I have around 20 players right now in pro baseball, from rookie ball up to majors
Theyâve said, âBen you should get in pro ballâ
I say, âHave you met anyone like me in your organization?â
They say, âNo.â
Me: âWhat do I provide that you guys donât have?â
Daily Accountability
I would be fired from pro baseball in less than a month, Iâm 100% positive of that. I am extremely unlikable on a personal level and thatâs because your average person strolling society finds the truth very prickly. I present the truth in a raw way. It upsets the median because our instinct always has us seeking âcomfort ability.â
The vast new wave of people in player development are younger non-experienced folks who are happy to have their job and one of their main goals is to keep their job.
This is why there has been such a massive shift in player development becoming cornered by the private sector. There is cache in affiliated baseball bc of the commercialization and history, but the player has complete and total control.
Yes there are good and strong leaders but they are rare and far in between. I used to pick apart my players, teams and staff when the standard fell short regardless of what area it fell in.
If you didnât clean your locker room space - conflict
If you didnât transition from the clubhouse to the dugout with intention - conflict
If you werenât dressed properly - conflict
If you didnât feed a double play by working the ball uphill - conflict
If you didnât understand our pick system as a pitcher or catcher - conflict
If you didnât treat service staff with respect before, during and after meals on the road - conflict
It wasnât always nasty conflict⌠especially early on. âHey this is how we go from the clubhouse to the dugout, baseball is a game of transitions and this is why itâs important to getting your day started properly and with focus on the fieldâŚâ if there was reoffending multiple times yea it got confrontational.
I asked my teams this at least 100 times during my career:
Do you want me to stop being like this? If you guys want me to stop being like this I will. Iâll pat you on the rear and give you a high five no matter what happens. Tell me if you want me to stop being like this.
Every single time they genuinely told me, often times in ways that strengthened our human connection to a very high degree: Ben please keep being that way
What did that tell me?
That even though I was this raging prick who never let any detail slip, they yearned for this level of accountability because they knew it was making them better
Baseball players have an internal system and that internal system has one major undying goal regardless of level
Get better!
They want this goal serviced and it canât be serviced properly unless they have someone pointing out the areas where they are falling short (because we all do)
This is why we have the issues we have in Major League Baseball and now even college ball to a higher degree than 10 years ago. The promise we make to the player is about how we will help them reach their goals or dreams and what we will give them if they do good⌠but⌠weâre not kicking their ass enough or reigniting their flame when they fall short, they just become discarded
And thatâs what happens with coaches too, especially in pro ball. Teams are hiring people who donât have the âaccountabilityâ capabilities.
The solution? I only know where to start:
If youâre reading this and youâre in a position of leadership and someone is continually falling short, go put your foot in their ass