How Can Players Overcome The Yips?
Baseball is a relatively simple game that players can complicate at times…
Overthinking, over-analyzing and trying too hard can get in the way of doing certain skills that you have done since you were a little kid.
Think about the act of throwing a ball…
You probably started throwing objects when you were two years old.
In no time at all, you were able to throw to a target.
After a few years of playing baseball, you started hitting the target with relative consistency, even while throwing the ball with a bit of pace.
You probably have thrown a ball with accuracy tens of thousands of times… A pretty simple, straightforward skill.
So why, after so many years of throwing experience, do so many players develop throwing problems with no apparent reason?
Let’s examine the not-so-uncommon story of 24 year-old pitcher Cody Buckel who developed the yips early in his career. Buckel is playing for the Double-A Mobile Bay Bears and trying to work his way back to the majors.
Buckel was selected by the Texas Rangers in the second round of the 2010 draft and was the Rangers’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2012. Through his first three seasons in the minors, he posted a 2.48 ERA, with 10.5 strikeouts and 2.7 walks per nine innings.
Buckel was on the fast track to the Texas Rangers rotation. But Buckel’s MLB career was derailed when he developed the throwing yips.
In 2013, Buckel was invited to major league camp but suddenly couldn’t throw a strike… And so were the beginnings of Buckel’s four-year battle with the yips.
BUCKEL: “I tried to take it up to 120 percent. I didn’t take what I did in 2012 and just do it again in spring training. I tried to do too much. I think that’s the beginning of the mental spiral of having the negative thoughts. Unfortunately for me, I think a lot.”
Buckel knew the origin of his yips was mental. Throwing a ball was replaced by thinking of throwing the ball, analyzing how he was throwing the ball and trying over controlling his action to throw a strike.
BUCKEL: “You are lying to yourself and thinking it’s physical or mechanical. Everyone is scared of the word yips. They never want to say it. It really never is mechanical. You just don’t move differently one day. It’s a mental block. Your mind doesn’t want to let you do it.”
How do players get over the throwing yips?
The answer is simple but not easy to do. The simple answer is “just throw the ball.” Throw the ball like you have just thrown the ball since you were young.
Unfortunately, when you start missing, you start looking for answers and focusing on mechanics, which only serves to prolong the yips.
You can beat the yips by letting go of outcomes or the result of your pitch, quieting your mind and just throwing the ball.
Try this tip to beat the yips:
You have to go back to throwing on instinct or like a kids again, what I call throwing freely.
However, this requires you to stop thinking about the negative outcome of missing a throw and what teammates and coach might think about your game.
In order to let go of the fear of embarrassment or what others might think, you have to stop making false assumptions or mind reading others.
This means you have to know you are a good ball player and person no matter what happens on the field…
Get all my tips for breaking the yips cycle with my new program for ball players.
Related Baseball Articles:
- When One Throw or Pitch Can Turn into the Yips
- Why Short Toss is the Hardest
- Do You Have Throwing or Pitching Problems?
Breaking The Yips Cycle Audio
Breaking The Yips Cycle AudioIf you can throw well when alone, but can’t take it to games, this is a mental game issue and not a physical challenge!
The Yips Cycle is a vicious cycle that causes ball players to stay trapped in overthinking and over control…
Learn to throw or pitch freely again with my proven audio and workbook program!