On every ball in play, I want all nine players moving at the same time. Watch the pitcher on a base hit, though, and you'll usually find him still standing on the mound.
“A pitcher who backs up can keep one base from becoming two, three or four.”
Your behavior and body language should change very little, regardless of the score. A scout, or the coach you want to play for next year, is watching for that.
“Up 10 or down 10, our dugout should sound the same.”
Most players are conditioned to care only about results. If you consistently repeat the right process, the good results won't come every time, but they're more likely to come.
“I'm not suggesting you shout 'Bad approach, you got lucky!' But at some point, the player needs to hear it.”
Being the shortstop on your current team is something to be proud of. But the higher a player goes, the more likely it is that someone better will be playing there -- and he'd better be ready for it.
“My ideal coaching scenario is a roster of 11 kids who can and will play anywhere.”
If you're playing right field, become the best darn right fielder you can be. Do that and your role will grow, but complain about it and expect more of the same -- or the bench.
“Someone has to fill that role. If you don't, someone else will.”
Umpires will miss calls, and you can count on that. As a hitter, your job is to make every safe call so obvious that there's nothing left for him to judge.
“Anything that's close becomes a 50/50 proposition, and you're leaving it up to the umpire gods.”
I carry some of the blame when I send a runner home and he's thrown out. But was it all on me, or did you hesitate on your way around third?
“If you simply blame the coach, nothing will change.”
We led a semifinal by eight runs in the final inning and lost. You can't replicate that kind of pressure in practice -- you have to live it, and usually more than once.
“I wanted my team to remember that pain.”
A team that never loses never finds out what it needs to work on. Playing a team that seems unbeatable is how you find out.
“When everything's easy, it's a mirage.”
I want my catchers to treat the umpire like a person. Check on him after he takes a foul ball, protect him and get to know him a little.
“Protect that umpire. Make it your job.”
Before every pitch, my players should know nine things, starting with the number of outs. A coach can't yell out every situation for every player, so awareness has to become a habit.
“If you don't know the count, ask!”
Every game hands your team a reason to give up before the first pitch. I want my players to recognize those reasons -- the weather, the noise, a missing teammate -- and reject every one of them.
“Adversity is no more than an excuse to fail.”
In a lot of youth games, the pitcher just watches once the ball is hit to the outfield. He should be moving right away, because he's the one who can keep a single from becoming a double.
“Pitchers, once the ball leaves the infield, find the base the throw is going to and get behind it.”
I believe strongly that a coach's job is bigger than winning games. Baseball teaches a ton of life lessons, and it's our job to help young players learn from them.
“A selfish player, if not corrected, may be an unemployable adult.”
If you're a coach, don't try to hide players in the outfield. It's outfield skill that turns singles into outs and extra bases into singles.
“If you're an outfielder, own it. Be proud of it.”
I want young players reacting on defense instead of memorizing every scenario. When the ball is hit, six questions tell every fielder where he needs to be.
“There is always something to do or somewhere to go.”
You won't always get the position or the spot in the order that you want, and you may sit more than you'd like. How you handle that says a lot about what kind of teammate you are.
“Every spot in the order is important, or we wouldn't fill it.”
When you drop your head or throw your arms up at the umpire, you take yourself out of the play. And every one of your teammates sees it, too.
“If your body language says you've given up, you probably have.”
In the biggest moments of a game, most young players either get passive or get careless. A mentally tough player wants the ball, and he's already thinking through what he'll do with it.
“Be as calm as you can be. It's not easy!”
It can be hard to get players to do the little things that so often decide games. So I tried something different with my team: Play like a scout is watching.
“There is something special about a player who always hustles. He stands out.”
Every player gets upset after a strikeout. What I care about is whether he stays stuck on what just happened or starts thinking about the next time he sees that pitch.
“A kid playing baseball doesn't learn from adversity. He just knows that it's an unpleasant situation.”
Fielders aren't perfect, particularly at the youth level. If you hustle out of the box on every ball in play, the defense has to make a clean play to get you out.
“Run until you hear the umpire yell foul.”
Sometimes the shortstop calls for a pop-up and then loses it in the sun. We added a HELP call for that, and it only works if everyone else stays close enough to take over.
“Just because the shortstop called it doesn't mean the third baseman should run away.”
I can't control the umpire, and neither can you. But if you hustle on every ball, fewer of your plays will be close -- and more of the other team's will be.
“You may have beaten the throw, but you have no right to argue. You created the close call on your own.”
After a strikeout, I want my players asking themselves two things: What did I learn, and what will I do differently next time?
“If we don't do anything different, we can't expect a different result. The same failure will repeat.”
When a runner waits for his coach to tell him what to do, he loses a step he doesn't have. I want players who anticipate the play and make the decision on their own.
“Standing on second base isn't an option.”
Playing a team that's better than you is your chance to find out how good you actually are. Everyone already expects you to lose, so there's nothing to be afraid of.
“Give them all you have and let the chips fall where they may.”
When things go badly, it's easy to believe the baseball gods want you to lose. I never want to hear my players say that nothing will go our way.
“It's the law of averages. Things will, hopefully, even out.”
From about 12 to 15, the little guys watch their teammates grow while they mostly stay the same. All three of my boys were little guys, so I know how hard that stretch can be.
“Please, do not give up! The frustration is only temporary.”
The pitcher gets the headline while the catcher does much of the work. But every coach knows that a great catcher can make every one of his teammates better.
“If you line up down the middle, your pitcher will throw a meatball. Don't do that.”
When two players call for the same pop-up, priority decides who gets it. The center fielder comes first, and the pitcher and catcher are the last resort.
“It's simply an easier play to come in on a ball than to go back.”
A player who isn't gifted with ability can still find himself on the field more often than not. It comes down to some basic things that any player can do.
“While kids have varying levels of ability, every kid can -- and SHOULD -- hustle.”
The hit by pitch is baseball's most selfless act. It takes no skill, but it does take something very important from the hitter: Courage.
“There is no excuse for ducking out of the way of an inside offspeed pitch.”