going, is this ever going to end, why can’t I get this right?—but he
let those wild horses run right on by, waiting for the dust they kicked
up to settle. He breathed in, emptied his mind again—as empty as
the seats in the stadium during his pregame ritual.
Then he got back to work. On the third pitch—CRACK! A solid
double down the right-field line.
In the second inning, Green got an inside fastball. He planted his
front foot and focused only on that, on the feeling of being nailed to
the ground. He watched the pitch, and swung. The ball was soon
going back out the other direction, high up over the right-field wall.
Three runs came in along with it. In the fourth inning, he hit another
homer up in the walkway over right-center field. In the fifth inning,
he hit a home run deep into left field. Opposite field, a sign that a
hitter is really starting to dial in. In the eighth inning, he hit a long
single.
The slump was no more.
Five for five in his at bats, and the manager wanted to send him
home for the day. Green asked for another at bat.
Now his mind was tempted to race in a different direction, his
brain filled with congratulations instead of doubts. You’re killing it.
How exciting is this? Are you going to get another hit? You could set
a record!
Just like the overactive voice in a slump, the voice in a streak is an
equally deleterious racing mental loop. Both get in the way. Both
make a hard thing harder.
As Shawn Green stepped into the batter’s box for the sixth and
final time, he said to himself, “There’s no sense in thinking now.” He
cleared his mind, and enjoyed himself like a kid at a Little League
game.
No pressure. Just presence. Just happy to be there.
On the third pitch, he got a dipping cutter that sank low and
inside, below knee level. For lefties, like Green, when they are in a
slump, that area of the hitting zone is like a black hole. When they’re
locked in, it’s the wheelhouse. Green connected, with a swing that
even one of the coaches said looked like it was happening in slow
motion. Every part of the batter was behind the bat, mentally and
physically—and the ball was launched deep, deep into right-center
barry
(Barry)
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