Napoleon might have been a good pitcher

The quote above is said to originate from Napoleon Bonaparte. Although his 5’6″ height probably would not have generated a high ranking by Perfect Game, his mindset might have made up for it if he took the bump on game day. The message of the quote for military officers, business competitors, and athletes alike is … if the other side is going to self-sabotage, the best thing to do is just get out of their way and give them the opportunity to do it.

After a season, ask any hitter the following two questions:

• What percentage of the time did the pitcher get you out by throwing great pitches in perfect locations the entire at-bat? and …

• What percentage of the time did you get yourself out by being too anxious, by swinging at a bad pitch, by being a little too early or a little too late, by not having or following a game plan, and/or by just a momentary lack of focus?

From personal experience, I would guess that the answer to the first question would be around 20% of the time and the answer to the second would be around 80% of the time.

Moral of the story: Hitters will overwhelmingly get themselves out more than the pitcher will get them out. If you are a pitcher, your time on the mound will become much less stressful and probably more productive when you change your mindset from “I need to get batter’s out” to “I’m going to give batters permission to get themselves out.”

If hitters are making that many mistakes, don’t interrupt them!

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