One thing I am pretty sure we can all agree on is that no matter what an elephant were to do, there is no way anyone is going to mistake it for a giraffe. No matter what diet or training regimen an elephant goes on, it’s still never going to even remotely run like a giraffe or look like a giraffe. However, if there was a lot of money to be made off of elephants by teaching them how to be giraffes, I’m certain a simple google search would turn up dozens of books and businesses teaching elephants how to be giraffes.

Fortunately for elephants they do not exhibit any outward signs that they want to, or feel that they need to, be more like giraffes. So instead of wasting their time trying to be more like giraffes, they spend most of their time living their lives as elephants and doing the things elephants are capable of doing. This helps them become the best elephants they can be and gives them the best chance to be productive members of their herd.

A lot of baseball pitchers are obsessed with increasing their velocity at the expense of developing all the other aspects of their game. Rather than accept the fact they are not heat throwers, they struggle to add a few miles per hour to their fastball which even if they are successful, still leaves them several miles per hour behind the true heat throwers in the game.

They remind me of a cute girl who has prettier friends and tries to be prettier to compete with them and always loses out. She’s never going to beat them at the ‘who is prettier’ game, just like the pitchers I mentioned are not going to beat the heat throwers at their game. However, if she just accepted her looks for what they were and developed her strengths and personality, she very likely could win more attention than her prettier friends, just like many of the best pitchers win without throwing heat.

Many of the slowest fastball throwers in Major League Baseball have won the Cy Young Award as the best pitcher in baseball. Gregg Maddux won four Cy Young awards, Tom Glavine won two, and Barry Zito won one. The pitcher who is widely believed to have had the slowest fastball (low 80 mph) in the majors for years, Jamie Moyer is the 34th winningest pitcher of All-Time. He’s also the oldest pitcher to ever win a major league game winning his last game at the age of 49.

Meanwhile the minor leagues are filled with pitchers throwing over 90 mph who will never pitch in a major league game, much less win one. You can’t be afraid to be who you are if you want to maximize your performance. If your pitching strengths are, your command and location, you will be best served honing those skills, not in increasing your velocity.

Most hitters would rather see a waist high fastball at 92 mph over the middle of the plate than an 84 mph one that is on the black, low and away. The best pitchers work with their strengths. They rarely change how they approach each hitter. Their consistency, not their velocity, is what sets them apart. They have the ability to locate the ball well with late movement and know how to capitalize on a hitter’s over-aggressive nature at the plate.

The two things I have seen that more than make up for a lack of velocity, save a lot of wear and tear on pitchers arms, and maximize their effectiveness, are:

1) Having pitchers spend their time working on keeping the ball hidden, so the batter cannot spy his grip and gain an advantage. The less time the batter has to react, the more effective your pitch is likely to be (this also further compensates for a lack of heat on the ball).

2) Develop an effective mindset. Nothing separates athletes more at the highest levels than what is in their heads. Once you have your mind in the right place your body will follow and you will be able to use your body language to gain further advantage over the hitters you face.

Now forget about being a giraffe and go out and be the best elephant you can be!

You can follow Sam on Twitter @SuperTaoInc

Posted in The Mind Side Blog