Professional Baseball’s Mental Coaching Revolution
Heading into the 2019 Season 27 MLB Teams are using Mental Skills Trainers
“90% of the game is half mental” – Yogi Berra (circa 1958)
by Edward Bell
The idea of professional athletes as models for mental health and mental strength has been discussed quite a bit in recent years, and to their credit, a lot of athletes have spoken up fairly loudly about these topics. Whether it’s Olympic legend Michael Phelps openly chronicling his own mental health struggles or any number of famous athletes espousing the benefits of mental coaching, wellness efforts, meditation, and the like, the overall effect is wonderful. The world of sports is waking up to the notion that the mind has every bit as much to do with success and wellbeing as the body.
Even within this environment though, the MLB has not been a sports league many
But perhaps it should be. All of the above is true regarding baseball’s age in America and the MLB’s dedication to the past. The last few years

USA Today did a wonderful write-up of this trend heading into the 2018
What these mental skills coaches actually teach may vary from player to player, or clubhouse to clubhouse. Joe Maddon argues that they’re no different from hitting coaches in that they’re simply chipping away at the advice and tips a player might need to succeed. Other articles have touched on the psychology of the game and how mental skills coaches can help players in that area. The whole concept appears to be fairly broad and appears to envelop a lot of different challenges. The broader point, however, that even the MLB is now embracing the mental side of the sport at its core, is a wonderful one for the entire world of athletics. Not only is it undoubtedly going to produce some fascinating stories and lessons, but it may also help kids watching the MLB to open up more about their own needs and desires beyond physical prowess.