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Coach Sinacori

With the 2010 baseball season upon us, high schools, colleges, and spring training sites are geared up for the first pitch of the season. The mental and physical preparation of thousands of baseball players is now being put to the test and the boys of summer must be ready to compete at levels most cannot begin to understand. 

As cuts are made and teams are set, the build up of anxiety begins.  And, while anxiety never really quite disappears in an athlete, it is really that first pitch of the season that can be the most monumental to overcome for all.  But in truth it is not about the anxiety itself because in sports such emotion will always exist, but rather it is all about how we handle the anxiety that matters.  Basically, it comes down to training our minds and preparing our bodies to learn how to handle anxiety and pressure situations.

Anxiety all boils down to a simple little thing called preparation.  Preparation both physically and mentally will give a player the best defense against anxiety.  Preparation and practice of baseball skills gives confidence, and ultimately confidence gives the ability to overcome the overwhelming sickening feeling of high anxiety.  If you prepare yourself and work hard at anything in life that confidence that comes as a result will be the calming entity during the stressful times.

Hitters have historically made remarks as to how their first at bat of the game always turns out to be an out because they are so nervous.  Pitchers also reveal having a bad first inning and then say that they go on to settle down and pitch well.  At every level of baseball, at every outing of the game, anxiety, nervousness, uncertainty, and fear are all symptoms of getting ready to compete in the one-on-one battle between pitcher and hitter; which makes baseball like no other team sport. You can’t run, you can’t hide. You must face your opponent.  The most successful players are those who do not run away from the stress of the game, rather they welcome it, having accepted anxiety as part of the process, learning how to minimize the discomfort of it all, and not caving to the pressure.

Like anything else, even the sport of baseball, handling anxiety it is an art, a skill that takes some time for oneself to implement and master.  Remember anxiety will never be totally absent, but the way in which you learn to handle this pressure can certainly bring it to a minimum.  But, that being said, you have to be willing to practice learning how to do this, it is kind of like a test in school.  If you study hard you will feel confident which makes for less test anxiety.  But if you just want to pass the test with no studying and little effort, or if you expect to have no anxiety on game day with little preparation, then the odds are that you will over stress and possibly fail.

If you love baseball and want to be a great player, then your focus should be learning everything you can as to how to be the best at your game, and this includes not only the physical aspect of the game but the mental preparation as well, which means learning how to quiet the mind, and calm the nerves to be able to go on and attain success.  To be able to continue to be a success in the game of baseball, one must realize that it is a complete package of mental and physical ability.  To get to the Big Leagues one must know to refine and master both the physical and mental attributes of the game.  And while a large percentage of success in baseball is athletic and inborn, an even larger percentage is learned skills and the simple desire and drive to be successful.

Having the ability to react to a pitch thrown at great velocity requires great reaction speed. To place a ball in the strike zone with command of a pitch takes precise mechanics. These actions cannot be performed without relaxation. From head to toe, a complete sense of calm is crucial to success in the mental game of baseball.  Therefore, visualization is one very useful technique used by many MLB players. Going through each one of your actions mentally prior to actually doing them physically can be one great way to put yourself in relaxation mode prior to a game.

Years ago Oral Hershiser of the Dodgers broke the MLB pitching record for consecutive scoreless innings, and he talked about how he would visualize each and every pitch prior to going through his delivery. Some players have talked about slowing down all of their actions, some stretching out just prior to engaging mentally, while others take deep breaths or even talk to themselves. All of these are individual to each player and do not come without practice of each technique.

Performance anxiety is totally normal in sports. Do not think that you are weak or unconfident. Understand that there is nothing wrong with pre performance anxiety, but learn to control it instead of it controlling you. The number one way to control all anxiety is having a game routine.  An athlete’s daily game routine is the key to success. They know that their routine prepares them for all situations, hence eliminating some uncertainty or fear. It is like being completely prepared for an exam in school. There is no question about doing well, rather it is all about how much you will dominate the test. Keep it simple and stick to your strengths.

For the record, coaches, scouts and recruiters love to sit in the stands and watch a player rise up to a challenge in which fear is not an option.  These are the types of players that everyone wants.  Seeing a player relax to where he can let his abilities take over is a great strength for that player. Getting to that state of relaxation before the action takes place enables certain players rise to the occasion over and over in high pressure situations in which they always seem to clutch up in tight games.

Here are some quick tips for learning how to master anxiety:

For a pitcher, being in control of the count (working ahead), and keeping the hitter off balance and guessing (mixing pitches), while creating discomfort (pitching inside for strikes and off the plate for effect) are the winning ingredients to getting outs.

For a hitter, being aggressive (swinging at pitches in the strike zone), being comfortable in the batters box (taking quality swings) and instilling fear in the pitcher to not make a mistake (presence) will create the opportunity to make consistent hard contact.

Confidence is the key for both players.  And, again if you want more confidence, one great way to get it is in your preparation of the game. Physical and mental preparation will give you a great sense of invincibility.  So, practice, practice, practice . . . it really does make perfect.  Knowing the effort you have already put into the task always makes you feel more comfortable and confident with your abilities.  Success always brings confidence and confidence lessons anxiety and fear.  Prepare, practice, relax and bring your game to the next level.

The much anticipated return of Pedro Martinez to Yankee Stadium did not go so well for Pedro.  Although he seemed to have good “stuff” tonight, the only pitch that he truly commanded was his Changeup.  He did not pitch effectively inside as he did in the first game that he pitched, and he was missing up in the zone too often.  Like always, Pedro’s mound presence and will too win were there, he just was not sharp enough tonight to put it all together and pull it off.

Andy Pettitte, pitching on only three days rest, being an experienced horse come playoff time, did exactly what everyone expected of him.  It seems that every late October and early November that Pettitte’s game gets elevated.  The mental side that he possesses is as strong as anyone in the game.  Come playoff time Pettitte pitches like he is possessed.  On this night, Andy had good stuff, a great cut fastball, and attacked the Phillie hitters.

Tonight, for Pedro, his will to win and the added pressure of performing in a must win situation made his “stuff” good but his command bad.  Sometimes the bigger the game, the more pressure pitchers will feel to do more then they are capable of.  To be a great pitcher day in and day out, the challenge however is not to feel that pressure to win and succeed, but to bear down and focus on the strengths and do the things that got you there to begin with.  Just like Andy Pettitte did tonight, he stuck to his strengths and attacked the zone like he always does and did not succumb to the pressure. 

CONGRATULATIONS to the NYY!

The Phillies facing a must win situation in Game 5 came at the Yankees with their Game 1 ace Cliff Lee.  Lee pitched seven strong innings and once again dominated the Yankee hitters for most of them.  The command of his Fastball inside to RHH was outstanding.  The thing that impressed me about Lee the most in his second start was his ability to make numerous pitches down in the zone with his Fastball; whereas in Game 1 his concentration was more hard in and soft away, his Game 2 approach was more attacking down in the zone and making Yankee hitters put the ball into play more often.

A.J. Burnett was not sharp at all coming off of three days rest.  Every other Yankee starter that pitched on three days rest during this series seemed to not skip a beat, but for Burnett it seemed to greatly affect his focus and command.  A.J. was up in the zone with his Fastball all night and he was not getting that consistent sink of his Fastball that makes him so effective.  His Breaking Ball, which is one of the best in the game, was ineffective, and he was chased from the game after two plus innings.

Something to note is that at any level of baseball whether high school, college or professional, the location of your Fastball is paramount, and is by far the most important asset of a pitcher.  Fastball location is the ultimate equalizer when it comes to getting hitters out.  If you have good Fastball command, you can beat any team, any night, anywhere.

Be sure to check back with PitchInside.com for Game 6 Starting Pitcher Summary.

On a chilly night in Philadelphia, where the umpire had an extremely tight strike zone, there could have been a lot of excuses from both starting pitchers for not having success.  The adversity was being felt by both sides, but each of these pitchers persevered through the elements, and while things could have been a lot worse for these two starters tonight, given that this was neither of these guys greatest game, overall they each stepped up, hung in there, and pitched well enough to keep their team in a situation to succeed.

The Phillies came at the Yankees with Game 4 Starter Joe Blanton.  Blanton who was making his first ever World Series start against the almighty New York Yankees had a rocky first inning, and could have folded for the rest of the game right there and then,   but, instead Blanton went on to persevere, and settled in to pitch five additional quality innings.

CC Sabathia was pitching on three days rest after coming off of a dominant appearance in Game 1.  To the average fan, pitching on three days rest does not seem like that big of a deal, but it really is.  When you have thrown 230 plus innings during the season and every start you have made has been on a full five days of rest, changing up your routine is not easy on the body, especially when you are as big as CC.

Philadelphia’s game plan against Sabathia was to make him throw a lot of pitches and make him run deep counts to work him hard for each out in order to tire him early, which they were successful at doing.  CC was sharp in the middle innings retiring ten hitters in a row, and battled through sub par command all night.  It was a gutsy performance that led his team to victory.

The point of all this is that excuses are for the weak minded.  Never let one bad inning steamroll into several bad innings.  Stick to your strengths and stay in attack mode.

Be sure to check back with PitchInside.com for Game 5 Starting Pitcher Summary.