What role does confidence play in a player's success?

[wildcard]

We don't talk about this much but both Mancini and Mullins do in this article.

 Mancini said. “He’s (Mountcastle) like me, the name of the game is confidence" 

“It was a lot of confidence involved, with me being on the tear that I am right now,” Mullins said. “I want to be able to continue to spread that confidence as much as I can to the rest of the team and hopefully get some wins.”

https://pressboxonline.com/2021/06/08/orioles-notebook-ryan-mountcastle-on-fire-cedric-mullins-keeps-rolling/

[bobmc]

5 minutes ago, wildcard said:

We don't talk about this much but both Mancini and Mullins do in this article.

 Mancini said. “He’s (Mountcastle) like me, the name of the game is confidence" 

“It was a lot of confidence involved, with me being on the tear that I am right now,” Mullins said. “I want to be able to continue to spread that confidence as much as I can to the rest of the team and hopefully get some wins.”

https://pressboxonline.com/2021/06/08/orioles-notebook-ryan-mountcastle-on-fire-cedric-mullins-keeps-rolling/

Nice and I loved this photo taken in the Means article. Is "spider tack" holding that orb?  

[Sports Guy]

Athletes that get to this level are all really good.

We can say so and so sucks or whatever (yea it is in the context of their peers) but in all actuality, in a world of 6 billion people, they are on of the best 300-500 people in the world at what they do.  That’s pretty rare.  They all have natural ability that most would only dream of.

What separates most is between the ears. The mental part of sports, be it confidence, intelligence or whatever is enormous.

[now]

“Anybody can play. The note is only 20 percent. The attitude of the motherfu**er who plays it is 80 percent.” -- Miles Davis

[Philip]

9 minutes ago, now said:

“Anybody can play. The note is only 20 percent. The attitude of the motherfu**er who plays it is 80 percent.” -- Miles Davis

Excellent.

[glenn__davis]

Confidence is critical.  If you don't expect to succeed then you probably won't.

At the same time, I think learning to deal with loss of confidence, and how to work through it and gain it back, it also a critical skill.  I think we underestimate what a good teacher adversity is (and that obviously goes well beyond baseball or sports in general).

[Philip]

The problem with “the little engine that could.”

 

Everyone knows the story of the little engine that could: the tiny locomotive that pulled the cargo over the mountain after the bigger locomotives had failed.

And the little engine kept saying to itself, “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.”

And he succeeded, and everybody’s happy. 

But there’s a huge problem with that story. Every time you say, “I think I can,” you are giving yourself permission to fail. When you say, “I think I can,” you are always subconsciously adding a, “… But maybe I can’t.”

Never give yourself permission to fail. Always, every single time, 100% of the time, say, “I know I will.”

Now, we are human, we aren’t perfect, and as Adam said, “Sometimes you suck.”

If you begin an endeavor knowing that you will succeed no matter what, maybe you won’t. That’s life. We’re human. We lose. “Sometimes you suck.”

But never ever have the mindset of “I think I can.” Instead insist,”I know I will.”

Maybe you won’t. But it won’t be because of the doubt that you have allowed to remain.

If you insist on being great 99 times out of 100, the one time it counts will always be THAT one.

Instead insist on being great 100 times out of 100. Always. Sometimes you won’t be. 

But it won’t be because you allowed it.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

Speaking as a non-athlete who used to play a lot of pickup basketball confidence was a big factor in me playing well. I'm short and can't jump, but I had a very good outside shot. When I felt it and was in the zone, I would be shooting the ball all over the court and taking shots 3 feet behind the three point line.

On the days I didn't have it, I would start overthinking things and even muff wide open shots. When you're in the zone you're not even thinking on the court, it's just catch and shoot. 

[Moose Milligan]

I would say the name of the game isn’t necessarily confidence gained by the successes and wins. IMO, it’s the opposite, it’s being able to grind it out through the bad times.
 

That is probably what is helping Mullins separate himself from the pack this year; he’s been able to get through some really hard times and figure out a way to flourish. It’s easy to be confident when you’re Tony Gwynn or Chipper Jones or Mike Trout or someone else with an impeccable resume who’s been able to stick since Day 1 (yes, I realize Trout struggled in a small sample size when he initially came up, but it’s been a pretty smooth ride for him since). 
 

I love Lenny Dykstra because he revels in who he is. He’s a scumbag, through and through. However, he is not someone who cares about what other people think about him and tries to pretend that he’s someone else. I’m also not condoning his actions that landed him in jail. 
 

But, IMO, the best anecdote about him is easily found on his Wikipedia page. He was friends with Billy Beane in the minors:

Quote

While playing in Double-A in 1984 he befriended fellow outfielder and teammate Billy Beane, who later said that Dykstra was "perfectly designed, emotionally" to play baseball and that he had "no concept of failure."

IMO, it’s the “no concept of failure” aspect that made him great. Of course, it’s also the “no concept of failure” aspect that probably played a part in all of his legal issues too; he’d go to whatever lengths he could to succeed, even if it meant breaking the law. In that aspect, his gift is also his curse. 
 

I would suspect that Mullins has the same programming, that he’s perfectly designed emotionally and has no concept of failure. Is that confidence? Perhaps it is. 

[UMDTerrapins]

Good subject. Moose covered what I was going to add....that being driven by competition helps separate some guys like Dykstra, Swisher, Donaldson, Bautista, who seemed immune from self-awareness, and none of whom you’d be eager to place in your clubhouse. I think emotional resilience is more specifically a trait that separates top athletes, more so than confidence. 

[Oriole1940]

It is the most important thing of all .I can swear to that from experiences I have had playing baseball including the LOST year.  I am sure many of you could also give real live examples of it in your lives.  

 

[nevadaO]

11 minutes ago, Oriole1940 said:

It is the most important thing of all .I can swear to that from experiences I have had playing baseball including the LOST year.  I am sure many of you could also give real live examples of it in your lives.  

 

Agreed. As someone with a crappy anxiety disorder I can feel the difference from when I was standing at the plate in college vs. something I am confident in, like drumming. Without medicine I could barely swing at one point.

[scOtt]

The only games I've been involved with at a high level, pool and golf, it's 90% between the ears. You're already physically prepared by YEARS of practice and games. It's all in the mental side, including that confidence.

[scOtt]

18 hours ago, UMDTerrapins said:

Good subject. Moose covered what I was going to add....that being driven by competition helps separate some guys like Dykstra, Swisher, Donaldson, Bautista, who seemed immune from self-awareness, and none of whom you’d be eager to place in your clubhouse. I think emotional resilience is more specifically a trait that separates top athletes, more so than confidence. 

That's a big part too! We used to have a "gang" playing golf. Whoever showed up at 4:30. We'd play in a 4-some, 6-some, 7-some, however many were there. We were all good, and were ready to hit when it was our turn. We'd push 2-somes around the course.

Anyways, we always played for something. Quarter a hole and quarter for birdies. And in a 6-some that could get "expensive." You have a bad day and lose 5, 6 bucks playing quarters... That's a beat down. That's a BEAT DOWN!

But you show up the next day. "Scott, you in for quarters?"

"Sure!"

[JimGinSP]

Confidence is hard to judge though.  Mullins is currently exhibiting cool confidence playing at an elevated level.  Exhibit A being the diving catch the other night.  He calmly flipped the ball to Stewart after the catch.  Compare to Hays and his exuberant chest beating after a couple of fence scaling catches last year.  Cockiness and confidence may intersect but are not the same things.