Mental Baseball Drills

"What's above the shoulders is more important than what's below," explained professional baseball great Ty Cobb, who played during the early 1900s. Cobb was alluding to his belief that mental toughness is more important for baseball players than physical prowess. If you strive to maximize your potential as a baseball player, perform mental conditioning drills on a regular basis. This practice will help you achieve success on the field consistently and deal with failures appropriately.

Visualization

Visualization practice helps program your mind and muscles to achieve success on the playing field, according to sports psychologist Dave Yukelson. Use some time each day to lie or sit down and visualize yourself playing well. Imagine yourself in the batter's box, confidently awaiting the pitcher's delivery. See yourself make a perfect swing and drive the ball hard into the outfield or over the fence for a home run. Visualize yourself playing defense, too. Imagine making perfect pitches and getting batters out with ease, fielding a ground ball and making a strong throw to the first baseman to retire a baserunner or making a diving catch in the outfield to save the game for your team. Practicing visualization like this daily will give you plenty of positive images to draw upon when things aren't going as planned on the diamond.

Number Grid Drill

"Outstanding performance requires outstanding concentration," explain H.A. Dorfman and Karl Keuhl, authors of "The Mental Game of Baseball: A Guide to Peak Performance." This quotation implies that you have to give your full attention to the task at hand, whether batting, catching, fielding, pitching, running or throwing, to reach your goals. You should try to focus on one pitch at a time, eliminating distractions as much as possible. Dorfman and Keuhl recommend performing the number grid drill to help improve your overall concentration. Have a partner make a 10-by-10 grid and number each square from "00" to "99" in random order. Cross off all the squares in order, having your partner time how long it takes. Perform the drill several times each week and try to improve your time with each attempt.

Personal Affirmations

Baseball is a difficult game even for the most confident players but especially if you lack confidence. You need to believe that you can meet the challenges of the game to succeed consistently. Reciting personal affirmations on a regular basis may help boost your confidence, especially if you are going through a slump, according to John Lefkowits and Dr. David McDuff, the authors of a mental training manual for baseball players. Write down several positive statements about yourself on an index card. You might include "I am a hard worker," "I deal with challenges well" or "I am a mentally tough baseball player." Only write statements that you believe wholeheartedly. Read through the list several times each day, reciting each statement out loud, until you have memorized the statements. Repeat them on the diamond when you are struggling to maintain confidence. Add to the list periodically.