Mental Skills and Player Development in Major League Baseball
Have you ever learned more in seven days than the past seven months combined? That sums up my first week of the 2021 Minor League Spring Training for the Cincinnati Reds in Goodyear, AZ. 12 months ago I was preparing to get on a plane and travel here to the Valley of the Sun for the 2020 MLB Spring Training — part of my military transition internship with the Colorado Rockies. It was an opportunity of a lifetime. Long time friend and sponsor, Dr. Doug Chadwick (Mental Skills Coordinator for the Rockies) called me the day before I flew. “Dude (we’re both from California), it’s bad. Don’t come because I don’t want you to get stuck here. I’m trying to get out, myself.” COVID-19 and the pandemic was here, and it was real. Spring training canceled.
Putting things in perspective
The world changed in an instant. In the grand scheme of things, baseball seemed insignificant, but it continued with a 60 game season because that’s what we do — we carry on. Supporting the Rockies remotely? Simply bazaar. Uncharted territory for everyone. Meanwhile, an entire generation of minor league baseball players put their lives and dreams on hold. “How did you get through it?” I asked a player recently over lunch. “Honestly, I had a hard…
