THE MENTAL GAME

What we are going to be doing during this session is discussing the power that you can get by simply visualizing yourself as a successful pitcher in real game situations. The more I work with and read about successful pitchers, the more I am convinced that much of their success comes as a result of seeing themselves succeed. It's not an accident and it certainly isn't about having just the physical tools, or the dominating pitch.

In fact, the higher up you go in levels of baseball, you will find that there are a lot of pitchers who have the physical tools. But what makes those pitchers great is their ability to keep themselves in control even when the game isn't going their way. It's their ability to bounce back and not take themselves out of the game just because they get themselves in bad situations.

I am convinced more than ever that successful pitchers have a mental edge that allows them to battle back longer and even win when they don't really have their best stuff working for them.

Success as a pitcher is about consistency. And to be consistent, you must be able to be effective even when you don't have everything working for you. There will be days when you just won't have your best stuff. And it's on those days that your mental toughness is what will carry you to a successful outcome.

Winning When You Don't Have Your Best Stuff Working

In fact, even the best pitchers feel that only 25% of the time will they have what they would call their best or dominating stuff. And when they have it, nobody is going to beat them. And 50% of the time they will have good stuff which allows them to stay ahead and have a good chance to win. And then there will be the other 25% of the time when not much is working for them. But even then, your best pitchers will still stay in the game, battle back and still give their team a chance to win.

So remember as pitchers there will be times when you go out there and nobody will beat you, when you have your dominating stuff, but it's the mental toughness the other 75% of the time that makes successful pitchers so successful. It's during those times when their mental edge, their mental toughness is what will carry them.

And that's where the power of visualization comes in. It simply means the more we can visualize ourselves succeeding as pitchers, the more success we will have.

Visualization Is Simply Making Mental Movies

You can think about visualization or what is sometimes referred to as guided imagery, as simply making movies in your mind. You might want to try to think about your mind as a VCR and you having the ability to direct and produce your own videos of yourself pitching successfully in every possible situation.

The Mind Doesn't Know Reality From Fantasy

It's important to understand that your mind cannot distinguish the difference between what is real or what is imagined. So we can, by visualizing ourselves being a successful pitchers, actually fool our mind into thinking we have already experienced ourselves as successful pitchers in just about any situation.

When we visualize ourselves out on the mound pitching a great ball game, in order to make it more impactful, it's important that we make our scene as real as possible. In other words, we want to use all of our senses. Our sense of smell, maybe like the smell of fresh cut grass, or popcorn, or the feeling of a light breeze at our back and the sounds we hear at a ball game like the sound of the ball hitting the glove or the fans cheering.

This helps our minds see each scene we create as being real. And the more real it seems, the more it stays with you.

When You Make Mental Movies - Use Strong Emotion

The other thing we want to remember about visualization or mental movie making is we want to create these movies using strong emotion. So in the case of maybe getting a big strikeout, try to feel the strong positive emotion you would feel when you would normally get that big strikeout. Maybe you clench your fist or say something to yourself.

Visualizing yourself being successful as a pitcher is another way of building self-confidence. Everybody knows there is a definite link between self-confidence and success. And many successful pitchers at the big league level build confidence through years of positive self-talk and constantly reminding themselves of past successful games. They see themselves not giving up even when they are down or don't have their best stuff.

Use Past Successes To Create More Success Now

So it's important that you go back and reflect on earlier successful games you have had. Maybe if you are just starting out, you can't think of a successful game. But maybe there was a successful inning you had or maybe you pitched great against just one hitter. It doesn't matter. Just reflect back on the great feeling you had during those times.

Remember there is very little difference in pitching between the worst performance and the best performance. It usually comes down to our mental approach. How we talk to ourselves about it. Our attitudes.

And that's why so many successful pitchers say that pitching is really 80% mental.

So all of these visualization sessions we have are simply about taking mental movies or snapshots that we can use as models. So on game days we can reflect and see ourselves in those situations when we make the big pitch, get the big strikeout, throw the double play ground ball that gets us to walk off that mound a winner.

Your Mind Is Like A Super Computer - Why Not Use It For Successful Pitching

Just remember how powerful your mind really is. They say it takes only 1/100,000th of a second to search your brain's database for anything you want to remember. So when you have built up a large file of successful performances, you can use these mental snapshots as a blueprint for becoming a successful pitcher.

I am convinced that pitchers who can relax and focus during a ball game will have much greater chance of consistent success. The ability to lock in on one pitch and one batter at a time is crucial for success.

In fact, when a pitcher is finished pitching a big game he will usually feel relieved and yet almost exhausted. But his exhaustion comes not so much from the physical energy he's used up but from the mental drain he's expended by constantly focusing on what he is doing every minute. This ability to focus or lock in on every pitch and every hitter is what makes consistent winners.

One Pitch At A Time - One Hitter At A Time

As a pitcher having the ability to focus on one pitch and one hitter at a time is like having another dominating pitch and yet much more powerful.

So I encourage you to begin spending regular time making mental movies with you starring as the successful pitcher.

Use those sessions not just as a way of seeing yourself being successful but also see yourself working through tough situations. See yourself making the constant adjustments that good pitching is all about. You just aren't going to be dominating every time you pitch no matter how well your prepare yourself. But if you continue practicing making adjustments in real game situations you can still be effective enough to win.

Make it a part of your regular routine each week like throwing a bullpen, doing long toss or your conditioning. Don't wait until just before the big game to do this. Do a little every day. It only takes ten minutes.

How You Can Star In Your Own Mental Pitching Movie

Now what I want to do is take you through a relaxation and visualization session to give you an idea how you can design your own.

The important thing is to find a place where you can do it so there are no distractions. You may want to play some favorite music. Just slap on those headphones, push the play button and in no time you can be pitching the best game of your life.

How And Where To Make Your Own Mental Movies

But before we begin our mental movie making session, we need to get ourselves in a very relaxed state using some deep breathing and relaxation techniques. This only take a couple of couple of minutes but it is important. It has been proven that when you are relaxed and completely calm your mind will be more acceptable to permanently imprinting your pitching movies so that they can be easily recalled whenever you need them.

So find a place to relax. Preferably an easy chair. Sit up so you are relaxed but alert.

Now I want to give you some reminders for getting mentally ready for each game so you know going in what your game plan is and how to carry out your pre-game goals. I will also give you some simple reminders about pitching strategy so you can develop your own plan of how to pitch and set up each hitter.

First of all, I am a big believer in having a specific routine for getting ready for each game. Not only does it make you feel responsible but I think it helps keep you in control of what you are doing. So design your own routine and stick to it.

Doing Your Visualization Before Ball games

First of all make sure you leave plenty of time to get to the ballpark and get yourself stretched out and loosened up. Depending what level you pitch at will determine when you get to the ball park. I think every pitcher needs at least 45 minutes before game time to get mentally and physically ready. You need time to relax and begin to get mentally focused before you even begin loosening up your arm or throwing your bullpen.

Your bullpen is extremely important so make sure you have a plan for how you are going to throw each bullpen whether it's a mid-week bullpen getting ready for the next game or the bullpen you throw just before the game. Again, having a plan keeps you in control. So before you go into your next bullpen, work out a plan for how you will throw that pen. Work out a specific pitch count and stick to it.

Throwing Your Bullpen

Most pitchers need anywhere from 30-40 pitches to get ready for a game. If you can throw two bullpens a week besides your game bullpen make one short let's say a 52-54 ft. bullpen throwing 25 pitches while your regular distance bullpen will probably be a 40 pitch bullpen. If you are pitching from Little League distance you can shorten the bullpen distance accordingly.

In the bullpen make sure that after you have spotted and worked all your pitches, that you throw to a couple of hitters so you get a feel for location. Work some real game situations.

Develop A Pre-Pitch Routine

Work on your pre-pitch routine. Now let's review a good pre-pitch routine so we can bring it into each game: