By Chris Fuller
PBR Tennessee

As a former coach, I saw it every single game.  In fact, stand next to any high school dugout for longer than a few minutes, and you will see it, too.  What is it, you ask?  Players coming back to the dugout frustrated after failing in game situations. 

Let’s face it; baseball presents its players much more opportunity for failure than any other sport out there.  If an NFL quarterback completes just 30 percent of his passes, it won’t be long until he is seeking another line of employment.  The same holds true in basketball for the guy who only makes 30 percent of his shots.  However, in baseball, if you are successful 30 percent of the time at the plate at the major league level, you are an all-star.  

The question then becomes, what can I do as a high school player to put myself in position to be more successful in game situations?  

The most overlooked aspect of the game at the high school level is the mental aspect, or what I refer to as the game within the game.  The game within the game is one thing I preached to my players over and over again, and as much as I talked about it, there were still many who didn’t take advantage of it.  

At the high school level there are no advance scouts (scouts who scout future opponents and write up scouting reports) and no games of the opponent on video for you to watch.  Many times in high school games you can face a pitcher or a hitter that you know little about, and even if you played against them the previous year, a high school player can be a much different player a year later due to growth and development.  Therefore the only scouting report you likely have is what you see.  Are you watching? 

I’ve been amazed over the years at the number of kids who think their at bats begin in the on-deck circle, or worse yet, in the batter’s box.  Your AB’s begin the moment the pitcher takes the mound.  If you are not watching every pitch he makes, you are missing the game within the game.  If you are too busy talking to your teammate about what happened at school today, what you are doing after the game, or whatever else, and are not focused on the pitcher you will soon be facing, you are diminishing your chances to be successful that day. Are you a guy who goes to the plate without a clue as to what the pitcher is throwing on what counts?  Do you take note of where the catcher sets up on certain pitches?  Are you looking for a pattern to pitches that might be easily recognizable?  Is the pitcher doing something to tip his pitches, telling you when an off-speed pitch is coming?  Maybe the pitcher has started the first several batters of the game with a “get ahead” fastball.  Maybe he doesn’t like to pitch inside and everything is on the outer half of the plate.  Maybe after the first pitch fastball, the second pitch is always a curveball.  This doesn’t mean you become a “guess hitter”, but you need to understand the tendencies of the pitcher and go to the plate with a plan.  If you aren’t forming your own scouting report before you go to the plate, how can you expect to be successful?   

The game within the game applies to many other areas besides hitting, as well.  If you are pitching out of the pen on a given day, are you paying attention to every hitter that comes to the plate?  Are you making a mental note of weaknesses and how you might be able to get hitters out?  If you are a starting pitcher, are you doing the same thing in case you take the ball against that team later in the season?  Many times at the high school level a coach is calling the pitches, but there is nothing wrong with you noticing things about hitters and how you think you can get them out and then discussing that with the coach and your catcher.  

As a base stealer, are you paying attention to the how the pitcher comes set?  Does he always pause the same amount of time before going to the plate?  Are you watching to see if he varies his looks/moves to the bases?  Is there a pattern that might make it easier for you to get a better jump?  Does the pitcher or catcher do anything to give away when an off-speed pitch is coming, therefore making it a good pitch to run on?  These are things that can mean the difference between stealing a base and being thrown out. 

Some players are talented enough at the high school level that they can overcome not doing some of the things discussed in this article and still be very successful high school players.  They are good enough to get by on talent alone.  The question is what are those players setting themselves up for at the next level where players just as talented as them are all over the field?  

As we head towards the high school baseball season, make it a point to develop your mental approach to the game.  In a 90 at bat high school season, 6 hits make the difference between a .333 and .400 batting average.  If those 90 at bats come in a 30 game season, that’s just 1 additional hit every 5 games.  Develop good in-game habits now that you can carry over to the collegiate level.  In the meantime, you may find those frustrating trips back to the dugout occurring less frequently.