Balance in the Baseball Life

As for anything in this life, balance is the key to success. Balance is something that takes consistent consciousness and effort to achieve, and it is something that is never reached, only sought after. One can not be enlightened once they believe they have reached a pinnacle, because reaching is part of the beauty and grace in the movement. I believe that too much contentment can be distracting, and that appreciation of focus is a much better approach. That all being said, balance in Europe is something that has not been so easy for me to achieve. It has been brand new territory for me out here, not only geographically, but metaphorically as well. I chose to explore the opportunity out here in the Czech Republic not because I was giving up on my endeavors to continue reaching for a major league career, but more so to step outside of the box for a summer and see if I couldn't find some new and untapped opportunities out here. I decided that I would make a decision for me instead of making it based solely on the hopes and dreams of making it to the big leagues. Its like you want it so bad that you become a slave to it, so I just chose to look at it differently this summer. I don't know what next season has in store, let alone the next few months of my life. It always swirls around and goes up and down, I'm just here for the ride now. My hunger seemed to fade out here a bit with regards to my work ethic and some decisions I have made, but I know that was part of the learning experience so I allowed myself a bit of lee way for a couple months. I am really looking forward to the next phase when and where ever that will be. I am hoping to play in Venezuela or Australia...two entirely different places for baseball, but nevertheless I would be happy ending up at either place.

When you are in such a new place I think you have to let go for a while and disconnect from your norm and discover some newness. I did that while I was here and it has put me into a new norm for some time. I am ready to get back to balance. Out here I have such minimal obligation of responsibility...its pretty much show up twice a week for practice and once a weekend for games, and then chill and have free time the rest of your week. Of course you can go practice every day if you choose, which I tried to do at least 4-5 days a week. Regardless, that is what the job here consists of, and you don't make too much money, but its enough to enjoy yourself.

We just had our last game of the season here in Czech and unfortunately we took the loss in the first round of playoffs. I will be heading back home here with a couple weeks, although home is such a relative term these days. For the last few weeks here I am looking forward to getting back into a more balanced routine, and a great foundation of this for me is to revisit my yoga practice. I just went to hot yoga here in Brno last Thursday, and I plan to go tonight as well. Its just a chill little bus and tram ride away from my flat. Every time I am in a consistent practice everything else is falling into place all the time. Yoga is a huge part of my ability to achieve balance. In addition to all the benefits I have received from it physically, the consciousness and appreciation it helps me gain is infinitely strengthening. I always thank myself every time I get into class.

I tend to go on tangents from time to time. The point of this blog is to help young ball players that are curious and want to learn about the lifestyle of baseball in order to help them become better pitchers,  players, and people. I give my perspective on this life and stay positive about things regardless of my situation, because if it helps any one player decide to keep going then its worth it to me. Stay tuned.

Thanks for reading,
Isaac

PS. This is a sweet song I have been digging. Music is necessary.

European baseball

I am now in the Czech Republic playing baseball. I have been here just over a month and it is quite an experience to be here playing the game that I love. Many people are not aware that there are places to play baseball through out Europe if you know the right people. Through out my career I have been lucky enough to play with many different guys that have played all over the world, and I was able to connect with one of them in order to get me the opportunity to come out to the Czech and play this summer.

European baseball is different to say the least. I am big on staying focused on getting better EVEryday and never slowing down or halting my progress. Regardless of where my career takes me I always try to keep this state of mind at the forefront of all that I do, whether it is baseball or anything else I set out to accomplish, getting better is a rooted way of thinking for me and its evolution in my life continues to strengthen me as a person. With that said, it is tough out here to stay on the normal grind that I would in the states. That is because here in Czech we only play on the weekends, usually just one double header, and then we practice a couple times a week. You see, out here in Europe, or at least Czech, they love baseball but from what I have gathered in my experience thus far is that it is not about being a professional baseball player(they don't get paid to play here, only the imports get paid), it is about playing and trying to be the best team in the country. There are only 8 teams in the whole country! It almost feels like it is more for pride than anything else.

As you may be able to imagine, the level of competition out here is not even close to that of the states. It is easy to see why considering the circumstances of the frequency of practice and games; they just don't play as much here so they improve their game at a much slower pace. There are still a couple pretty decent players around the league, but the majority of the guys here wouldn't be able to even sniff making an independent ball club in the states let alone get an affiliated job. Nevertheless, this experience is great and I am very thankful to be here. I feel quite fortunate to have gotten this opportunity to come to the Czech Republic and get a taste of what European Baseball is about. It is not exactly the same level of play in all countries out here, but the model of play as well as the scheduling are similar throughout the baseball playing countries of Europe.

In this blog, I always try to come back to and write about "Being a Better Pitcher"  as well as a better person. I enjoy sharing how my state of mind evolves in real time as I see new places and experience this game in different capacities. I aspire to give back to young players that want to continue playing the game for as long as they can and use it to experience more of the world. Baseball has been a means of travel currency for me over my now 6 pro seasons playing the game, and I plan on continuing to use it to help me soak up the world. There is so much more in this world to offer us baseball players that goes far beyond just making it to the big leagues. The big leagues is still my pinnacle and it is still where I would like to be someday, but given my circumstances in my career I have allowed myself to detach from making every possible decision I can in order to fulfill that goal. My new goal is to use baseball to help me expand my global knowledge, culture, diversity, and experience. My heart told me it was right to leave the Atlantic League in order to pursue this opportunity and it has yet to waiver.

I love this game and I love the intangibles that it has provided me in my life. Even with all that I have had to sacrifice in order to keep playing, everything I have worked for to get to this point has been so worth it and I am full of gratitude for the universe. It continues to watch over me so I will continue to give back to it and for that I will continue to do all that I can to give back to young players so they can get better and hopefully get to experience some of the things the world has shown me.

Til next time, thanks for reading.

Respectfully,
Isaac Hess

Bigger than baseball

Be a better pitcher is about more than just pitching. Pitching is a way for us athletes to harness so much good in this life and world. For me, baseball has been a point of focus that has directed everything in my life towards something positive. Showing up EVEryday and getting my work in makes everything else that is going on in my life seem to fall into place. The more focused I remain on my end goal of making it to the big leagues, the more I achieve in other aspects of my life as well.

In order to be a better pitcher, we need to first concern ourselves with how we go about what we do, and more importantly, why? What is your motivation? What is the reason you sacrifice so much to play this game? Why do you want to be in the big leagues? Is it for the money and the lifestyle that you have heard about? How bad do you want it? What are you willing to do to get there? Some guys are blessed with so much God given ability that they don't even have to think about questions like this. Man, I wouldn't even want that because it would make the whole journey a lot less fruitful and rewarding. Even if I never make it, I will always be thankful for what baseball has taught me. I will always be thankful for its positive presence in my life. Being a better pitcher starts with being a better person. Baseball is the glue that helps us move forward and work towards something that feels bigger than we are. Thats all for now...stay tuned.

-Isaac

Staying positive

Baseball is a very humbling game. It can be very difficult to remain positive at times. I have been struggling this season, but I am keeping perspective and I know that it is a long season. Baseball and pitching is a roller coaster through out a season at times and the key is to stay positive and not let one game get you too high or too low.

The main thing to remember about this game is that it is a marathon and not a sprint. There will be inevitable ups and downs and your main priority needs to be to stay focused and have a short memory when it comes to your last outing. Build off of every pitch and every game. This is easier said than done but when it comes down to the ability to adapt this marathon attitude will benefit you through out your career.

Get better EVEryday.

-Isaac

The value of drinking water for pitchers/athletes

Dehydration, be it minor or major is a factor that constantly affects athletes. It is another fact which I feel is a very overlooked aspect of fitness and performance in sports. Baseball players are some of the worst about this. We often have an array of sodas and sugary juices available in our locker rooms so that is what many of the guys opt for. This is not good!

We should always aim to be drinking at least 90% of the liquid we ingest in the form of good quality WATER! So many parents raise their kids to drink sugary drinks from a young age...please stop doing this parents! You are conditioning us to reach for the soda and be used to its sugary highs and lows. If you can get your young athletes to crave water over soda or even Gatorade, you will help give them an edge. I can tell you that I drink about 1 soda every 3 months just to remind myself how sugary it is...I have taught myself to actually crave Water though!

Over hydration of the body is proper hydration of the body. It is very very hard to drink too much water! I dare you to try! On the other hand, if you can get your young pitchers and athletes to GET IN THE EVERYDAY STATE OF MIND to reach for water, you will help them to make their blood cleaner an their bodies stronger.

Moral of the story...Ditch the soda! Reach for the water! And if you think to yourself..."but water has no flavor!" then just keep it in perspective and think about how many people in the world don't even have access to water on a regular basis. #WeAreSoLucky!

Thanks for reading and getting better EVEryday!

Velocity vs. Command?

This is something that becomes more and more clear to me every game I see from the dugout and every year I play baseball. I am in my 6th professional season of baseball this year and more and more I continue to value my ability to throw strikes over how fast I can throw the ball. I see guys in the Atlantic League dice people up throwing 85. Granted these guys have years and years of experience so they really know how to pitch, but they can get guys out without having to throw extremely hard. So,f you are a young pitcher then please do not consume yourself with just throwing hard.

Don't get me wrong, velocity plays its roll and it is most definitely better to be able to throw 95 with decent command than 85 with great command. Usually that 95 mph guy will succeed more often if he can stay around the zone. Work hard and take care of your arm and get your velocity as good as high as you can, but don't weigh everything on trying to throw 91 instead of 89. Instead focus your concentration and efforts on maximizing your ability to command the fastball and throw your offspeed pitches for strikes consistently. The guy who throws 85 with great command will almost always be more valuable to his team than the guy who throws 95 and doesn't have a clue where it is going.

Usually the guy that throws 85 and pitches to contact will have his defense play better behind him more consistently as well. It never fails, when you walk people your defense inevitably makes more errors because they get frustrated when their pitcher is not being efficient and throwing too many pitches. It's not that they are trying to play bad, but when you go deep into counts consistently on hitters you put your defense on their heals.

Moral of the story is that command defeats velocity over the course of a season and a career. Strikes are more important that mphs!! So make sure you focus on your game and your routine accordingly.

-Isaac

Long Island Duck's Field, Central Islip, NY

Get your mind right, EVEryday!

So you love baseball, you are ready to work hard, and you want to be a better pitcher? Well I'm glad your here. In this blog I aspire to give you tips to constantly improve your game...from the inside out.

They say baseball is 90% and the other half is physical...or something like that. Well, I can tell you that that is an accurate statement. If you believe in yourself and your ability and you think you can compete at the next level, then you better get your mind right.

How do I get my mind right, you ask? You check-in. Check-in with yourself and your purpose. Why are doing this? Is it just because you see that the lifestyle of a big leaguer is full of fame and money and because they get to play a game for a living? If that is the case then you need to step back. All that stuff is good and grand, but it comes with a lot of sacrifice. Most guys that make it to the big leagues sacrifice everything to get there, and all of the guys that I've played with that have big league experience all say it is everything you can dream it up to be and the sacrifice is worth it.

Put yourself ahead of all the other guys out there that think making it to the show is only about physical ability l, because that couldn't be further from the truth. There are a handful of freaks in the league that have amazing god given ability...then there are the truckloads that all have their own stories and paths of how they made it. So check-in all the time, EVEryday. Figure out what makes your blood pump, makes you excited to get out of bed, makes you appreciate that hug from your mom or your girlfriend more. For me, baseball has been the portal in which I have been blessed to use in order to maintain focus in my life. It is what helps me attack my goals with a vigor that is unmatched by anyone else in my realm. Checking in EVEryday has kept me inspired to continue.

Keep checking in with this blog and I will keep providing you with tips on how to become a better pitcher, mentally and physically. I have began with the mental aspect because knowing your purpose and having a strong foundation will make you separate yourself from the pack, regardless of your current level of ability.

Be in tune

In order to be a better pitcher you need to be in tune with your body. The baseball season is long and it is important to check in with what your body is telling you it needs everyday. Sometimes it will tell you it needs rest and others it will tell you that you need to push hard and get as much work in as you can. The key to being a better pitcher is to focus on your body and always, always listen to it.

There will be times where your ego will want to take over and override what your body is telling you. Through out your time and experience in this game you will continue to refine your ability to listen to what your body needs.

The 3 main keys to take from this post in order to be a better pitcher are as follows:

1) listen to your body everyday. It will tell you what you need to do that day

2) always push as hard as you can when you go to put your work and throwing in, but don't let your ego get you injured

3) continue to work towards achieving a balance between mind, body, and ego in order to get the most out of your body and ultimately bring you the highest level of success on the mound.

First things first

The first thing an most important thing to being a consistent and quality pitcher is an ability to respond to adversity. It doesn't matter how good your mechanics or velocity are if you don't know how to react to things when they aren't going your way. A good tool that I use to maintain focus throughout the bad times in a given game is to pick a spot in the outfield that is your "regrouping" or "focus" place. This season I have been picking the biggest "P" I can found on an advertisement in the outfield. I look for a P to represent Power. It may be a little corny but it has been helping me slow the game down when it speeds up on me, and I think it is a great tactic to reset.

In this blog my goal is to give you information on what it takes to be a better pitcher mentally, physically, mechanically, and all the other intangibles that go into what it takes to be the best pitcher you can possibly be. The game of baseball is very synonymous with life in just about every aspect involved. Responding to failure, staying focused on your goals day by day, month by month, and season by season are just a couple of the ways that baseball parallels with life. This game has been one that has taught me a lot about myself and I am thankful for what it has given me. I look forward to sharing some of the positive things I have learned with everyone out there so that you can be a better pitcher.