Why I Left Professional Baseball

written by JOSH GESSNER | The Athletter

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I played Professional Baseball for 6 years.

Yet - 4 months ago, I left the game because of a mistake I made.

Here's that mistake (and how you can avoid it)…

I pushed through bad pain in my back.

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

I could blame it on those things.

But reflecting back, the reason I left was deeper.

It was brewing for a while.

It's also something all Baseball Players can't afford to lose.

The Mistake: Losing 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.

I had lost all passion for the game.

But passion - isn't something that just disappears one day.

Think of it like a gas tank.

Let's call it the Passion Tank.

When you're having the best time of your life playing - your passion tank is at 100.

When you dread going to the field and can't think of anything worse - its at a 0.

Naturally you'll go through both of these scenarios.

But the goal is to keep it above the 50 level as much as you can.

Too much time below this level and you risk burnout.

This is what happened to me.

I was below the 50 level as soon as I got a case of the throwing yips in 2019.

For a couple of years - my passion tank was close to 0.

What I realize now:

It weighed on me.

Over time, baseball went from something I loved...

To something I HAD to do.

In hindsight I would've tried to refill my passion tank.

But I disregarded the warning signs and let it deplete until it went to 0.

At that point - I was burned out and had to take a step back.

I've since started training players and this is a common issue.

The lost passion for the sport.

So my message to you is simple:

Prioritize the passion for the game.

Regularly reflect on your passion tank levels.

Because that - is what's going to keep you going long term.

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!

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