The #1 important MLB characteristic

written by JOSH GESSNER | The Athletter

I played 6 years of professional baseball.

Many who I've played with are in the MLB.

Here's the #1 important characteristic I saw (that you can’t afford to lose):

I knew there was a serious problem.

I asked my teammates if they had fun when they went out to pitch.

"Yeah I like to go and compete... Do you?"

I told them that I did.

But deep down... I knew I was lying.

It was my 6th year as a professional and even though I tried to ignore it:

I was losing passion for the game.

I honestly don't know how it got to that point.

Maybe it was from getting a bad case of the yips.

Or losing significant velo to my back surgery.

or because I sucked... and couldn't figure out a way to be good.

It felt like I hadn't had fun playing baseball in years.

The days where I would wake up excited to go to the baseball field...

Were long gone.

I had lost the #1 most important characteristic for a baseball player:

Having a genuine passion for the game.

When you have a passion for something:

• Work ethic comes easy.

• You're resilient in the face of adversities.

• You don't mind the suck that comes with it.

Now if you don't have that passion:

You're fighting against steep, steep hill.

• Everyday becomes a grind.

• Everything feels harder than it should.

• You question why you're even playing.

It's easy to assume that you'll always have a passion for baseball.

I fell into that trap.

Don't take it for granted.

These days the mindset is to:

Grind, grind, grind...

But as you continue to push yourself, the passion can get sucked out of you.

I'm not saying to not work hard.

Just take a second to remind yourself why you play.

Because chances are, you started playing because you loved it.

And the ability to hold on to it - is the ultimate competitive advantage.

As long as you have a genuine passion, you'll outcompete those who don't.

In many ways, baseball is a game of who can stick it out the longest.

You'll always be pulled in the direction of your passions and curiosities...

Whether it's baseball or not.

That being said, what are some practical way to keep baseball fun?

1. Reframe failure

2. What would it look like if it were fun?

Let's cover both:

1) Reframe failure.

Failure in baseball is inevitable.

Failure leads to learning which leads to improvement.

And improvement is fun.

This is much harder to do in practice.

I couldn’t get my head around this for the longest time.

Baseball is my career, dream and life… failing seems like the end of the world!

But what if you changed your mindset...

If I cared less about failure would I improve at a faster rate?

100%.

Is there any benefit to viewing my failures as the end of the world?

Not really.

It might feel like you are caring less about baseball.

In reality: You’re taking the best path.

2) What would it look like if it were fun?

What do you find enjoyable?

Do more of that.

For me I like experimenting, thinking deeply and seeing progress.

New pitches, Training methods, Mental models.

Baseball was fun for me when I improve through experimentation.

Find what that is for you, and do more of it.

Main Lesson:

Keep baseball fun, because once you lose the passion for the game...

It's hard to get it back.

That’s it for today, thanks for reading!