in other sports.
First Round picks are hands-on leaders who relish the opportunity to take charge. This characteristic
is needed for athletes to step up when called upon, but it can be tough to manage 25 players who all
have high needs for control. The typical first rounder will flourish on his own and will be able to
maintain his own training regiment without much supervision. Development targets should be aimed
at helping top prospects understand how to use their abilities to lead to maintain team chemistry.
Physical Competitiveness measures a person’s willingness to engage in physically demanding tasks.
High scorers play to win and maintain high standards of physical fitness. First Round picks have a
great desire to compete physically, even more so than the average baseball prospect. You can
expect First Round picks to keep score in non-competitive situations and to push themselves with
their own competitive standards, rather than simply on commonly accepted ones.


Summary:


At the moment of truth, elite performers must be able to maintain focus, control emotions, and
communicate effectively with teammates. MLB First Round Picks are less likely to make concentration
errors and more likely to exhibit mental and emotional control than the average baseball prospect.
Key characteristics of First Rounders include a reliance on Action, a healthy balance of all three
Attentional channels, a lower likelihood of making concentration mistakes, quick decision-making
skills, less risky behavior, and a high degree of Confidence, Leadership, and Physical
Competitiveness.


The true test of this data, and of the prospects themselves, will be to track the progress of drafted
players and see which ones do make an impact at the Major League level. We plan to continue this
research by keeping internal records of the success of the players sampled to this point and in future
data collection as well.


About Winning Mind:


Winning Mind, LLC (WM) has developed its reputation working with elite level performers in sport,
business and the military. All WM service consultants have advanced degrees and significant
experience working with clients on the cutting edge of performance requirements. WM has taken a
leadership role in the identification and measurement of highly specific concentration and
communication skills?skills that ultimately determine the difference between success and failure,
between winning and losing.
Winning Mind places a heavy emphasis on the ethical uses of its technology. WM has provided
selection, training and teambuilding services to Olympic and professional athletes, Military Special
Operations Units and Fortune 500 companies.
The Winning Mind process for providing selection information is to deliver information about each
player’s mental makeup that can be used to determine an appropriate fit for the organization.
Evaluation does not take a “thumbs up or thumbs down” approach. TAIS data is best employed as
part of a comprehensive selection and development program or as a key consideration when physical
talent and athlete motivation are equal between a number of candidates.

For More information Contact Geoff Miller at Winning Mind, LLC