Resets and When The Game Speeds Up

Two walks to start an inning. Nobody out. Their dugout gets loud. Our pitcher gets the ball back and steps onto the rubber before he’s even settled on what he wants to throw.

The score hasn’t changed. The game has.

That’s what I mean when I say the game speeds up. A minute ago, our pitcher was picking a target and attacking it. Now he’s trying to get the ball out of his hand. The hitter can see it. He can make him throw a strike. His teammates are watching the same thing from the dugout, and now they’re itching to get to the plate.

Momentum is real. You can see it in the decisions both teams start making. One team sees an opportunity and gets more patient. The other feels that opportunity closing in and starts rushing. Those two walks put runners on base. What happens between the walks and the next pitch can help decide how much more of the inning we give them.

That’s what I wanted our guys to talk through in Leadership. How do you know the game is speeding up on you? On the mound, maybe you’re back on the rubber before you’ve looked at your catcher. At the plate, maybe you’re so busy thinking about the called strike that you chase the next pitch. In the dugout, maybe you’ve stopped talking about what the pitcher is throwing and started staring at the scoreboard.

We teach the Stars 517 Reset for those moments. Pick a phrase, pair it with a physical action, and take a breath. A pitcher might tell himself attack the mitt, swipe the dirt with his cleat, and breathe in through his nose for five counts, hold for one, and breathe out through his mouth for seven. Then he picks a target and commits to the pitch. I asked our guys to write down their phrase, their action, and the first sign that tells them it’s time to use it.

I also gave them the other side of it. We’re down four in the sixth. How do we make the game speed up on them?

Our leadoff guy lays off a breaking ball and earns a walk. Now their pitcher is working from the stretch. The next hitter knows how he got pitched because the first guy tells him. He puts together a tough at-bat. Their catcher takes a look into the dugout. We’re still down four, but they’re the ones who have something new to deal with. We did that without anybody getting a hit.

That’s the part I love about coaching this. Our pitcher can feel the inning getting away from him and still make one committed pitch. Our hitter can look up and see we’re down four and still give us the at-bat that starts something. I want our guys to recognize when the game is speeding up, because there’s usually something they can do about it before the score changes.

Keep stacking bricks.

Go Stars.