Baseball players have different beliefs, traditions, and superstitions.
Some of them usually wear the same jersey under their uniform, step on the field with their right foot first, or pray before going to the mound or the batter’s box.
For San Diego Padres‘ left-hander Blake Snell, part of his success stems from not looking at the standings: that way he avoids overthinking and trying so hard.
It’s actually a good way to keep things simple: in life, sometimes if you try something too hard, the end results probably won’t be the ones you wished for.
“Blake Snell said he doesn’t know the Padres’ exact place in the standings. He insisted he doesn’t look. “If you look at it, then you start thinking about it, then you start stressing about it … trying too hard. If you try so hard in this game, you just get clapped every time,” The Athletic’s Dennis Lin tweeted.
Blake Snell said he doesn't know the Padres' exact place in the standings. He insisted he doesn't look. "If you look at it, then you start thinking about it, then you start stressing about it … trying too hard. If you try so hard in this game, you just get clapped every time."
— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) August 31, 2022
The Mind Usually Controls The Body
Professional athletes have to be calm to perform at the highest level, and that’s a fact.
Taking a peek at the standings could cause the player to think that he and his team need to win X number of games to make it to the playoffs, for example, and anxiety comes into play.
If that approach works for Snell, then he should keep doing that.
It’s actually working: in his last seven starts, he has a very good 2.61 ERA in 38 frames, with a whopping 53 strikeouts.
It’s much better than his season 3.87 ERA.
He has been one of the best Padres starters in the last few weeks, as they try to secure a spot in the postseason.
