Measuring the Sixth Tool of Baseball Success—the Mental Game
By Zach Sorensen, MLB Mental Performance Coach
Players selected in the first-round of the MLB draft are commonly seen as “can’t-miss” prospects—unanimously crowned as the future of the game. Yet, for every ten pitchers drafted in the first round of the MLB draft, only two will start a full season in the majors. Only one will record 1,000 strikeouts. For every 10 hitters, just over two will have a significant career and reach 1,000 hits. Two of those ten won’t ever play a game in the major leagues—finding their illustrious young career coming to a halt in a minor league city, somewhere in America.1
So why do many blue-chip baseball prospects fail?
Scouts meticulously evaluate prospects on numerous criteria, including the five physical “tools” of baseball—a player’s ability to hit for contact, run, throw, field, and hit for power. First-round picks typically have elite physical tools and some receive the ultimate praise of being a five-tool player—another way of saying the player has high-end talent for all five skills. And still, these players often fail to make an impact at the major league level.
One reason is that another tool (the sixth tool) has always challenged scouts and traditional evaluation methods: the mental game.
Struggles Begin as Players Move Up to the Next Level
What many five-tool prospects lack is that all-important sixth tool—the mental game. It can be a difficult thing to scout as players dominate at the high school or college levels. Elite players have skills so far above their competition that they rarely struggle, and they are not challenged physically. As a result, these players tend to spend less time developing the mental aspects of their game.
But as they advance into college and professional baseball, they suddenly face talent equivalent to their own—other five-tool players with 95mph fastballs and elite physical ability. For the first time, they encounter adversity.
Without the experience and skill set to deal with adversity, they struggle. The mental game has entered the picture. Many find themselves in a cycle of self-doubt and low confidence, eventually causing them to give up on the game.
The Hidden Tool
Players who excel as they move up to college and professional baseball often have traits that scouts can’t observe: exceptional cognition (including quick decision-making and sharp reaction times) as well as the resilience to overcome adversity. Scouts refer to these qualities as “the intangibles” and they are key elements of mental performance.
Players who excel in mental performance often enhance their natural cognitive skills by establishing strong routines and making positive lifestyle choices, such as getting quality sleep, eating healthily, and prioritizing recovery. These positive off-the-field habits allow them to reach their full cognitive and physical potential when performing on the field. They can focus better, lock-in at critical moments, and make correct split-second decisions—like catching up to a fastball in the strike zone.
Scouts can precisely measure many baseball skills, such as bat speed and throwing velocity. However, they have traditionally had no way to evaluate these mental-game aspects for prospects.
The Importance of the Mental Game
Mental performance is critically important to achieving success on the baseball diamond. The outcome of every play during a baseball game is affected in some way by the mental performance of the players involved.
For example, the mental game comes into play when a pitcher needs to stay calm and execute a pitch with the bases loaded. The mental game is also crucial when a batter decides to swing at a pitch or lay off, when a fielder reacts to a hit ball, and when a runner chooses to break for second base or return to first.
In addition, the mental game is important for every player, not just blue-chip prospects at the pro level. Whether the player is at the youth, high school, college, or pro level, their performance is affected by their mental game.
A poor mental game causes a player to underperform. A better mental game allows a player to get more out of their physical talents—leading to greater success on the field, more playing time, and a greater chance of making it to the next level.
Measuring and Improving Cognitive Performance
Improving a player’s mental game starts with measuring and monitoring their cognitive performance. Organizations or individual players can establish a baseline measurement of each player’s reaction times, decision-making speed, and the ability to maintain focus. They can then measure cognitive performance throughout the season to evaluate each player’s progress.
Players can deploy strategies to improve their cognitive performance, such as preparation routines, meditation, and explosiveness training. By continually measuring their cognitive performance capabilities, they can understand what strategies lead to the best on-field performance. Some organizations even measure each player’s cognitive performance at the beginning of each practice and game to see if a player is ready to play.
Continually monitoring cognitive performance not only shows progress, but also reveals setbacks, such as poor routines, sickness, and over-training. When players show declining or inconsistent cognitive performance, the organization knows it’s time for action to get a player back to their baseline.
This can involve working with a sports psychologist, mental performance coach, nutritionist, or a trainer to establish daily routines, get sufficient sleep, and manage diets. Instead of just showing up, the player knows what it takes to get mentally and physically ready to compete.
The Importance of Routines
To improve cognitive performance, players and teams must establish productive and positive routines. If players don’t dial into a routine, they won’t be able to compete one pitch at a time and most likely won’t be able to make it to the next level. This includes elite players who want to get to the major leagues as well as high school players who hope to play in college. They can’t sustain or improve performance without routines.
Specific routines that work well and get players back to their baseline cognitive readiness include meditation, music, weightlifting, whirlpools, and cold plunges. Avoiding negative influences, such as over-training and alcohol, and minimizing sickness and fatigue can also positively impact the test results.
A Tool to Improve Cognitive Performance
To improve mental performance, baseball organizations and players can turn to Pison BASEBALL Pro, which provides three key capabilities:
- Monitors cognitive performance: reaction time, decision-making, and focus.
- Helps improve on-field skills affected by cognitive performance.
- Tracks and improves health metrics—such as sleep, strain, recovery, and stress—that affect cognitive performance.
Knowing that reaction time, decision-making, and focus are three of the most important qualities that make an elite performer, teams and individual players can use Pison BASEBALL Pro test results to improve their cognitive performance and gain an advantage over their opponents.
Testing cognitive performance may not turn all prospects into future major leaguers. But it can help teams and players reach their full potential by understanding why performance is suffering and taking steps to remedy the situation.
To learn more about how Pison BASEBALL Pro can help players develop an elite mental game and unleash their full potential, contact Pison today.
About the Author:
Zach Sorensen, a mental performance coach, helps professional and elite athletes reach their full potential. Zach was a college baseball star at Wichita State, earning All-American honors two times. Drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the second round of the 1998 draft, he reached the Major Leagues in 2003. During his MLB career with the Indians and Angels, Zach discovered the impact of mental performance coaching. Witnessing its benefits firsthand, he became passionate about helping other athletes achieve their full potential through mental training. He currently leads the mental performance department at the Cincinnati Reds and has also worked for the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers.
- Baseball America, How Often Do First-Rounders Make The Big Leagues?, July 10, 2023
