The Mental Game Of Baseball

How important do you think your mental approach is to your baseball performance? If you are a high-level player, you know it is very, very important.

Bill Cole, a leading authority on sports psychology, peak performance, mental toughness and coaching, is founder and CEO of William B. Cole Consultants, a consulting firm that helps sports teams and individuals achieve more success. He is also the Founder and President of the International Mental Game Coaching Association, an organization dedicated to advancing the research, development, professionalism and growth of mental game coaching worldwide.

You know mental toughness in baseball is huge. I don’t like to put percentages on it, but you would probably agree that it is critical to your sustainable success.

When I was the Sport Psychology Coach for the Stanford Baseball Team they were ranked number one in the United States. We worked on mental toughness every day. We also worked on focus, mental preparation and building and maintaining routines and mental recovery strategies.

This article gives you five mental game of baseball strategies I used with the Stanford Baseball Team that you can use right away in your own game.

1.Learn To Control Your Focus

The most important part of the mental game is attentional control. Where you place your focus, in what way, and for how long is key. You need to learn how to choose the appropriate attentional cues so you keep your mind tuned in, not out. The mental game of baseball helps you know what these cues are.

2. Keep Your Mind In The Here And Now

Good baseball is played one pitch at a time. Do that and your mind stays in the moment, the now. One way to facilitate that is to have breath focus. The mental game of baseball helps you learn how to find your breath, track it, and allow it to center and focus you.

3. Stay Poised And Patient

You want to play aggressive baseball, but you also need to remain self-aware, and tuned in to what is happening around you. This is vital to being a plugged in player who makes things happen. The mental game of baseball helps you develop this fine-tuned personal awareness.

4. Develop Confidence And Self-Belief

If you don’t believe in yourself, who will? Everyone around you can tell you how good you are, but if you discount this encouragement, it will never enter your head and heart. The mental game of baseball helps you build an inside-out foundation of self-approval so your confidence flows.

5. Use Mental Rehearsal

Get a competitive advantage with your mind by playing the game in advance, using visualization. Go to the movies in your mind and mentally rehearse what you will be doing in competition. You can plan for contingencies, problems, or map out your strategy and see yourself winning before you actually do it. The mental game of baseball helps you use your imagination to great effect.

When I was at Stanford University we had a belief in our power, and in our destiny. The head coach would get up before a game and ask everyone, “You are about to go out and play in a major college baseball competition. Is there any other place you would rather be? Does it get any better than this?” The guys would then realize that it doesn’t get any better than playing the game you love. The mental game of baseball helps you realize this fundamental, game-altering truth.

I want you to succeed mightily in your baseball career. I want you to reach all of your baseball potential. The mental game of baseball can help you do that in a big way.

http://baseballua.com/2017/06/02/the-mental-game-of-baseball/ 

Latest results of the Ukrainian Baseball Cup

Matches of the Ukrainian Baseball Cup 2017 have been continuing. By now, teams have competed in the ¼ of the championship and showed great performance on the field.

Results of the 1/4 of the Ukrainian Baseball Cup 2017:

“BioTexCom- KNTU” – “Dgmeli”

9 – 0 *; 9 – 0 *;

BC “Poltava” – “Zahidnyy Vohon”

0 – 18; 1 – 15;

“Vorony” – “BioTexCom – SDUSHOR”

1 – 18; 2 -12;

“West Side” – “Sokoly”

12-3; 7 – 14; 26 -15;

*- Default loss

http://baseballua.com/2017/09/25/latest-results-of-the-ukrainian-baseball-cup/  

Ukraine Championship 2017, Major league, Pool “B”

The “East Vikings” and “CCYSS – Komunarivets” baseball teams have met on the field during the Ukrainian Championship 2017 matches.

Games were played in order to determine the 5^th and 6^th places in the standings of the Ukraine baseball championship, Division “B”.

Results:

“East Vikings” – “CCYSS – Komunarivets”

10-7; 6 – 15; 7 – 5

http://baseballua.com/2017/09/25/ukraine-championship-2017-major-league-pool-b/ 

MLB to Donate $1 Million to Support Relief and Recovery Efforts in Puerto Rico and Mexico

Major League Baseball announced a $1 million contribution to assist communities impacted by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and the earthquake in Mexico.

MLB’s contribution is being directed to immediate relief and long-term rebuilding efforts through a variety of organizations, including Habitat for Humanity, Project C.U.R.E., The U.S. Fund for UNICEF and more nonprofits to be named later.

Additionally, MLB will fund travel for physicians and other medical personnel as part of a special effort to provide direct medical assistance to affected communities.

Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr. said: “These devastating natural disasters have deeply affected the Baseball Family. Players from Puerto Rico and Mexico are an important part of the past, present and future of our game. We hope that our contribution will aid immediate and ongoing efforts during this critical time and the long-term recovery for the people of Puerto Rico and Mexico.”

http://baseballua.com/2017/09/25/mlb-to-donate-1-million-to-support-relief-and-recovery-efforts-in-puerto-rico-and-mexico/ 

“Ballplayer: Pelotero” (2011)

Ballplayer: Pelotero is a documentary film focusing on two Dominican Republic Major League Baseball prospects in 2009, Miguel Angel Sanó and Juan Carlos Batista.

The film is directed by Jonathan Paley, Ross Finkel and Trevor Martin, produced by Bobby Valentine.

The documentary follows young baseball players in the Dominican Republic who aspire to the major leagues.

Two top baseball prospects in the Dominican Republic face fierce competition and corruption as they chase their big league dreams. Hard-hitting sports doc examines the darker side of the recruitment of young baseball players in the Dominican Republic for the major leagues.

There is some background of which you may be unaware. Dominicans represent a staggering 20% of the professional baseball players in the United States, which accounts for the tremendous presence that Major League Baseball has in that tiny island country.

The potential for chicanery is rife, with players frequently lying about their ages, falsifying their identities, and rampantly taking steroids and other illegal substances. In this case, what starts out as an inspirational tale of two young hopefuls quickly becomes a backstage drama in which both of their potentially budding baseball careers become mired in controversy.

So this film is really worth seeing. Even if you are not a huge baseball fan!

http://baseballua.com/2017/08/10/ballplayer-pelotero-2011/ 

Ukrainian Baseball Cup 2017!

Ukrainian Baseball and Softball Federation has announced the schedule of the “Ukrainian Baseball Cup 2017” games.

“BioTexCom-KNTU” (Kropyvnytskyi city);

“BioTexCom – SDUSHOR-2” (Kropyvnytskyi city)*;

“Zahidnyy Vohon” (Rivne city)*;

“Sokoly” (Chernivtsi city);

“West Side” (Rivne city);

“Vorony” (Sumy city);

“BC Poltava” (Poltava city);

“Dgmeli” (Kiev);

“East Side” (Donetsk region);

*The final standings of these teams will be determined after the end of the 6th round of the Ukrainian Championship 2017, Division “A”.

The “Dgmeli” and “East Side” teams will play in the 1/8 Ukrainian Baseball Cup (16-17.09.2017).

The quarterfinal of the Ukrainian Baseball Cup will be held on 23-24 of September and the following teams will be on the field:

“BioTexCom-KNTU” – the winner of the 1/8

“BC Poltava” – the 2nd place winner of the Ukrainian Championship, Division “A”

III. “Vorony” – the 3rd place winner of the Ukrainian Championship, Division “A”

“West Side” – “Sokoly”

Semi-final (30.09.-10.10.2017)

 The winner (I) – The winner (IV)

The winner (II) – The winner (III)

Final (07-08/14-15.10.2017)

 The winner (V) – The winner (VI)

The strangest inventions in baseball history. Part 2

We continue to talk about strange innovations series.

"Baseball cap with interchangeable logos" (Richard C. Soegel, 1996)

Everybody has their favorite team - the one you grew up with, the one that you'll be loyal to forever. But what if your heart is big enough for two teams? What if your favorite team has been eliminated, and you want to devote yourself to another cause for the rest of the season? Well, then this hat is for you:

The idea is simple: Per Soegel's patent application, it's "a baseball cap configured to permit different logos to be interchangeably positioned on the cap." The logos themselves are outfitted with a hook fastener to allow for easy removal and application - if you'd like your Yankee cap to suddenly morph into a Rangers cap, just take one logo off and swap another on.

Read more about the strangest inventions in baseball history in our next publications.

http://baseballua.com/2017/09/14/the-strangest-inventions-in-baseball-history-part-2/

Unknown baseball rules!

The world is changing and so does baseball. But it wasn’t always played as we know it today as baseball rules have undergone some changes over the time.

For instance, batters had the right to request a pitch from 1867 to 1887. Better could request a high (from belt to the shoulder) or low (from the knee to the belt) pitch. And the pitcher had to obey. Thus, it could be observed high effectiveness during games.

Fly balls and foul balls have changed over time as well. Until 1864 fly balls caught after the ball rebound from the ground. And foul balls were served in the same way until 1883. This may seem strange to baseball fans today, but bounce rule was necessary for baseball players. It allowed them to prevent injures while they were trying to catch the ball with their bare hands. Subsequently, the rules became tougher, and catching the ball with a rebound from the ground turned just into a child's game.

Fly balls, however, till 1883 were performed underhand (like a throw in a bowling game). Tommy Bond was among pitchers, who started to throw the ball in a regular way, which allowed to increase speed and improve movement in general.

Being concerned about the lack of scoring, the owner of one of baseball club’s proposed to allow bats to be flat. His suggestion was adopted in 1885, along with changing of the pitcher’s base placement. Number of runs began to increase! But in 1893 bat regained its previous form. It was made due to the frequent breakdowns which require financial costs. 

Walk = Hit. During 1887 playing season, situation when there were four balls with the better's transfer to the first base, was counted as an at-bat. Except the statistics, this rule affected anything.

Until 1920 pitchers use everything they could imagine to make the ball fly in unpredictable ways. Thus they spit on it, use mug and soap and called such balls spitballs. Gradually, there was a ban on the spitballs and the last of them was illegally brought to the field in 1934.

Home-run has also its own historical formation. In the 19th century there was no concept of the out of the field ball. It was necessary to return the ball to the base. Historians even give an example when, after a throw, the ball flew over the fence of the field and fell into the river. Outfielder rushed after it, got into the boat and began to catch up with the ball! And then, even when the ball bounced off the ground and flew out of the fence (modern ground-rud-double) it was considered as a home run.

And in conclusion a few words about umpires. It was truly outstanding to be an umpire at that time! Usually they were chosen among the most authoritative and respectable residents of the city. During the game, umpires were given comfortable chairs and received tasty food with the largest glass of beer. They were even provided with fans on hot days!

Swedish Elitserien: Rättvik, Sölvesborg reach finals

The Sölvesborg Firehawks and the Rättvik Butchers have reached the finals of the Swedish Elitserien.

Both teams won their best-of-three semifinals 2-1. Sölvesborg beat defending champion Leksand Lumberjacks 5-3 and 9-7 after losing game one 0-4. Rättvik won game one against Sundbyberg 6-4, then lost the second 2-1 before winning the rubber match 5-2 en route to the finals.

Results:

2017-09-02 Home – Away                    Score                              

Sölvesborg – Leksand                  0         -          4                        

Sölvesborg – Leksand                  5         -          3                        

Sundbyberg – Rättvik                  4         -          6                        

Sundbyberg – Rättvik                  2         -          1                        

2017-09-03 Home – Away                    Score                              

Sölvesborg – Leksand                  9         -          7                          

Sundbyberg – Rättvik                      2         -          5                             

French Division I: Montpellier, Montigny join Rouen and Senart in Semifinals

After a month-long break due to the U23 European Championship and the Universiade 2017 the French Division I resumed play this weekend with the best-of-three quarterfinals.

The Montpellier Barracudas downed the Savigny Lions 17-7 and 9-5 to sweep their series 2-0. They now will face the Templiers Senart in the semifinals. In the second semifinal the Rouen Huskies will take on the Montigny Cougars. The Cougars prevailed 2-1 over Paris UC in their quarterfinal. Montigny won game one 6-5. In game two PUC tied the series with a 3-1 victory. In the decisive third match the Cougars dominated with a 15-5 blowout.

Rimini routs San Marino to get up 2-0

“ASD Rimini” is one win away from winning the championship in the Italian Baseball League.

This weekend they dominated game two of the Italian Series 15-5 against “T&A San Marino”. They took a quick 6-2 lead after three innings. Eight runs in the ninth provided the final blow to seal the blowout win after “San Marino” had cut the deficit to 5-7 in between.

http://baseballua.com/2017/09/04/rimini-routs-san-marino-to-get-up-2-0/ 

Dutch Hoofdklasse Playoffs: Curacao Neptunus moves into 1st with win over L&D Amsterdam

“Curacao Neptunus” moved into sole possession of first place in the Dutch Hoofdklasse semifinal round with a 7-3 win over “L&D Amsterdam” last weekend.

Three runs in the first and four in the seventh gave Rotterdam a 7-0 lead before the Pirates woke up with three runs in the last two frames. Gregory Muller led the way with three hits, a home run and four RBI. Robin Schel got charged with the loss.

Meanwhile the Hoofddorp Pioniers lost 8-15 against HCAW. Nine different HCAW players scored a run. Lars Huijer got charged with the loss. Dudley Leonora had four RBI in the losing effort.

http://baseballua.com/2017/09/04/dutch-hoofdklasse-playoffs-curacao-neptunus-moves-into-1st-with-win-over-ld-amsterdam/ 

Italian Series: Rimini takes Game one over San Marino

ASD Rimini has won game one of the Italian Series on Friday evening and taken a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series.

They defeated T&A San Marino 2-1. Jose Rosario pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings to lead the Pirate to the victory. A two-run single by Ricardo Bertagnon in the top of the fifth eventually made the difference. San Marino only was able to score once – in the eighth inning after a RBI single by Mattia Reginato. Carlos Quevedo got charged with the loss.

http://baseballua.com/2017/09/04/italian-series-rimini-takes-game-one-over-san-marino/ 

Dutch Hoofdklasse Playoffs: Curacao Neptunus beats L&D Amsterdam on Thursday evening

Curacao Neptunus Rotterdam beat L&D Amsterdam 6-3 on Thursday evening as the semifinal round robin in the Dutch Hoofdklasse resumed play with round three.

Rotterdam improved to 6-1, while Amsterdam dropped to 5-2. Curacao Neptunus erased a 0-3 deficit by tying the game in the sixth and breaking the tie with a Dwayne Kemp run after a wild pitch in the seventh. They added two more in the eighth and sealed the win.

Jan Tomekearned the win with 3 1/3 strong innings of relief. Dennis Burgersdijk got charged with the loss. The second scheduled game of the night between the Hoofddorp Pioniers and HCAW got postponed until Friday due to rain.

http://baseballua.com/2017/09/04/dutch-hoofdklasse-playoffs-curacao-neptunus-beats-ld-amsterdam-on-thursday-evening/ 

Ernesto Martinez promoted to Arizona Summer League

18-year-old Ernesto Martinez, who got signed out of France this summer, got promoted to the Arizona Summer League by the Milwaukee Brewers.

The first baseman batted .257/.419/.434 with three home runs and 17 RBI in 38 games in the Dominican Summer League in July and August.

Martinez was the star of the Cuban team during the 2014 U-15 Championships, batting .465/.477/.698 with 5 doubles, 11 runs, and 13 RBI. He left Cuba shortly after that to join his father, who was playing professionally in France.

Martinez also was the youngest member of the French National Team during the 2017 World Baseball Classic Qualifier.

http://baseballua.com/2017/09/01/ernesto-martinez-promoted-to-arizona-summer-league/