Playing Baseball Smarter

Teaching Young Baseball Players How to Use Their Heads During a Game

Jan 13, 2010
James Vassallo

Playing Baseball Smarter - Wikimedia Commons

Teaching the mental side of the game at a young age can help baseball players mature on the field as they climb the ladder from high school to college to the pros.

Baseball has been around for over one hundred years, with thousands of men playing in the Majors and Minors for a professional contract. There are still arguments to this day, about who invented baseball, with General Abner Doubleday receiving most of the credit while also having a field named after him near the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. As baseball evolved and changed over the past century it became more reliant on statistics, recruiting, scouting and drafting of players. One trait that scouts look for in high school and college players eligible for the baseball draft is their mental skills on the field. A smart baseball player is one that knows what each pitch might bring and where to move on the field during a specific play. Teaching young baseball players how to use their heads during a baseball game can improve their talent as they mature as a player.

Anticipating the Next Play

The ability of a baseball player, at any age, to anticipate the next play of the game and what to do when it happens gives the player an advantage over their opponent. Anticipating the next play while on the field does not happen overnight and it takes mental toughness as well as physical talent. The first step in anticipating the next play is attending practice each day and paying attention to the coaching staff. The coaching staff should run through scenarios on the field that can happen with the bases empty or with runners aboard. The coaching staff should then begin to teach the players what they need to do with each pitch and where they should be once the ball is hit.

Knowing Your Opponent

The next step in playing baseball smarter is to know the opponent you are facing each day. This is more important for older players, such as high school, college, and the pros. It is difficult to scout little league teams and peewee teams these days. The first time in a season when your team faces a new team you should make mental notes of how the other team plays and how they align their defense when they are on the field. Knowing this the second time around in the batting order or when the two teams meet again will help immensely in the outcome of the game.

Always Thinking

When on the field, keep the gears turning in the brain about the game itself. Think about the following scenarios when on defense:

If the ball is hit to me where am I throwing it?
If the ball is hit to me and I juggle it, where do I throw it?
If the ball is hit to the fielder next to me, how can I back him up?
If the outfielders need to enter into a relay, where do I need to be?
If I am on the mound, which bag do I back up each play?
If I am behind the plate, what base do I back up, first or third, when there are runners on base?

The scenarios mentioned above are just a few of the things that should run through the mind of baseball players while playing defense. There are thousands of scenarios that can take place on the field each game. Any player, especially those at a young age, that can incorporate the mental aspect of the game of baseball will be able to succeed on the field.