Do You Get Nervous In MLB Games?

Hey, what's going on everyone? Today we're answering your questions. And today's question is, was I nervous playing in major league baseball games? So we're going to talk a little bit, a little bit about my career. Um, and I'd also like to hear from you guys. So let's start off with this. I think anytime you play in any type of competition, you're nervous. At least I was nervous. Uh, for you that play baseball or any sport, are you nervous when you participate? Again, for me, it's, I'm always nervous. Hell, I'm nervous when I watch a Patriots game and I'm not even playing in the game. Like I'm really nervous because I want them to win. I want them to do well. And so as a player, I always felt the same way, regardless of what level I was at. Even if I was at a low level, even if I'm playing in little league or a high school, um, even if I'm one of the better players, I'm nervous because there's always a chance that you don't do well. There's always a chance you lose the game and, and you want to win. Now, I think when people think about nervous, um, in a bad way, it's when those nerves start to affect the way that you play, right? Some people are nervous. You have a little bit of nerves, right? You're going to give a speech in front of people. You're a little bit nervous. Um, versus I'm so nervous that I'm frozen and that I cannot do whatever it is I'm doing well. And I've seen that with plenty of players. I've seen it at baseball tryouts where all of a sudden players pretty, pretty damn good player, but then they get in front of people in a tryout and they physically can't move. They freeze up and they look horrible. So, um, that's a little bit more, I guess of the nervous that I'm assuming people want to want to know about. So here's the thing. As I got older, the older you get, the higher you play, the more, uh, the greater the stakes. And so I think nerves become even more of a factor. Um, when I was in college and the stakes were getting drafted and there's become a little bit more of a factor. Um, when you get into pro ball and you want to get to the major leagues, maybe you're in the minor leagues, nerves become more of a factor. When you get into the big leagues, uh, nerves become a real big factor cause you don't want to get fired. You don't want to lose your job. You definitely don't want to go back to the minors to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and stay at motel sixes with cockroaches. Okay. Now I'm sorry, motel six. I don't think they'll ever be sponsoring a video here. Um, I did have, it was actually grasshoppers. Okay. I think there were crickets, crickets. That's what they were. They were crickets. Uh, we were standing in a motel six in Texas, Chad Huffman and I, and there were like these little crickets. I believe they were coming out of the drains of the motel six. Okay. So sorry, motel six. Um, or was it a red roof? And, uh, either one, sorry, both of you. So, um, back to nerves. Okay. So as the stakes become, as you get higher and higher in levels of baseball, the stakes become, um, greater. Right. And so there's more to lose, I guess. Anytime there's more to lose, you're probably going to be a little bit more nervous. And so I was definitely nervous as I got older. Um, another thing that I think happens with nerves, I think, uh, confidence, preparation, let's say this confidence, right? The more confidence you have in yourself and your ability, typically, I think the less nervous that you are. Right. And so how do you gain more confidence? I think in a couple of ways, self-belief, right? You think that you're going to do well. Again, how do you get that? How do you believe you're going to do well? It comes through preparation. All right. And so I think when you're prepared, when you feel prepared, you typically feel more confident. When you feel more confident, you're going to be a little bit less nervous. Right now, some people are more nervous than others, just regardless, right? Like some people just, they could, they could literally not study for the test at all. They walk into the classroom for the test. They could give to, you know, Watson. They're just, they're not nervous. They're not nervous at all. Some other people could stay up all night cramming for a test or maybe study for a test for three months straight. And you're nervous as hell. Okay. So some of it also has to do with personality, but typically when you prepare and you feel confident, you're going to be a little bit less nervous. So I'm giving this all this background information to let you know that hell yeah, I was nervous when I played in the major leagues. Are you kidding me? Like I spent my whole life trying to get there. So yeah, I was nervous. Um, and okay, we're good. We're done. Now let me explain a little bit more about how nervous I was and if it actually affected me, um, and why I was nervous. Okay. So when I got called to the major leagues, call up to the major leagues, it was after the 2008 season was in the 2008 season and I was really struggling and 10 triple a really struggling. I was like, I was petrified every game. I couldn't hit, I forgot how to hit. And so when I got called up, I had a bad year. I hit like two 23 or something like that that year. Luckily I had a solid last month and got called up. Um, but I was, I was not going to the major leagues feeling confident. If I had gone to the major leagues in 2007, I think I would have felt a lot more confident in 2007. I thought I was the greatest player of all time. Like in 2007, I was hitting balls a mile. Um, you know, I was a high prospect. I was both in the major league or in the minor leagues and with the Padres. And so, um, I was super confident if I got called up that year, I would have probably, I would have definitely done better. My swing was locked in. I felt great. I get to the plate. I'm like, I'm up there like, yeah, I'm going to get a hit every single time. In 2008, every time I got to the plate, I was like, I'm not going to get a hit. Like literally I'm going to strike out right here. So totally different mindsets. And again, some of it was preparation, right? Even though I was preparing hard, I wasn't, I wasn't prepared. My swing wasn't right. And so you know that you feel less confident and you get more nervous because you know you're going to fail and then you do fail and then it's a vicious cycle. So that's the way I felt in 2008. And so when I got called out to the major leagues, um, I was nervous. Like I was really nervous because I didn't feel like I was ready to go. Honestly, I didn't feel it. And then I stepped in for my first at bat against Greg Maddox and I, I was, I was, let's say this. When I took the field that first day, I was freaking nervous. Okay. I've said that like 15 times already. Okay. But like, yeah, I was thinking the whole time, like I'm in the major leagues, like I'm on TV right now. I'm playing in front of 60,000 people at Dodger stadium. Like, yeah, I'm nervous. I'd like to hear from a player that made their debut. It was not nervous. Okay. Maybe there was a few of them. Maybe Mike Trout wasn't nervous, but I bet you Mike Trout even a little bit was nervous. Okay. So yeah, I'm nervous out there. I even had a teammate. I must've looked really nervous because I had a teammate. I told you guys about this before, before the game, like well, before the game, before batting practice, I'm just in a dugout. I'm just kind of taking it all in. I'm looking around. I'm like, wow, this is Dodger stadium. Like, this is really cool. And he comes up to me, he goes, Hey man, stop acting like a dog just died. And I was like, I didn't know I was giving off the facial expression that my dog just died or my body language was saying that. But, um, okay. Thank you for making me feel better. And so when I took the field, right, I took the field that first time and I was, I was, I was nervous. And Russell Martin hit me a ground ball and I fielded it. And I said, thank God balls in my glove. And I threw him out. And I felt much more relaxed, right? I felt much more relaxed. And so when I got my first at bat, I actually wasn't nervous at all. I felt great. I went up there and, uh, you know, I was facing a future hall of famer and I was like, I don't care, Greg, like whatever. I fielded my first ground ball. Okay. So if I, if I never do another thing, at least I can tell people, I fielded a ball in the major leagues. I finished with a thousand fielding percentage. Um, but I got a hit, I got a hit on my first swing, my first swing ever. I believe it was my first swing. Yeah, it was my first swing. I got a hit and I was rounded first. I was like, this game's easy. Like, please just put me in the hall of fame right now. Um, and I didn't feel that nervous anymore, uh, until, uh, basically the next day. So the next day I, they wanted me to change my swing. And so I started changing my swing around and then I started feeling nervous again, because now I'm going into a game and I'm not confident. I'm trying a new swing. I don't feel confident in it. I, I'm nervous. I get out and then I get out again. And then I get out again. And then I get out again. And I went like over 23 up to my first hit. Okay. So, um, I was petrified at some points, um, to the point where I just didn't even want to go to the park. I remember I called my wife from my hotel once in San Diego and I was like, I can't like do this. Like I'm hitting one 30, I'm hitting like, Oh, 37. I think I was like one for 24. And I'm not good enough at math to figure that out. Maybe over 23, one for 23. I don't know. But for some reason, like I was hitting below 50. Sounds pretty bad. And, uh, it was not enjoyable to go to the game. Like I was freaking scared out of my mind because like I'm embarrassing myself. I feel horrible. I'm trying to make all these changes. They're not working. They're going to send me down. Maybe they'll cut me, you know, they're going to send me back to Omaha and I don't even live there. Um, I believe is what Ruth Baker said in major league too. Or maybe you said I'm not even from there. I don't remember. But anyways, like it was horrible. Like I, I was, I was, I didn't want to play baseball anymore. Okay. And so I was so nervous. If you look at pictures of me, I wish I had them, uh, from when I was in the big leagues, I guess you can find them online at the beginning of the big league of the beginning. At the beginning of 2008 season, I weighed 223 pounds. By the end of it in, in September, at the end of September, when the big league season ended, I weighed like 57 pounds. Okay. I didn't really, I weighed like 180 pounds. I was like, I was so nervous when I was hitting old 56 that I couldn't eat, literally couldn't eat. I remember finishing games at Dodger stadium and being like, I can't eat food. And then before games be like, I can't eat food. Anyone here get nervous and not be able to eat? Um, that's what I get. When I get nervous, I don't want to eat anything. I just didn't eat. I lost so much weight. Um, and that's how nervous I was. So, uh, I will say this also. Um, I said earlier that I was nervous a lot in games, but there was a lot of games in my major league career or my minor league career too. Like once things started to not go well, I got more and more and more nervous and it's hard again to kind of break that cycle. Um, and so it wasn't just like a major league thing. It was just amplified, I think, because as I said, it took me a while to get there, obviously, um, not so much as a professional player, but working through high school, working through college and then working through pro ball. And when you're trying to do something really bad and you're not doing well, it's a terrible feeling. And like I said, you're nervous that you're going to get sent down and never play ever again in the big leagues, which, uh, happened to me. So that's all I got. Let me know if you have any questions. Um, I think I said never, if you can count how many times I said nervous in this video, put it in the comment section below. My guess is going to be, I probably said it 57 times and I might take the over, uh, if you're, if you're a betting man or woman. So that's all we have. Thanks for watching. Subscribe to the channel, hit the notification bell, give it a thumbs up, all that good stuff. We'll talk to you later. If you've enjoyed this video and want to learn more about building the elite swing, check out our new course. We have over two hours of content, almost 30 hitting drills. We break down the exact mechanics that you're going to want to implement into your swing. I've put the link in the description if you want to go check it out.