Skill:

Written By Braeden Terry

The Nature of The Game.

The bottom line is that our job as players is to do 1 thing. Help the team win games. That’s how you get on the field, move up in the order, get an offer ect. - is by showing the team or the coach that you have value to add. 

There are many ways that you can add value to a team as a player. But to keep it simple, here are two. 

  1. Help the team score runs.

  2. Help the team prevent runs.

At the end of the day, your value as a player is determined by how well you help your team score, and how well you prevent your opponent from scoring. That’s how you win, and winning is the nature of the game.

So what does this mean for you?

How can you tailor your training to fit the nature of the game?

Here’s what I would do:

1st, you need to discover who you are or who you want to be as a player. Are you going to hit for power? Are you a speed guy? Little bit of both? Know your strengths and play into them. Don’t try to be someone you're not. I will go more into this at a future date.

 2nd, identify how you can help the team score runs:

  • Offensively

    • Getting on base (walks & hits).

    • Scoring runs (speed and IQ on the bases) .

    • Driving in runs (hitting for power / with runners on base / moving guys over ect).

    • Taking consistent, quality, professional at bats (swinging at strikes, having a good approach, making productive outs).

  • IQ:

    • Picking up pitchers tendencies.

    • Communicating info to other teammates efficiently.

3rd, identify how you can help prevent runs on defense:

  • Defensively

    • Making plays (routine and not routine)

    • Minimizing errors (mental and physical)

    • Increasing IQ (knowing the plays, situation, hitter, pitcher, ect)

When you know what your goals are and what you’re training FOR,

The path / steps to get there become clearer.

When working on skill, focus on things that translate to playing well in the game.

Have clear intentions when you practice that are geared toward helping the team score runs, prevent runs and win games.


That is the nature of the game.


How You Can Train This:

  1. Be intentional. Make every rep as game like as possible. You build bad habits by swinging without purpose in the cage. Give yourself a set 4-6 swings and get out. No “one more” for 5 more swings every round. Be intentional with the work you do.

  2. Train in uncomfortable environments. Hitting BP is great, but it is beneficial to challenge yourself here and there in the cage. Hit high velo, breaking balls, inconsistent bp (balls and strikes) and work on just competing and being a savage in the box.

  3. Surround yourself with guys who are better. Training with guys who are as good or better than you will push you. You will learn and pick up on things that they do well, and naturally your ceiling of potential will be elevated.

  4. Take a ton of defensive reps. Get incredibly good with your glove. This comes with reps and reps and reps. The more positions you can play (and play well) the more opportunity you have to get on the field and stay on the field, Hitting by nature is streaky - if you can be incredibly reliable on defense at multiple positions, it will be hard to take you out of the lineup if even if your bat gets cold.

BTX Performance | Skill | Physicality | Lifestyle

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Braeden Terry