I have the advantage, not the pitcher

From the time baseball players are little, they hear the following …

“Baseball is a game of failure.  You can fail seven out of ten times and get to the Hall of Fame.”

“The best hitters only hit .300.”

“Batters are ignorant.  The pitcher gets to pick the pitch, the speed, and the location.  The batter can only react.”

All this is true.  However, nobody became successful at anything having an attitude of disadvantage.  Boatloads of research in the area of psychology proves over and over that people who believe that their success is determined by outside forces tend to offer more excuses for their failures and often give up much quicker than others.  

It’s hard to do sometimes but successful people tend to find a way to frame the situation so that they regain control of their environment.  Or at least the perception of control. 

Successful hitters can learn from this in order to not succumb to the “external locus of control” line of thinking.  

Here is how.

“I’m the batter and I’m in control.  The pitcher has to beat me with three pitches.  I only have to beat him on one.  I have it easier.  I can mess up and take a fat strike or foul a good pitch off.  No need to get upset.  He’s got to make two more good pitches.  I only need one.  This is my at-bat.  I have the advantage, not him.  Bring it.”

Raise your hand if you would kill to have all nine hitters in your lineup think like this.  

I thought so.

If we want them to think that way then we have to start teaching them to think that way.