The great Willie  Mays said, “…What shape your mind is in, is what makes the biggest difference of all.” Conversely, what shape your mind is NOT in (being overly conscious or aware of what you are doing), is just as important.

Billy Donovan opens up about the cost of chasing validation through achievements. “I was depressed because I lost total sight of what it’s all about…If it’s all about the ring and the trophy, you lose the most valuable thing…the group of people and the relationships that are established.” If your identity becomes consumed by the rings and championships, inevitably you’ll lose the very thing that makes the achievement meaningful and the journey fulfilling. The people, the relationships, and the shared purpose. 🎥: News 9 OKC

Big fan of McGonigle - Grittiness + toughness in the box - Controlled early load, never rushed - Short + quick trigger that's direct to the ball

"Try not. Do or do not. There is no try." Yoda

Elly De La Cruz has taken it to a whole new level as a right-handed hitter this season, with an OPS well over 1.000! #MLBCentral | @Reds

“It's textbook... it's beautiful.” 📚 @TheMayorsOffice and Mark DeRosa take a closer look at Rafael Devers and the power he generates with his swing. #MLBCentral | @SFGiants

Spencer Jones has simplified his swing in a major way dating back to his high school days ⏪

MIKE LEACH ON EMBRACING HARD "Nothing is really fun unless it's hard ... You're pushing yourself. All of a sudden you're making great plays. You're doing things that you've never done before... Never hope that it's easy." ~ via @WSUCougarFB and @DrewMaddox

Henry Aaron shares a story about Stan Musial, who was one of his best friends in baseball. This is a must watch.

John Wooden shares one of the greatest definitions of success - and it has nothing to do winning. "The definition I coined for success is peace of mind attained only through self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you're capable." Because you can always control your effort, your preparation, and your ability to give everything you have. But here is where he really nailed it: "We're not all equal as far as intelligence is concerned. We're not equal as far as size. We're not equal as far as appearance. We do not all have the same opportunities. We're not born in the same environments." "But we're all absolutely equal in having the opportunity to make the most of what we have and not comparing or worrying about what others have." You can't control where you start, but you own how you show up and what you do.' Ownership of your actions, attitude, and approach. Success isn't about being better than someone else. It's about becoming the best version of yourself. The only person you need to be better than is who you were yesterday. (🎥 Academy of Achievement)

Driveline changed how baseball develops hitters. But what happens to the players it hasn’t fixed? Months of reporting on Kristian Campbell, a changing coaching profession, voices afraid to speak out and a sport wrestling with what works and what doesn’t. cbssports.com/mlb/news/polar…

“If you want to be good, you really don’t have a lot of choices because it takes what it takes. You have to do what you have to do to be successful. You have to make choices and have the discipline, focus on the process of what you need to do to accomplish your goals,” Nick Saban

Someone his size can do whatever he pleases.

Wisdom from a 1988 movie which is probably more relevant in today's age of analytics.

"Don't think. It can only hurt the ballclub." Crash Davis BULL DURHAM

In 1978, my rookie year with the Royals, I spent hours every day under a hitting coach named Charley Lau. He'd already built a reputation as one of the best hitting minds in the game. George Brett and Hal McRae were his students before me, and both went on to have Hall-of-Fame-caliber careers. That season I was a mess in the batter's box. Some weeks I felt like I'd invented the game. Other weeks I couldn't have hit water falling out of a boat. After one hot stretch, I won the American League Player of the Week award, which came with a Bulova watch, the league insignia on the dial, my name engraved on the back. At the ceremony, about a month later, right before I walked onto the field to accept it, Charley put his arm around me. "I'm proud of you, Clint," he said. "Always remember, there are two types of people in this world: those who are humble, and those who are about to be. You've been both. Remain the first one." I wish I could tell you I learned that lesson once and never needed it again. I didn't. I've had the ego kicked out of me more than once since 1978, and each time it gets replaced with a little more humility.

Your culture doesn't automatically change because you do a book study, a team-building activity, bring in different players, paint the locker room, get new uniforms, or put a slogan on a t-shirt. Culture changes when the standards are lived out and reinforced EVERY DAY.

KIRK HERBSTREIT ON PARENTING "I'm cool with my kids failing... It's part of the process. Every day there is adversity... They have to learn how to deal with junk... It's okay to make a mistake. Get back up and let's keep going forward." ~ @KirkHerbstreit @thewinningdiff1

“Baseball Is The Best!” – Sarah Langs Where else but in our great game can you see things like this? Here are the Top 10 “Baseball Is The Best” Moments as chosen by our very own @SlangsOnSports. #250for250

Top of the third at Fenway last night. Mariners DH Dominic Canzone tapped a 51 mph chopper in front of the mound. Payton Tolle is 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds. He pounced on it and cut Canzone off about halfway down the first base line. Easy tag. Routine out. Instead he opened his arms wide and hugged him. Wrapped him up completely, applied the tag in the middle of it, and Canzone put an arm around him and smiled before heading back to the dugout. MLB called him an absolute gem. The clip went everywhere. If you watch Tolle pitch, none of it is out of character. He prances around the mound. He fist pumps at nothing. He takes exaggerated leaps at balls he has zero chance of catching. He gives out enormous hugs in the dugout between innings, mostly to Garrett Whitlock. He is 23 years old and he looks like he is having the best time of anyone in the building, every single night. Here's where that comes from. Written on his glove are three words. You're so pretty. That's what his mother used to yell at him. Loudly, on purpose, in front of his friends and his teammates, specifically to embarrass him. It was how she told him she loved him. Jina Tolle was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer back in 2016. Doctors gave her three months. She lived almost eight years. She never complained about it, by every account from people who knew her. She was a former Wichita State golfer, and her stories about that place are a big reason her son chose to play there. She died in May 2024 at 48 years old. Two months later, the Red Sox drafted her son 50th overall. There's a detail in this that's hard to believe. The Red Sox scout who pushed for Boston to draft him, John Reilly, had been friends with Jina for years before he ever met Payton. When they finally met in person at TCU in 2023, the first thing they did was hug each other. Now Tolle runs out to center field before every game. "It's like I'm having a conversation with her," he said. "There's sometimes where if I need some comfort, I know that I've always got a fan, so that's nice." Before and after every start, he signals I love you and looks up at the sky. "She told me to play with joy and show people why you love this game, and I get to go out there every fifth day, and I get to do that." "She was my best friend and I still talk to her quite a bit. For her to go through that with the mindset she had, it poured into my brother and myself." This past winter he joined the Red Sox Holiday Caravan and spent his offseason visiting cancer patients around Boston. On the field he's turning into a real problem for hitters. He entered last night 8-6 with a 3.09 ERA and 141 strikeouts, and earlier this season he became the youngest Red Sox pitcher to strike out 14 in a game since Roger Clemens. Boston came back to win 9-8 in extras. But the play everyone will remember from that night is a guy who decided a routine tag out was a good enough reason to hug a stranger. His mom told him to play with joy. He took it literally. For more stories like this, follow us on any platform @thesportsontap

Curt Cignetti shares the blueprint for building a championship program. "You got to have a blueprint and a plan to create an environment where people can thrive and a process where people can improve daily. Environment + Process = Growth. "If you prepare the right way, there's no self-imposed limit. There should be no self-imposed limitations on what you can accomplish." Then comes the next challenge: "The next job is to get in everybody's head and get everybody thinking alike." Alignment is foundational. It gives a vision and direction. "You go into a game prepared, you go into a game with the right mindset - you still have to put it on the field." "And that's where fast, physical, relentless, one play at a time comes in. That's how we want them to play." "This team also did a great job in terms of their consistency - day in, day out, week in, week out - showing up prepared and playing pretty darn consistent in all three phases." Consistency isn't talent - it's discipline. It means showing up with a mindset of excellence every day. "You only get to that point because you have tremendous alignment in your staff, your coaches - everybody's rowing in the same direction." The formula is alignment, consistency, and mastering the process. Win the day and you'll build something special. (🎥Bison Drop )