Approaches to the Game part 1

By Trevor:

The game of baseball has many different approaches to it.  There isn’t a one “cookie cutter” type of player.  The approaches range from boarder-line insanity to very calm and collected.  A few weeks ago I was at the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes game and they were playing the Vancouver Canadians.  The Canadians first baseman, Jordan Leyland, had such a quiet approach to the plate.  This got me thinking about the different ways people view and play the game of baseball.

When people say a guy has a “quiet approach” to the game, they are referring to his demeanor when playing the game.  His movement isn’t herky jerky or flamboyant.  There is a fluidity to his game and his mental approach is calm.  The “quiet approach” focuses on a couple of things.  These things are: the ability to be patient, the ability to remain calm, and the ability to forget easily. Let me unpack these a little bit.

Coaches in every sport tell players to “let the game come to you,” or “don’t force it.”  This is referring to the mindset of allowing your play during the game to be dictated by the flow of the game.  If you are down 1 with a guy on 3^rd base, you don’t just go up to the plate swinging at every pitch.  You are looking for a specific type of pitch that you can drive to the outfield.  Of course, when you get down to 2 strikes, you gotta protect.

The most successful hitters in the game are successful because they are consistent.  Any guy can have a hot streak, and those usually last a month or so if they are really on fire.  But the most successful guys in the game, like an Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, or Joey Votto, are successful because they are consistent.  If you watch any of these guys hit, you see a patient hitter who is looking for his pitch and when that pitch comes, they smash it.  They guys have an overall “quiet” approach to hitting and they also carry that over to their position on the field as well.  Patience allows you to let the game come to you and tends to make you more consistent in your game.

We’ve all seen those players that are a little bit crazy in the way they play the game.  These guys just don’t care about their bodies and they play the game with a reckless abandonment.  Take Yasiel Puig for instance! This guy is running, jumping, and hitting everything in sight! He is an energy booster and can carry the team on emotional hype alone!  However, if you look at the most consistent players in the game, they tend to have a much more calm demeanor.  Bryce Harper is the same way.

I’m not bashing these guys, they play the game hard and they play it the right way.  But there is a level of protecting your abilities.  I’m not talking about not diving for a ball every time, or not sliding head first into 1^st base.  I’m just talking about playing the game controlled.  There is a level of playing the game irresponsibly, and the best players know where that line is.  Being a calm player, who doesn’t let the emotional roller coaster of the game to dominate them or consume them, will project longevity in a career.  The greatest players play the game controlled but intense at the same time.  There is a marriage of the two characteristics.

The final idea of playing with a “quiet approach” is the ability to forget easily.  This is something every ball player has to learn.  You can’t allow your last 10 at-bats affect your next at-bat.  You need to be able to forget the error you made last inning and make the next play.  If you allow your past failures to dictate your future play, you won’t last a month in the big leagues.  There needs to be a calm, patient and forward thinking mentality.  Even with previous successful at-bats, players need to focus on the at-bat in the moment.  If you hit a 3 run bomb your last at-bat, you can’t think about doing it again.  You have to focus on the moment in the game and do your job at the plate.  If there is no one out and a runner on 2^nd base you should focus on hitting a ball the other way to get the guy to 3^rd.  Not trying to hit a ball in the gap.  The ability to forget the past and focus on the moment is key in this game we all love.

There are multiple approaches to the game.  But I would argue that the most consistently successful approach is the “quiet approach.”  This is not to knock anyone who plays aggressively or tenaciously.  But if you look at the most successful and consistent players in the game, they tend to be very patient and quiet in their approach.   The beautiful thing about baseball is that everyone gets to decide how they get to approach the game.  But every player wants to be the guy who is consistent and successful.