How To Master The Mental Game Of Baseball

There are many philosophies on the mental game of baseball and there are some really good baseball videos and baseball books about the subject. However, some these mental baseball videos and books leave it up to the reader/viewer to implement the concepts discussed.

What you want to look for is a mental baseball ebook or baseball video that provides a step by step program on the "how to'" of the mental game. The material should be appropriate for your level of play, been field tested and come highly recommended from respected names in baseball.

The mental baseball video that I recommend is The Cognitive Advantage Program (CAP) by Rick Harig. It focuses on the process required to maximize mental toughness. That process is the same mental toughness program that has been used by elite military commando groups that have a zero tolerance for failure under the most extreme conditions and stresses.

The CAP process narrows in on building up your mental attitude in 5 areas: ability to play in the moment, your focus, your confidence, your competitiveness and your overall mental toughness.

Baseball Instruction Videos

Baseball is America's pasttime and it takes a lot of practice and guidance to become a good baseball player. That is why it make sense to purchase baseball instructional videos or baseball ebooks to help those who want to maximize their time in becoming a better baseball player.

Baseball hitting videos and baseball pitching instruction videos can be inexpensive and available online. There are many baseball related sites to go to but bestbaseballebooks.com provides potential customers with an unbiased opinion of the best baseball instruction video and baseball instruction ebooks available today. The site provides detailed information on the author, an overview of the baseball instructional video and an in-depth analysis of what the baseball ebook or baseball video contains.

Another great website for learning the game of baseball is the How to Score Baseball ebook. It contains everything you need to know to learn how to keep score at a base ball game.

Mets Manager Jerry Manuel's "Mis-Decision"

The New York Mets manager Jerry Manuel stiffed the Mets fans by resting all their position starters in a Saturday afternoon homegame against the Florida Marlins. In making the decision to bench his stars, Manuel showed either blatant disregard or sheer arrogance towards the Mets faithful.

On a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Flushing, Queens, excited Met fans, young and old, where mistreated to a D-League lineup that excluded David Wright and Gary Sheffield.

Just think of all the kids who were disappointed and letdown. Think of those who's visit will be their only one this season. Think of fans who shelled out big bucks to see a game to be mistreated to a bunch of minor leaguers!

But there is a lot more to the story then just upsetting the fans. Last year Jerry Manuel promised not to bench his stars on a homestand after he did the same injustice to the hometown fans - is senility setting in?

Get this. The Mets had an off day the previous day. But Manuel still went ahead with decision knowing that on the following Monday the Mets were starting a next road trip was against the weaker teams and lowest fan attendance in the National League (Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nationals) - a perfect time to rest the players.

But here is the kicker!! The Mets were facing the Marlin starter Josh Johnson. Johnson was undefeated against the Mets (6-0 lifetime) and Jerry Manuel made the conscious decision to concede the game before it was even played. The Mets front office should really question his decision-making and competitiveness.

But this is just another episode in the long history of the Mets front office and managers to completely disregard and disrespect all that is the Mets - it's history, some of it's former players and especially their fans.

I believe Mets fans will get over this, as long as the next Manuel "mis-decision" doesn't cost the Mets a chance at the pennant.

The MLB All-Star Selection Debacle

Major League Baseball's annual mid-summer classic sets the stage for showcasing the best talent the league has to offer. The integrity of the All-Star Game and MLB itself are in question, if changes are not made to the All-Star selection process.

Baseball fans vote on the starting positions for the All-Star Game on the internet. This method slights the small market teams because most of the starting players come from teams that have large fan bases, such as the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.

Let's face it, the fan vote is a popularity contest and not a real assessment of who the best players are. MLB should revise the process by weighing in the votes of players, coaches and managers together with the fans votes. If there is significant difference between the fans and the players use the season's statistics to determine the starter.

Another change needed to the All-Star selection process is to prohibit players that violate MLB's drug policy from playing in the All-Star Game. It is unbelievable that Manny Ramirez (LA Dodgers), currently serving a 50-game suspension for violating baseball's drug policy, is eligible to play in the 2009 ALS. He is currently fourth among outfielders in the All-Star voting.

There will always be debates on the All-Star selection process but one thing is for sure, MLB needs to send a strong message and take action on violators of it's drug policy.