PITCHING IN THE BIG GAME: How to Handle Yourself

Pitching In The Big Game 

Let’s talk about this…

 

Louisville’s Luke Smith had a few choice words for Vanderbilt pic.twitter.com/cj7p17SOhn

— The Render (@TheRenderMedia) June 22, 2019

For those who feel the need to break baseball’s unwritten rules, simply to retain personal engagement, you are part of the growing problem. One which rewards entertainment over execution. Keep in mind, that the reason why this is being encouraged, is because it sells. It makes money. Money off of those who miss the point. Even worse, it makes money when an over the top event cost a team the game or their season. Who are the buyers that endorse this debacle? The passerby fans who remember the fiasco instead of the final score.

 

Pitching In The Big Game
The Task Never Changes

Onto the Luke Smith disruption. First off, I have not watched any college postseason games. I find college baseball to be a bad fashion show filled with inside jokes and bizarre gimmicks. Not to mention, the pitching tends to be scathing to watch. I digress. This kid was dealing the whole game up to this point. He cruised through 8 innings, ending that frame on a devastating, big time Slider. Then came the drama. Mouthing off to the Vanderbilt  9 hitter he just struck out and the dugout with a multitude of direct F-Bombs.

Rule #1 of Modern Life, the cameras are always on. Especially, when pitching in the big game. Nothing is sacred anymore. 

At this moment, Louslisville had a 2-1 lead. In this situation, the team hones in on adding insurance runs. The pitcher’s sole focus is on getting 3 more outs to get the WIN. That is what they work for every day. Poking the bear just added some massive obstacles to the quest.

 

Pitching In The Big Game
Control the Controllables

Rumor has it, that the Vanderbilt dugout was chirping at Louisville… SO WHAT! Talk is CHEAP!!! The Slider that Smith just threw for the strike out spoke volumes. It ended any and all yapping for that inning. Vanderbilt would have to be out of their mind to keep running their mouths after getting the bat shoved you know where with a Slider like that. Instead, Luke Smith chose to succumb to the low hanging fruit of bench jockeying. Very quickly, that is how the momentum shifts. 

MASTER YOUR EMOTIONS,
OR THEY WILL MASTER YOU

As the Louisville bats went down 1-2-3 in the bottom on the 8th, Smith came back out for the 9th. Get 3 outs and live to see another day. Did we forget that the last 3 outs are always the hardest to get? Especially, as the top of the order is batting in the 9th. 

Smith came out seemingly unfaltered by his brief altercation. Yet, he noticeably didn’t have as much left in the tank.

The leadoff hitter grounded out. Then a walk followed by a double tie the game. Now the dream is all but over. Smith is out of the game. On his way off the field, he made an antagonizing fist pumping gesture again towards the Vanderbilt dugout. WHY??? You now have ZERO impact on your team winning the game. It can only go further south based on behavior. The way these things tend to go are not favorable to the desired outcome.

CASE IN POINT:

His replacement allowed a bloop single on which the 2B had a bad read and a chop double that bounced over the 3B head which was just fair. In a mere matter of moments, the game did a complete 180.

Was it worth it to respond to needling with public profanity? Was it worth opening up an unnecessary can of worms in a 1 run game, when your entire team’s livelihood is on the line? Sure, you made a new loyal Twitter following. Many of them are the ones who are more enamored by the incident than the outcome.

 

Pitching In The Big Game
Falling Victim To Nonsense

You were 3 outs away from forcing a deciding game to go to the CWS Finals. 1 step closer to making history. Instead, somebody said something!!! OH NO!!! Therefore, you must respond to defend your honor against school yard insults. Didn’t elementary school teach us anything of basic karma and discipline? By acknowledging the ankle biters, he let his emotions get the better of him. As a result, the whole team suffered. The only guarantee in this game, is when you piss off the baseball gods, there will be consequences. Usually, the punishment is mortifying. Often, stinging for a long, long time.

For those that say this is playing with emotion and he is a fierce competitor…. Let the impulsive emotional responses stay in the crowd, or on reality TV for women. Secondly, a strong competitor would not have jeopardized his chances of getting the job done.

 

Pitching in the Big Game
Reactions

For those who say, “I want a whole team full of competitors like this”. Sure, you may win some games. More than likely, you will lose the big ones because of some petty blow up.  

What was overlooked in the chatter of Twitter support for this conundrum, was the breakdown in behavior. As Smith’s focus shifted from executing his pitches, to responding to verbal jabs. Shifting back to focusing on execution with the full array of poise is very difficult. Who is to say that it didn’t take the wind out of his own sails in the 9th inning?

Unsurprisingly, many of the baseball higher ups who weighed in on the controversy, did not approve of the behavior. Those who have played at the highest level, understand that this nonsense has severe effects on the task at hand….WINNING! It only takes one player to let the magnitude of the game overwhelm his emotions, which disrupts momentum.

As the pitcher, the game revolves around you. That is why you are bestowed the honor of position #1 on the field. You are the lifeblood to a team’s success. This is why accountability is HUGE! You can’t let down the other 8 guys busting their tails behind you, nor the coaching staff which did all they could to prepare the squad for this moment. It is hard to argue the experience of those who played at levels far beyond this nonsense. Do you think you would ever see this behavior in the Fall Classic? NO! Because the maturity level understands that there is way too much on the line.

 

Pitching In The Big Game
The WINNER 

Do you want to know what truly puts the most fear into opposing lineups, loudmouth bench warmers, and their fanbases? The pitcher who remains even keel and shows minimal emotions on the mound. For one, he can’t be rattled. Therefore, teams have to beat him the old fashioned way, by scoring runs off of him.

Secondly, that is a struggle for hitters, because this pitcher’s focus never waivers from him main commitment. Making all his pitches with full conviction. Nor rain nor sleet, nor snow nor wind. Not sun nor darkness, mud nor dust. Not noise nor silence can perturb his focus. Surely, not gibberish spouting from the ones not good enough to be on the field against him. As all these distractions are below him, he doesn’t hide behind a gimmick to cover up his lack of preparation or execution. His demeanor says it all. I can do this all day. 

 

Keep Dominating!!!