I realize that lately whenever I watch a Mets game, particularly if it’s a close one, I wonder how they’re going to blow it. Not if. How. And it’s occurred to me that they’re playing like a team with the exact same mindset.
An inning-ending double play ball comes to you. If you’re a really confident fielder, you don’t even think about what to do; muscle memory just takes over. If you’re a confident fielder, you think, “Oh good, inning-ending double play” and set it into motion. But if you’re a team that’s afraid of losing, then you think, “Please don’t let me make a bad throw.” And you picture yourself making a bad throw, because it’s like saying, “Don’t think about pink elephants.” And since that image is in your mind, your body responds to it, and you make a bad throw.
Or you go up to bat thinking, “Don’t let me hit INTO a double play,” and guess what.
I’m not one of these guys who screams for the manager to be fired just because the team isn’t getting the job done, but isn’t it a huge part of his job to make sure their heads are in the right place, instead of…y’know…up their ášš?
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