(#127)
The key to winning games, especially big games, is to throw strikes. Sometimes you can overcome not throwing strikes, but you usually won’t. The data says they can’t get hits on every swing, so make them swing. Get ahead. Stay ahead. First pitch strike. Strike on the 1-1 count. Race to two strikes. Put the hitters into two-strike, protective mode. Make them hit what they don’t want to hit.
Throwing strikes is the sum total of mindset and release point. Just do it.
When a runner reaches base by any means, hit, walk, error, hit by pitch, etc., it is the pitcher’s responsibility to make sure the next hitter does not reach base on a walk. This is the fastest route to a big inning. No leadoff walks. No two out walks. No back-to-back walks. No walks after hits or errors. No walks on four pitches. No walks on four pitches after the previous hitter popped up on the first pitch. No walks unless we want to walk somebody. Certainly not 11 walks. This is the responsibility of the pitcher. The pitcher signed up for that responsibility. Nobody made him do it.
We pitched out of bases loaded jams twice in a 12-11 win. Tip of the cap to the guys on the bump who made that happen and got us out of the inning. However, loading the bases is a dangerous thing and most of the time it isn’t the opponents hitters alone that load the bases. Walks, errors, hit batsmen always seem to be a contributing factor.
You can tell by a player’s body language how things are going and how things are likely to turn out. The body language is the external indicator of what’s going on between the ears. Project the right body language and the brain believes it to be true.
I saw many extremes in body language… the look in the eyes, facial expressions, heads hanging, gestures, posture, tension… on both teams. Some were good, many were bad. If you just walked in the gate, you could tell what was going on by observing the body language of the players… or their parents.
Success comes to the players who can discipline their mindset to play the game one pitch at a time, expecting to be successful on every pitch or play. The odds are 50-50. You either do or you don’t, will or you won’t. So what’s the harm in only focusing on do and will. This factor separates the great from the good and the good from the bad. Failure will happen sometimes and doesn’t need your help or encouragement to do so. So look for the good. Expect the best. Each pitch of every game.
No matter how things are going, good or bad, this game is played one pitch at a time and hitters, pitchers, catcher, infielders and outfielders must reset to default on each and every pitch. What happened on the previous pitch is over and done with and the positive expectations of what is to come, renews on each pitch. That “default” is being very confident, highly motivated, and completely determined. Toughness. Doing everything mentally and physically as you have been trained to them. Disaster occurs when you can’t quickly let go of a bad swing, a bad play, a bad throw, a bad pitch, a bad call, and carry that over to the next pitch. The weight of carrying that stuff around becomes enormous. We see it all the time in every game, from all the players. But the tough guys show little emotion, no excessive dejection, no excessive jubilation and just play the game pitch-by-pitch and celebrate when it’s done. “Pressure” is self induced only because you are thinking about the wrong things.
Our opponent was preparing an excessive celebration with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and then 5 seconds later, they went into excessive dejection. Baseball is a cruel game. But it’s a great game… a great teacher. It ain’t over until it’s over or until the fat coach sings.
There is always a 50-50 chance for success on each pitch. You do or you don’t. You will or you won’t. On each pitch. Or perhaps some have the mindset of “there is a 50-50 chance of failure on each pitch.” 🙂 You’re gonna get what you’re looking for, so you might as well look for the good. It works “gooder” that way. And it’s easier to expect success than it is to expect failure. But either way, you’re a prophet.
Your performance tends to gravitate towards the expectation. You and only you can control the expectation. Baseball is a game where you must always believe you can, but understand that sometimes you won’t. Evaluate, adjust, reset, next pitch. A simple formula.
Now, about the awesome walk-off home run:
I was concerned when trailing by a run in the bottom of the ninth. I wasn’t sure about the mindset of our hitters. The relief pitcher was attacking the strike zone and having great success with a wicked slider in the previous inning plus.
However, he walked the lead-off hitter in the ninth. I repeat… he was in complete control and then walked the leadoff man to start the bottom of the ninth. It was a great plate appearance for our leadoff hitter. Not a good start for him and them. (The hitter was actually the six-hole hitter, but every hitter leading off an inning takes on the role of “the leadoff hitter.”) And he did what leadoff hitter’s do; make the pitcher throw strikes and take a walk if he doesn’t… a lead-off walk, the tying run is on base).
I made a comment on the lefty hitter coming to the plate for us, how he projected himself in a “pressure situation” by calmly strolling to plate with great body language and presence. His head was up, his eyes showed confidence, his posture was strong. He wasn’t scared or distracted. He was called on to sacrifice bunt the runner into scoring position and did it. A piece of the puzzle.
By the way, thinking about pressure is just wrong thinking. It is “self-perceived” pressure. The focus should be only on the task at hand on this particular pitch, the present moment, then the next, then the next, etc. That is how some people seem to thrive on pressure situations. It’s just another pitch. 50-50.
With one out, the tying run at second and the winning run coming to the plate, these things crossed my mind: 1) This guy, our leadoff hitter, looks very confident and determined as he came to the plate, like he wanted to be there, just like our first two hitters in the inning. Something good is in the cards. 2) He was already 3 for 4 in the game with a couple of RBIs. 3) In his previous at-bat he lined a RBI double into the left field gap. 4) He has hit 11 homes on the season, one behind our team leader who hit his 12th in the bottom of the first. 5) First base is open. Perhaps they will walk him intentionally and go for two. That, however, would put the winning run on first with one out and would bring up a RHP-LHH matchup. The on-deck hitter had struggled in the series, going 0-8 with 5 strikeouts, but up until this point had been a solid, consistent hitter.
They chose not to walk him intentionally, but the pitcher quickly got behind the hitter, 3 balls and no strikes. That effective slider had vanished in the bottom of the ninth. Where did it go? Did he leave it in the dugout?
Certainly they will walk him now. No. He delivered a fastball strike on the 3-0 pitch, probably thinking the hitter would take a strike. He fouled it back. 3-1 count. Walk him now? No. Throw a slider on the 3-1 pitch. No.
He threw another fastball, even better than the one on 3-0 and the hitter hit it 410 feet just to the right of the center field wall for a walk-off, game winning, Region 23 Tournament securing, 2-run homer.
I’m not sure why they pitched to him they way they did or why they even pitched to him at all. But it was a very deserving walk-off win for us and a very deserving walk-off loss for them.
Did the hitter get the “green light” on the 3-0 pitch or did he decide to swing on his own. My rule was the 3-0 is always an automatic take until you get the hit sign. I suppose this is the rule for our team. I have noticed and commented throughout the season about the guys who never look for the green light on 3-0 and those savvy ones who immediately look into the dugout for say-so. And just like the green light some runners have giving them the freedom to steal a base when they think they can, the same is true for some hitters.
I think he did it on his own, not that there’s anything wrong with that. I believe he was being fearless in the moment and completely determined to get his barrel on a fastball and see what happened, which by the way is all you can do. He either would or he wouldn’t. Expect to. However, even screamers go right at someone, sometimes. The hitter has no control over that.
He got a fastball on the 3-0 pitch. In reality, it’s probably a great count to take a swing on, depending on the mindset of the hitter. Take it for a strike and it ends up being a good fastball you were hunting for, maybe the best pitch you would see. A great pitch wasted. By taking it for a strike, now there is only one more good pitch to hit before you had to go into two-strike mode, from selective to protective. The 3-0 count produces perhaps two great pitches to hit back-to-back and each will probably be fastballs; a high probability, unless you’re Barry Bonds.
And we know that every pitcher in the nation probably will throw a fastball and throw it for a strike (most likely right over the heart of the plate) on a 3-0 pitch. They can’t throw a strike on the 0-0 count or many other counts, but they can and most of the time do on the 3-0 pitch. Why not expect it and attack it with the barrel.
He got two great fastballs to hit, the second better than the first… and he did not miss it.
Why they didn’t throw a slider on the 3-1 count I will never know. I’m glad they didn’t. I’m glad I don’t know.
So 40 years later, I have changed my thinking on the 3-0 take sign. It probably needs to be situational, like with runners in scoring position and we need more swings to have more chances to knock them in while we have the opportunity, or assigned to certain hitters as part of their game plan, just like the fast base stealer who automatically has the green light.
But it has to be a good pitch to hit, the pitch you are looking for and a pitch that shows up just where you expect it to be, a pitch you can get your barrel on. And it has to a hitter with good real estate between his ears, one who is expecting positive results and not the one fearing the moment. I think I can. I think I can. Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right. It could be a game changer. Or a game winner!
Rick Clarke's Diary of a Mad Baseball Coach 