Never let something you can’t control affect your mental approach! You can only control having quality at-bats and trying to hit a line-drive every time up. You can’t control the weather, where you hit in the line-up or where the ball goes after you crush it. So don’t let anything you can’t control affect your mental approach in any way. Try to hit a line drive every single time up and let everything else take care of itself. Focus on the process--not the result!

We all know players that seem to go 4 for 4 if they get a hit their first time up because their attitude and approach are determined by the result of the previous at-bat. The same hitters seem to go 0 for 4 if they strike out their first time up, and start to hang their head. This is not the correct approach.

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When you look in the eyes of a great hitter (see Jeter above), you will see the same focus, aggressiveness and looseness every time up--regardless whether he struck out or hit a grand slam the last at-bat.

Every pitch is a new battle and one well worth winning so you can have an advantage in the next battle. Every single pitch matters! A heckuva lot, too.