In my mind I am always the best. If I walk out on the field and I think the next person is better, I’ve already lost.”- Unknown

Cocky and confident are two very different things. Cocky is saying you are the best, confident is acting like you are. When you step in the circle no one can be better than you. The second that thought enters your head, they have already won. Mental toughness can be your biggest asset as a pitcher. Your team looks to YOU. When things go south it is YOUR job to stop the bleeding, even if it isn’t your fault that the bleeding began.

Pitcher’s must carry one emotion throughout the entire game, whether things are great, awful, or you’re sitting on the bench. You have to believe that you are the best, and have the confidence in yourself to know that you are in control. Your one emotion must be confidence. When you strike someone out – confidence. When a ball gets hit in a gap and scores two runs, act like that’s exactly where you wanted that pitch to go – confidence. When your coach takes you out of the circle, you act like you agree with the decision – confidence. Once you’re out of the game, you’re on the fence cheering on your teammate pitching – confidence.

We talk about the bubble on a weekly basis. When you’re in the circle, the chalk lines raise up into the sky and encase you in your own personal bubble. Nothing matters in your bubble but you, your focus, and what you want to accomplish. Once in the bubble, you don’t hear the obnoxious parent behind the backstop, you don’t see the go ahead runner on second base, you don’t hear your coach screaming from a bucket to “just throw strikes.” Your bubble is your safe space, it is your space to focus 100% on what pitch you want to throw and how to make it the best pitch possible.