Your Baseball Success a Failure?

We all know that Baseball is a game of failure. We often hear that hall of fame hitters fail 7 out of 10 times; Hall of Fame pitchers fail 50% of the time.

And yes, it is often very difficult for a teenager to comprehend that they don’t need to be perfect on the field all of the time.

Tonight in one of my interviews; Kim Walker mentioned what one of our local High School coaches is tracking. Because stats really can play tricks on individual players and teams; This particular coach is keeping track of how successful a kid is at the plate rather than looking to see if the kid went 0-2 or 0-3 in a game.

Here’s an example.

A hitter can go 0-4 and crush the ball every single time; he just didn’t find the gap. Maybe he got robbed of a homer, or someone made a fantastic diving catch. You see, stats don’t always paint an accurate picture of a complete player.

Here’s something else stats can’t track. This year Jeremy Guthrie (Royals starting pitcher) has 2 wins 0 losses with a high 4.34 ERA. I was on ESPN reading about him and this is what a reporter has written.

“Guthrie has received more run support than any other Royals’ starter, which helps explain the 2-0 start despite a 4.34 ERA. He’s not much of a strikeout pitcher, but there’s still some utility to find here if fantasy owners use him in the right matchups. He’ll take the mound against the Indians in Cleveland next time out.”

The first sentence “Guthrie has received more run support than any other starter” could mean that he should be lucky he has 2 wins.

In my mind however, I think of the positive rather than the negative.

Could it be possible that his teammates play better for him because he’s a stud? 🙂 Because of his demeanor on the mound? Because of the way he treats people on his team? His positive influence on others? etc. etc.

Stats can’t track attitude and people’s willingness to up their game because you’re a part of their team.

The point I want to make today is this: Don’t let your stats get you down if they aren’t where you want them to be. There is much more to the “complete player” than what stats can tell us. Your attitude on and off the field goes a long way. Be the kind of player (pitcher) that your teammates look up to and aspire to be, even on your off days.

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Make it a great day!
The Pitching Academy