Ravens BTE Baseball preseason notes

The Baltimore Ravens excellent season came to a

disappointing end on Sunday, as they lost a home

playoff game 17-10 to the Kansas City Chiefs. While

there is no shame in losing to a perennial power with

the likes of Mahomes and Kelce, the manner in which

the Ravens lost should serve Between the Ears Baseball

players as a reminder. You must control your emotions,

or your emotions will control you and your results will

suffer. The opponent the Ravens lost to was themselves.

Baltimore looked like a team that had no control and

were thus unable to execute on the big stage.

One (of several) fifteen-yard penalties stood out

as a telling example of this lack of control.

Zay Flowers, a star in the making at wide

receiver, caught a long pass on a blown coverage by

Kansas City. Flowers proceeded to push his tackler

after going down, spun the ball in his face, and

taunted the opponent -

all this on a busted coverage where Flowers did not

do much but catch a pass that any high schooler

would have. This demonstration stalled momentum

just enough and it was plays such as this that led to

physical mistakes ultimately dooming the Ravens. 

As the hometown fans in Baltimore now change their

wardrobe from purple to orange, Between the Ears

Baseball players should take note of what you can learn.

As much as you are building up to the beginning of your

spring training and seasons physically, ask yourself:

what am I doing to prepare myself mentally?

You are going to face adversity in this game.

The question is not if, but how much and

to what degree you will struggle.

Having the mental skills that Between the Ears Baseball

players have developed:

mindfulness, breathing strategies, self-talk mantras, and

accepting only the ability to control your controllables

is going to allow you to perform at your best.

When you arrive on the stage, you will have visualized

the moment dozens of times before and you will execute

to the best of your ability because you trust in your

training. When things do not go your way, you will not

lacerate your hand punching the bench or water cooler

(as Flowers did after a goal line fumble), but you will

take yourself through a strategy to acknowledge

the situation and feeling, adjust as needed, and then act

to get back to where you want to be. So now -

get your long toss in, take hundreds of reps defensively,

get your swing ready to attack - but also,

visualize yourself in tough situations.

Have a plan for when things go wrong

because this is baseball and they will.

Be a Between the Ears Baseball player!