Over the years, I have learned mental preparation separates an average game from a great one. For me, mental preparation starts the morning of game day and doesn’t end until I fall asleep. During the day, I think nonstop about baseball and spend my free time looking …show more content…
After a couple innings, I started to pitch more of them, but still threw a few curveballs to keep them wondering. Another time my curveball was working well, and the hitters hit nothing but ground balls with it. My catcher and I picked this trait up right away and used it the rest of the game. The opponent could hit my fastball well, but not my curveball, and in the end, figuring that out helped us win the ball game. After a baseball game, I go home to study more baseball and analyze how we played that evening. Mental preparation and experience are important when it comes to playing under pressure. A pitcher has the most pressure; the game rests on his shoulders and his ability to throw strikes under any situation. It is very nerve racking to pitch with the bases loaded, two outs, and the tying or winning run on third. One bad pitch and the game is over, and knowing I cannot hit or walk a batter is even more nerve racking, but this is when mental preparation shows. While playing under pressure, I focus on my opponent and block out everything else around me, especially the opponent’s dugout. They try to trash talk me, but by having a great mindset, I blow it off like nothing.