#103 - Daily MG - The Mental Game of Baseball by Harvey Dorfman - 5 of 6

"April 19, 1982, the NY Mets were rained out of their game against the Expos in Montreal. Seaver was to have pitched for the Mets. His start was changed to the 21st against the Chicago Cubs. Sports Illustrated recorded the “event” which followed the rain-out:

When the Mets returned to NY the night of the 19th, most of the players went directly home from LaGuardia Airport. Seaver, however, got a ride on the team bus to Shea Stadium, which was deserted and in darkness. He went directly to the locker room, put on his uniform, filled a bucket with baseballs and began the long walk across the diamond to the right-field bullpen. He moved with his graceless and plodding plowman’s walk, his weight falling on his heels and his head listing to the right as if, with each ensuing step, it might collapse upon his shoulder. When Seaver reached the bullpen he stepped onto the warmup mound and began throwing baseball after baseball against the screen behind home plate. His throwing was illuminated only by the lights from the parking lot. He warmed up quickly but carefully in the mild night air. He was accompanied only by the sounds of his own exertion, and of baseballs plunking against the screen and dropping softly to the ground. When asked why he put himself through such an inconvenience, he said, ‘It was my day to throw. I always throw on my day to throw.’ Because of such dedication to detail, it would seem the only thing that could keep Seaver from reaching the goals[s] he had determined for himself is an event beyond his control. Seaver defeated the Cubs on April 21, 2-0. It was his second start of the season; it was his second shutout."

Harvey was a mental skills consultant in the MLB from 1987 to 1997 and is known as one of the original mental skills coaches.