How to Play Winning Baseball: Chapter One: Win the First Third!

This Spring, I agreed to serve as the Pitching Coach for a local High School.  What I thought would be a stress reliever and a whole lot of fun has in fact turned into the opposite.  And the simple reason is the guys don't know how to win.  They know how to play (and many of the players have quite a bit of talent), but they don't know how to win.  And winning, just like anything else, is something that has to be taught, has to be practiced, and has to become part of your daily routine. 

As a result, I have decided to outline steps necessary in order to become a winning baseball team.  I hope the guys (and others) will enjoy reading this, and perhaps learn something along the way.

Chapter One:  Win the First Third!

When you break the game down, Baseball is a game of threes (more on this later).  Rather than having your team think and prepare for Nine Innings or Seven Innings, have them break the game down into Thirds.  (3 inns., 3 inns, 3 inns, for a Nine Inning game or 1 inn, 3 inns, 3 inns, for a Seven Inning game.)  This is a much easier concept for your players to grasp and he (or she in fast pitch) can and will then work to win a much shorter game (thus, playing with the intensity and the desire to immediately win that third!)

Now, here is where it gets interesting.  This is true, whether it is in travel ball or the Big Leagues...The team that wins two out of the three thirds will win the game.  (The next time you watch a Big League game, take note of this...It's mind boggling and is further proof, the Baseball Gods are real and they are in control (LOL)!) 

So if your team has a bad inning, so what?  Chalk that up to a bad third (you are allowed to lose one anyway) and then work your tail off on winning the other two!  By dividing the game for your players, it makes the game shorter, more intense, and encourages hustle, attitude, and desire to WIN THE FIRST THIRD!