Here’s hoping you all had a chance to watch The Masters this weekend. Golf is such mentally challenging sport only the strongest willed survives. You can look at every golfer’s swing and say they are perfect. What differentiates them? Their mind.

Baseball is no different. It is not enough to have talent. You need to know how to not only handle failure, but success as well. Over-confidence can be as big a problem as lack of confidence (As Tiger proved over the weekend). Know your strengths and weaknesses. Understand in what situations you need to apply them and how. Only time and experience can help you figure that out. It is easy for me sitting in this chair to say when you need to do which. Do you need to remain calm in tense situations? Yes. Do you need to believe you can do it? Of course. Coaches and parents say the same things and they all mean well. The bottom line is you have to have the inner strength to make it happen. When success comes, it is an awesome feeling.

Of all the things I have learned over the years, nothing stays with me more than what my Dad once told me, “Do your best, it’ll come.” If you can leave the field knowing you gave your all, did your best, you can hold your head high, win or lose. This applies to not only the physical approach, but the mental approach as well. Put yourself in the right frame of mind, relax, and let your talent work for you. Not everyone gets to the majors, not everyone wins a major, but we all try, it’s the journey.

As a hitter, we want to get base hits. More importantly, we want to hit the ball hard, every time. If we strive to hit the ball hard and succeed, the hits will come.

Consistent swings will produce consistent results. Review your swing on a weekly (If not more) basis. Take tee work seriously. It is far and away the best hitting tool around.