Fangraphs: The Meditative Arts, and Two Former Orioles

[weams]

Quote

The Chicago Cubs announced several promotions on Friday. Among them was John Baker going from ‘Baseball Operations Assistant’ to ‘Coordinator, Mental Skills.’ The new title befits what he’d already been doing. What happens between the ears, and how that impacts physical performance, became a focus for the 36-year-old Cal-Berkeley product not long after he was hired 14 months ago.

As far as former backstops go, Baker is more of a Moe Berg than a Yogi Berra. Calling him a renaissance man may qualify as hyperbole (or maybe it wouldn’t), but he’s certainly not cookie-cutter. That much was clear when he brought up one of his pet projects at last summer’s Saberseminar in Boston.

“We use the scientifically-backed practice of meditation with our players in the minor leagues to help them perform better on the field,” said Baker. “We teach guided meditation. Darnell McDonald… that’s his main role with the team. He goes around and leads guys in meditation, and teaches them how to do it on their own. We promote some different applications — iPhone applications, Android applications — for our players to do that.”

Improving focus is a primary objectives. Baker spoke of “three-second time windows” where each player on the field should be fully focused on every pitch. Another goal is to reduce stress. That is especially true in environments like Boston and Chicago.

“Kevin Youkilis talks about having been called a truck driver, and the hate he sometimes felt,” explained Baker. “Jake Arrieta told me that he was followed in Manhattan, for 10 blocks, by 60 people. He was with his family. Kris Bryant was telling me he’s having trouble, in Chicago, just leaving the house.

“There’s all of this pressure, so we practice meditation. Why? So we can recognize negative thoughts and let them go, and so we can be fully present for those three seconds. That’s how we teach them to deal with that kind of pressure, stress, and failure. It’s by living right now, in those three seconds, 150-200 times a game, and then going home and not worrying about them any more.”

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/sunday-notes-ilitch-baders-bat-bakers-meditation-more/

[Frobby]

What's wrong with being called a truck driver?    My dad was a truck driver!   (Well, not really, but my point is the same.)

I'd like for Adam Jones to have some two-strike Moments of Zen. ?

[weams]

7 minutes ago, Frobby said:

What's wrong with being called a truck driver?    My dad was a truck driver!   (Well, not really, but my point is the same.)

I'd like for Adam Jones to have some two-strike Moments of Zen. ?

I think I remember him actually being a good two strike hitter. Just not a walking man. 

[Spy Fox]

I think that player psychology may be one of the future frontiers of the game and has been overshadowed a bit by sabermetric advancements.

[weams]

4 minutes ago, Spy Fox said:

I think that player psychology may be one of the future frontiers of the game and has been overshadowed a bit by sabermetric advancements.

"Better playing through Scientology."

[OFFNY]

8 hours ago, weams said:

 

 

As far as former backstops go, Baker is more of a Moe Berg than a Yogi Berra.

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/sunday-notes-ilitch-baders-bat-bakers-meditation-more/

o

 

Moe Berg !!!

I saw a documentary on him.

 

Moe Berg: Catcher and Spy

(By Nick Acocella)

http://www.espn.com/classic/biography/s/Berg_Moe.html

 

 

[LA2]

I enjoyed The Catcher was a Spy, an entire book on Moe Berg, even though it has one of the strangely most uneventful narratives I've ever read.

[LA2]

9 hours ago, Spy Fox said:

I think that player psychology may be one of the future frontiers of the game and has been overshadowed a bit by sabermetric advancements.

That he meditated was always something announcers mentioned about Willie Davis, the longtime centerfielder for the Dodgers. I always wondered if he started meditating before or after his three errors in one inning in the '66 World Series.

[Phantom]

On 2/12/2017 at 8:50 AM, Frobby said:

What's wrong with being called a truck driver?    My dad was a truck driver!   (Well, not really, but my point is the same.)

I'd like for Adam Jones to have some two-strike Moments of Zen. ?

I assume you mean chris Davis, who is a WAY worse two strike hitter than Jones. AJ is actually a pretty good two strike hitter.

 

Your eyes will lie to you.

[FlipTheBird]

On 2/12/2017 at 8:50 AM, Frobby said:

What's wrong with being called a truck driver?    My dad was a truck driver!   (Well, not really, but my point is the same.)

I'd like for Adam Jones to have some two-strike Moments of Zen. ?

And, I mean, I'm assuming Youk was picking out his own hairstyles/facial hair... so it was within his power to change the commentary...

[Frobby]

19 minutes ago, Phantom said:

I assume you mean chris Davis, who is a WAY worse two strike hitter than Jones. AJ is actually a pretty good two strike hitter.

 

Your eyes will lie to you.

I'm really just saying I want Jones to be a little calmer when he gets to two strikes.     There's a happy medium between striking out swinging 95% of the time (Jones' ratio last year) and striking out looking 36% of the time (Davis' ratio).     It's frustrating to watch Jones strike out on pitches that are nowhere near the strike zone, and it's frustrating to watch Davis take strike three when it's clearly over the plate.    Of the two, Davis is far more likely to strike out on a pitch that's actually a strike, either by looking or swinging.    Jones doesn't miss many pitches in the strike zone (85.6% contact rate vs. 76.3 for Davis).