Don't Think, It Can Only Hurt The Ballclub
Wisdom from Crash Davis, Day 1
The legendary catcher Crash Davis was at the center of the baseball movie Bull Durham. Early in the movie, rookie pitcher Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh and Crash meet behind a bar in Durham… you know, the classic “wanna step outside” moment. The moment culminates with Crash challenging Nuke to throw a baseball at him, followed by Crash planting seeds of what could happen if Nuke misses.
Nuke misses, shattering a window.
Crash says “You just got lesson #1. Don’t think, it can only hurt the ballclub.”
This begs a question. Do we want players who don’t think? Do we want players who think, but at the right time? Or do we want players who don’t have to think?
This scene also brings up some other questions. Before Ebby Calvin got named “Nuke” by Millie, what was he called? Did people actually refer to him as “Ebby Calvin”?
Back to the lecture at hand.
Do we want players who don’t think? No.
Do we want players who think, but at the right time? Yes.
Do we want players who don’t have to think? Ideally.
What is the right time to think? Well in advance of what might actually happen. How does this happen? Several ways.
Visualization. You’re in the moment before you’re in the moment. Before he hit his walk-off grand slam in Game 1 of the 2024 World Series, Freddie Freeman started playing backyard wiffle ball with his brothers. “Those are the scenarios you dream about. Bases loaded, two outs in a World Series game.” This can apply to countless other things: sales calls, office meetings, situations in other sports. Visualizing the outcome you seek gives you practice without physical wear and tear on your body.
Premedetatio malorum. This is a “premeditation of evils,” and it’s a consideration of the evils that might lie ahead. This isn’t perseveration and isn’t designed to cause anxiety, but exists so that “nothing ever takes us by surprise” (Seneca). It’s thinking through everything before it happens.
Preparation. The reason pilots have a checklist is so they don’t have to think while they’re in the air. The lack of thought required by reviewing a checklist and ensuring measurements are within a prescribed range removes the friction that can be caused by making decisions on the fly.
Practice. I love the Allen Iverson clip and I loved the Answer as a player, and I can’t hear the word “practice” without practically spitting it out of my mouth. But I don’t agree with him that practice doesn’t matter. The legendary football coach Nick Saban says that “Everything starts with discipline. Practice until you can’t get it wrong, not just until you get it right. Run hard when it’s hard to run.” Practicing to that level of detail ensures that when the heat is on you don’t have to think.
In this example, Crash knows that he will get the literal player to be named later to miss him by getting into his head. If you’ve played any sport, you know the feeling of making a shot or hitting a ball without thinking. You also know the feeling of having too much time to think.
So we can take that lesson from Crash: don’t think, it can only hurt the ballclub.