SELLING OUT!!!!! Diving for ground balls; crashing the outfield fence for flyballs; that 1st to home dash on a ball hit into the right centerfield gap; catcher’s blocking the plate to prevent the run from scoring; pitchers busting their tail to cover 1st base; breaking up double plays at 2nd base; middle infielders staying in there to turn double plays. Pressuring the other team to have to make plays. These kinds of things are as much ATTITUDE as they are skills.
Selling out is an ATTITUDE. It is something EVERY player can develop. It’s concentrating on the game well enough that actions become instinctive and pro-active rather than reactive. If you have to think about it, you’ll be a step to late – you’ll be out, their runner will be safe, the ball will drop in, you’ll turn a possible double into a single!!!!!
Be mentally ready on every pitch. For pitchers, the most important pitch is the pitch they are about to throw; for hitters, it’s knowing the count and your hitting zones; defensively, it’s knowing the game situation and what you’ll do when the ball is hit. You WANT the ball hit to you with 2 outs and the tying run on 3rd and winning run on 2nd in the bottom of the 7th inning; you WANT to be the batter up with the tying run on 3rd and winning run on 2nd with 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th; you WANT to be the pitcher in a 1 run game in the bottom of the 7th inning!!!!!
You have to WANT to do it. It’s walking off of the field at the end of the game knowing that you left it all on the field. YOU can do it!!!!!!!
