In this, the fourth article in a five-part series called “In the Heat," Scott Langdon writes about the magical "sixth tool" that scouts are looking for in a player, which is mental performance.

You can read the first three parts of the "In the Heat" series by clicking on these links.

Part 1 - Could the Jays' new Dunedin Stadium defy odds?

Part 2 - What do you get for $81 million?

Part 3 - "If you're thirsty, it's too late."

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The sixth tool

By Scott Langdon

Canadian Baseball Network

LAKELAND, FL – Baseball scouts look for a player with speed, arm strength and the abilities to field, hit for average and hit for power – the so-called five-tool player. Now major league teams are hiring experts and investing resources to develop the sixth tool, mental performance.

USA Today reported earlier this year that 27 Major League Baseball (MLB) teams employed mental skills coaches at the start of this season, if not at the MLB level, then in the minor leagues. Having someone to talk to can relieve pressure from players.

Langley, B.C., native Kellin Deglan knows well how doubt and worry can creep into a ballplayer’s mind.

Deglan, 26, is a former first-round draft pick of the Texas Rangers in 2010 when he was selected from the Langley Blaze of the B.C. Premier League. He made his first professional appearance for the Rangers in the Arizona Rookie League the same year.

He started 2018 playing for the Tampa Tarpons, the advanced A Florida State League (FSL) affiliate of the New York Yankees. He was promoted mid-season to the Trenton Thunder, the Yankees’ affiliate in the AA Eastern League, a level he had not seen since 2016 when still with the Rangers. He has a .233 career batting average and has struggled with shoulder injuries in recent years.

“I have realized over the years that my Achilles heel is over-analyzing and worrying about my performance. I have a tendency sometimes to look for signs from others about how I’m doing. I try not to, but when I do it messes with my head,” Deglan explained.

Toronto’s Daniel Pinero, 24, a third baseman with the FSL’s Lakeland Flying Tigers who was drafted by the Detroit Tigers from the University of Virginia in the ninth round, 2016, can identify with Deglan’s feelings.

“It’s easy to think too much. It causes me to struggle though. Professional baseball is mental and you have to try to keep a positive mindset even during the bad days,” Pinero said.

Ken Carson, president of the Florida State League, understands how the pressure to perform can be daunting for some players in the minor leagues.

“The competition increases for players as they progress from level to level,” said Carson. “The reality is that just four per cent of drafted players actually make it to the big leagues, even though they all believe they can make it.”

The mental skills coaches teams are now employing to help deal with that pressure are part of an emerging discipline, sport science, defined as the application of biophysical and social scientific methods to study sport behavior. It’s widely applied in professional basketball, football, soccer and the Olympic sports, but is a relatively new and growing part of professional baseball. Helping players deal with the mental aspects of baseball is part of the sports science process, says Dr. Jason Berry, Head of Sport Science at the IMG Academy, Bradenton.

“Sport psychology can help when reacting to a negative situation that has happened. Ideally, though, it provides players with the tools they need to get out in front of it. The idea is to help them be mentally strong before an issue arises,” said Berry, who replaced Angus Mumford at IMG when Mumford moved to the Blue Jays to head the team’s high-performance department.

Berry’s colleague at IMG, Charles Gooch, teaches leadership in a sports context. “To me, leadership skills, including a great attitude, are as important in an athlete as physical skills. Leadership is about service to others, a fit for team sports. It helps develop the person, helps build confidence. For a team, it brings a sense of organization, helps create an identity and a human connection.”

“Mental performance coaching and leadership development help build character, help create a better human being. Typically, better human beings make better athletes,” added Berry,

A recent Canadian Press story described how the Blue Jays have established what they call a “mind gym,” a group workshop where players learn the importance of mindfulness.

“From the very get go, like the draft class that just came in, they were exposed to some workshops in Dunedin around mental performance. We have a mind gym which is also teaching them about mindfulness and the role of the mind-body connection and being able to be present in the moment, which we can all appreciate in baseball, but also in life it’s really a key skill,” Mumford said.

Adrian Ramos, drafted by the Blue Jays in the 19th round in June and now playing with the Gulf Coast Blue Jays, experiences the mind gym each morning.

“We learn many things, including breathing techniques and understanding that baseball is a tough sport, so don’t make it harder on yourself. If you’re in a slump, it isn’t as bad as it might seem,” he said during a recent interview at the Jays’ Bobby Mattick Training Center at Englebert Complex in Dunedin.

Kacy Clemens, infielder with the Dunedin Blue Jays in the FSL following a promotion from Lansing in the Midwest League earlier this season, explains how important the mental part of baseball can be when facing increasingly strong competition.

“Every level you move up the pitching is more consistent, pitchers throw really hard with off-speed they can throw for strikes in any count. It’s tough. I’ve struggled since I have moved up to Dunedin, but I have learned not to be too hard on myself, that it is a long season. The beauty of the minor leagues is I can try new things and fail, but it helps me understand what I have to do for the future,” Clemens said.

The Yankees consider mental performance coaching an important part of their performance department.

“We have a very active mental conditioning group,” said Sydney Boehnlein, Yankees minor league nutrition co-ordinator. “Our goal is to teach the Yankee way, to impact the whole person, not just the player. We are helping prepare them for better performance, but also for life.”

Yankees’ minor leaguers such as Kellin Deglan have three mental conditioning staff members at their disposal throughout the season. They conduct group chats on a regular basis, produce motivational videos and are available to players for individual consultations. The Tigers are similar, according to Pinero.

“Fastballs are harder, the breaking balls are better. As a hitter, you need to learn a better approach. Sometimes it is easier said than done. I spoke with one of our mental performance coaches and they reminded me why I play baseball. It’s fun. Don’t think too much about the end goal, just focus on playing and having fun,” he said.

The mental performance function of sport science is helping players learn to cope as the competition gets more challenging on the journey from rookie ball in Florida to the big leagues, even if more than 95 per cent of minor league players will never make it that far.

Perhaps what  New York Yankee icon Yogi Berra said is true: “Ninety per cent of this game is mental. The other half is physical.” It appears professional baseball is listening, Yogi.

Next: The role of Australians in sports science across North American pro sports and what professional baseball is likely to experience in the future.