Hitting Emotion: What is Your EQ?

(photo credit: bamboo-inspiration.com)

Baseball is a sport whose athletes thrive on emotion. Those who control their emotion win, those who let it control them, lose.

A hitter’s IQ is important, but not as important as his EQ: emotional quotient. This is the mental game.

Acquiring a strong EQ means maturing as a person, as a leader. Hitters that complain, pout or show negative body language are focused on recent and past failure, and are scared that the future will hold more of the same. Hitters that throw equipment or shove their helmet into the rack might be worried that they aren’t good enough or cannot make an adjustment.

Know this: the moment that a human definitely commits one’s self to a growth mindset, everything changes.

When that commitment comes, three concepts will be applied.

It takes patience to trust the process. It takes serious passion to work hard enough to trust that process will pay off. If you don’t have patience, passion AND a work ethic, you will likely be a roller coaster ride of success.

So, how high is your EQ?

Nothing is more common than unfulfilled talent. It takes a high EQ to fulfill your talent. So many hitters have average ability, and top notch EQ, and they get the job done at a high level. They are always on base and execute big swings. So why does talent fail? Talent fails when it listens to fear, doesn’t work hard enough, doesn’t trust the process, and doesn’t hit with passion. We need all three.

Lots of hitters try to hit well. They show up. They hit a lot. They work on their swings. The best prepare their minds to be relentless, aggressive and confident while they prepare their bodies. When the game challenges them, their minds are ready, and they are in control of their bodies to put their best swing on the ball.  

The difference between preparing well, and preparing well enough to win, is small. When cooked to 211 degrees, water is simply very hot. At 212 degrees, that hot water produces steam that can power a locomotive. One degree is the difference.

Perhaps the greatest example of patience and process can be found with the giant timber bamboo. It must be watered daily and requires lots of water to grow. In the first three years, a planted giant timber bamboo seed does not grow one inch. Then, in the third year, it will grow 90 feet in 60 days. One must be passionate, process oriented and patient to grow giant timber bamboo.

You see, it’s not just what we do, it’s how we do it that matters. Tee work, drill work, mirror work, video work, machine work, live throwing, soft toss, front toss. If we do not prepare the mind during each of these activities, we miss out on our extra one degree. 

Adjustment Making

(photo credit: sportsrants.com)

Hitting success is not about doing one thing well. Great hitters fine tune their swings, work relentlessly in the cages, and they play with confidence. Most importantly, they make adjustments quickly.

One of the greatest compliments a coach can pay a hitter is that he makes quick adjustments. Adjustment makers at the plate know what they do well, and know how the pitcher will attack him (dependent on the pitcher's stuff). When you are struggling at the plate, or get out with a certain pitch type or location, expect to see that pitch again. Did you get roasted on a fastball in? The first or last pitch of your next at bat will likely be the same pitch. Popped up on breaking ball away? Expect to see that same pitch early or late in your next count.

Conversely, once you establish a track record of high level success, smart pitchers and pitching coaches will try the opposite. If you're Miguel Cabrera, and the pitcher roasts you inside in your first AB, you may sit on a fastball away your next at bat. That pitcher expects a great hitter to make an adjustment, and works to confuse him by throwing the opposite.

This isn't over-thinking. This is simple human behavior.

Bad hitters get themselves out the same way over and over. They are fearful of missing a pitch. They are distracted by much, so they are committed to nothing.

These hitters don't know who they are. To be the best hitter you can be, you must be real with yourself. Sure, you want to be a doubles, triples guy...but you aren't...yet. So, understand that pitchers are going to attack you with fastballs, particularly in, until you show the ability to hit that pitch hard.

Many hitters don't know who they are, and no one has helped them identify who they are, so they simply look for what they want to hit (usually a fastball down the middle). Hitters who don't know who they are often have been taught or have learned to have an approach that actually minimizes success by maximizing contact, albeit weak. Envision the compact, linear hand path mechanics with an approach that says hit the ball up the middle. Stay back. Hit the top of the ball. Vomit.

Coaches must help hitters understand their physical limitations (if any) and help that hitter, encourage that hitter, to have swing mechanics...and approaches, for goodness sake, that match those mechanics.

This is adjustment making of a different variety. Truly, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, that's idiocy. I say this not out of cynicism, but rather from a perspective that we can and should work smarter than this.

Here are a lists of types of adjustments that hitters can and should think about making:

1.) Grip: so many young hitters simply pick the bat up incorrectly.

2.) Separation: a Porsche 911 Turbo GT cannot accelerate from 0 to 60 in 20 feet. Acceleration requires space. Create separation to allow for the creation of bat speed.

3.) Load and stride tempo: If you load quickly, you will hit inconsistently. If you load too slowly, your body will stop movement at the furthest most point of separation, and you will struggle to re-accelerate your bat. A body in motion stays in motion.

4.) Pre-at bat body language and self-talk. No one wants to coach or be an energy vampire: they suck.

5.) On deck routine: establish one that promotes positive energy, a cohesive and committed plan, and swing mechanics that will actually be used in the at bat.

6.) Box position. Standing in the same place in the batters box every pitch is as brainless as never swerving to avoid an accident. In life, we must position ourselves for success. Pitchers make the ball sink, run, dive, they attack us in, they pitch up in the zone, they pitch down in the zone. Make adjustments.

7.) Track your at bats. If you don't take notes in class, you won't do well on the test. Our memories are very, very poor at recall without practice.

Swinging vs. Hitting

                                                                                             (photo credit: nytimes.com)

Too many hitters work on their swing, but not on hitting. What's the difference?

Swinging is mechanical. Most hitters work on their swing in the cages. They think about their mechanical flaw, take fifteen swings in a round, and aim to put in reps. The velocity . This is swinging. This is preparing to have a better swing. Your swing will follow your approach.

Hitting is not just in the game.  Hitting is not just in the game.

Hitting is when you prepare mentally for your next pitch. You are engaged in competition, in battle. You are relaxed...but fighting like mad. Hitting happens when front toss or live thrown pitches have a velocity that becomes stressful. Stressful velocity means you cannot simple see the ball and hit the ball. You need a plan. What am I on time for? What will I take. Creating this type of an approach/energy combination...this is what hitting in practice should look like.

Hitting in the game provides stressful opportunities and challenges in which to compete and learn. During practice, every hitter should provide more of those game-on-the-line opportunities in their mind's eye.

Smart preparation gives a hitter confidence. Confidence under pressure allows that hitter to see the ball better, and for his muscles to be relaxed enough to be quick and fluid.

Cage hitting, front toss, soft toss, tee work: these are all enhanced with competitive breathing, game-like routines and pace. Take your time. Visualize your pitcher, his uniform, his mechanics and his release.

Work on hitting as much as you work on your swing. You know you won't be able to think about your swing in game. If you have prepared to compete, your swing will take care of itself.

Great hitters can create that competitive energy required in game, during their pregame or preseason routine.

College and high school hitters should emulate much of what a big leaguer does, but they must prepare differently in relation to the types of repetitions they take.

Their is a time to work on the swing, and their is a time to work on hitting. Try splitting up your reps 50/50 this week, and you may find that you are more physically and mentally prepared. 

Get Tough: Change and Grow

                                                                           

                                                                          (photo credit: bellinghamdistanceproject.com)



Everyone wants to be tough.

Many show toughness in small chunks, but they just aren't consistent.

We admire those who are consistently tough. They are relentless mental assassins. They assassinate negative thoughts. As the eloquent Macklemore wrote in his song titled 10,000 hours, "the greats weren't great because at birth they could paint; the greats were great because they paint a lot."

Malcolm Gladwell outlined the 10,000 hour theory in his book Outliers. You want to be a master at your craft, you say? For most, it takes an accumulation of 10,000 hours of training in that skill. The greats usually started young, but it's never too late to accomplish something great.

Mental conditioning is just like strength conditioning, you have to do something to get stronger. When lifting weights, muscle tissue that gets broken down repairs and regrows as bigger and stronger muscle (when observing proper rest, hydration and nutrition). Likewise, mental conditioning requires "breaking down" of our attitudes. Fortunately, this happens every day! We all have bad thoughts, attitudes and ideas. The key is knowing what to do with them, surrounding yourself with the right equipment, and growing!

Weight lifters can't have the same weight routines without reaching a plateau. The same is true in mental conditioning. We all must challenge, change, seek new knowledge, surround ourselves with new mentors, read new books, buy new audio tapes, and disable the systems that limit us.

Sometimes, growth cannot occur until we rid ourselves of our limiting beliefs or negativity that surrounds us, i.e. negative friends, co-workers, TV shows, movies, commercials, etc. These are all advertisements for our attitudes. If you're consciously working to become tougher, you've got to get rid of the junk.

Imagine you were working to lose weight, so you began lifting weight and running. But you kept drinking soda and eating potato chips. Eating healthy 80% of the time will get you marginal results. Thinking positively and aggressively 80% of the time will bring the same average results.

When you want to get tough, you must fear average.

Here are a few resources for improving mental toughness:

briancain.com
tonyrobbins.com
mentalgamevip.com
jongordon.com