The quest of a great hitter leaves marks. No one emerges unscathed along the path to greatness. Your hands will blister, peel, bleed, and eventually harden into a thick, impenetrable snarl of callused skin if you are practicing enough quality swings. These calluses are badges of honor that differentiate the committed and the dedicated from the lip-service wanna-bes unwilling to put forth the time, effort, energy, sweat and blood necessary for greatness.
In addition, the quest of a great hitter leaves emotional traumas and scars. The pursuit of perfection is imperfect, no matter how pure the effort. Even the greatest hitter experiences bitter and deep disappointment, both in practice and in games. A great hitter can do everything right, hit the ball solid and perfect and strong, and get robbed by a great fielding play, or have a line shot judged foul by an umpire. It doesn’t matter!
The psyche of a great hitter is toughened and hardened to the point of unfeeling, at least in terms of whether he gets a hit or not. His emotions become calloused toward despair – he only cares if he sees the ball, swings well, and hits the ball hard. Nothing else matters.
When the skin on your hands forms a callus, use that as a sign to likewise form a layer of callous emotion that is immune to disappointment. A great hitter has a protective layer that cushions his hands and his feelings, and he becomes tough enough to withstand any type of physical and psychological trauma along the way. Get a callus; be callous; be great.
From May 2011, http://raisingahitter.wordpress.com
In addition, the quest of a great hitter leaves emotional traumas and scars. The pursuit of perfection is imperfect, no matter how pure the effort. Even the greatest hitter experiences bitter and deep disappointment, both in practice and in games. A great hitter can do everything right, hit the ball solid and perfect and strong, and get robbed by a great fielding play, or have a line shot judged foul by an umpire. It doesn’t matter!
The psyche of a great hitter is toughened and hardened to the point of unfeeling, at least in terms of whether he gets a hit or not. His emotions become calloused toward despair – he only cares if he sees the ball, swings well, and hits the ball hard. Nothing else matters.
When the skin on your hands forms a callus, use that as a sign to likewise form a layer of callous emotion that is immune to disappointment. A great hitter has a protective layer that cushions his hands and his feelings, and he becomes tough enough to withstand any type of physical and psychological trauma along the way. Get a callus; be callous; be great.
From May 2011, http://raisingahitter.wordpress.com
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