Pitch by Pitch Awareness

     The San Francisco Giants swept the Chicago Cubs last weekend, one play in particular stood out in the series involving Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro.  With bases loaded and one out, Brandon Crawford hit a ground ball to Cubs second baseman Darwin Barney.  Barney flipped the ball to Castro at second for the force out.  Because of Crawford's speed, a double play turn was unlikely, however Starlin did not attempt a throw and started to jog off the field thinking there were three outs.  The Giants scored the go ahead run and ended up beating the Cubs 3-2.  The 22-year old Castro, an All-Star last season, has had previous instances of making mental errors during games. Earlier in the series, Starlin Castro got a poor jump while stealing and decided to not slide into second base as he was being tagged out.  

     Cubs manager, Dale Sveum, sent a very clear message to his young player after Monday's loss.  He said, "It's the last straw...He better start getting his head in the game, period.  It's something, obviously, that's unacceptable at any time.  Whether we could've turned the double play or not is irrelevant to not knowing how many outs there are in the most important part of the game.  It's not acceptable.  These things have to stop happening, or we're just going to stop playing him.  These kind of things are things my son does in high school, maybe."

     The message is clear, always think about how you will react as a player pitch by pitch.  It is crucial to remind yourself while on defense, "what am I going to do with the baseball if it is hit to me".  Even a base runner should think about how they will react before the ball is hit; how deep are the outfielders, where are the infielders positioned, how many outs are there, etc.. Developing a pre-pitch mental routine on defense and on the base paths is key in becoming a successful ball player.  Physical errors will happen in the game; missed ground balls, dropped fly balls, striking out, etc.  However, mental errors are inexcusable.  There are two things we can control as a baseball player, effort and preparation.  It doesn't take talent to run the bases hard.  It doesn't take talent to focus on every pitch.  A player should be able to focus for five to eight seconds at a time during each play on diamond.  Don't let mental mistakes hold you back in becoming the player you should be.