The Baseball Observer May-June 2016 vol 7 | Page 32

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The Baseball Observer - May/ June 2016

During the game, a baseball player’s focus needs to be given over to the following, tasks at hand, depending on whether they are a pitcher or a position player:

• Being able to pay attention to the next pitch and how to execute (whether

as a hitter or as a pitcher).

• Being able to know the situation and get the sign correctly, when on base.

• Knowing the game situation and how to react if the ball is hit to the player.

• Where to be on cut off and relays.

• Maintaining composure following poor execution on a pitch.

• Listening to coaches in the dugout between innings.

• Other during the game tasks at hand.

After the game is also a time when focus is important to the player, in order to effectively address certain tasks at hand, although this time period frequently is not considered in a systematic way by players.

Following the game, a baseball player’s focus should be on the following:

• Being able to make some initial sense of how the player performed and how

they are going to follow up with a systematic self-evaluation of performance

such as during the next day when they return to the ballpark.

• Being able to let go of the game and pick up the things that were mentally

parked when they came to the clubhouse that day.

• Other post-game tasks at hand

A FRAMEWORK FOR A BASEBALL PLAYER TO RECOGNIZE WHAT KIND OF FOCUS TO HAVE AND WHEN

There is a particular framework that I have used with major league and minor league players over the years and which has been found useful by players to understand what kind of focus to have and when that kind of focus will be helpful to them.

This framework is shown in visual form in Figure 1.

It was developed by Dr. Bob Nideffer, a psychologist who studied focus of attention with athletes and other groups of people.

I have adapted it for use with professional baseball players.

"BIG PICTURE" "EXECUTION"

BROAD

EXTERNAL

"OVERALL STRAGEGY" "PLAN OF ACTION"

INTERNAL

NARROW

I IV

II III