Ryan Krupp

Bobby Witt Jr. says after every game, win or lose, he writes down 3 things he’s grateful for and 3 positives from the day “That conversation happened kind of last year, so it took me a while to get to that conversation. I was always kind of nervous or scared to tell that to my parents, but it was just one of those things where it’s like, ‘All right, I understand all the negatives that happen in baseball. We’re losing a lot of games. I may not be playing well, and then I’m getting this from my parent or from my dad.’” “So it was like, ‘How can we figure these things out?’ That was a tough conversation with me and my dad because we’re so close. I know he’s trying to help me. He wants the best for me, and I want the best for myself, but there are ways where I just need that positivity because that drives you so much.” “You know, in this game, once you’re done playing, it’s over. You’ve got to make the most of each and every day. You’ve got to really make those positives keep adding up as much as you can. That’s something I do after every game. I write down my three gratitudes and three wins each and every day, whether we have a game or not.” “Hopefully the sun rises tomorrow and you have a new day, but you had a great day today, so just enjoy it. It was always something I wanted to get better at, the mental side of the game, mental performance. That’s huge in baseball because it’s a grind.” “I learned about keeping a daily performance journal. I do it before the game, before I put my uniform on, to start the day. Then right after the game, I finish up the journal and write down everything I need to write down.” “You’re always going to have bad days, but how can you take those three positives? Maybe the gratitude is that your family is good and healthy, the sun came out, or whatever it is, just the little things.”

Freddie Freeman says his 69 year old dad still throws him batting practice everyday because he believes not everything has to be about getting better, and says the hour they spend together is worth more than any amount of reps with a real pitcher or coach “When people ask me, ‘What advice do you have for my 10-year-old?’ I say, ‘It’s not for the 10-year-old. It’s for you, the parent.’ My dad loved practicing and throwing batting practice and doing those kinds of things with me every single day. When you have a parent that loves it just as much as I loved it, it’s kind of a match made in heaven.” “My dad was the one that led me to baseball, and then obviously I just loved it. He was fueling that fire. He still throws me batting practice to this day. In the offseason, I’ll take about two months off baseball activities. Then in January I’ll go to my high school in Orange County, and we’ll spend an hour together. I work out with him and he throws me batting practice.” “He’s 69 years old and he still throws. The last two years he goes, ‘Freddie, I’m not very good anymore.’ And I said, ‘Dad, that’s not the thing. It’s not about that. It’s about the hour we spend together.’” “I’ll figure it out in spring training. I hit every day there. I just want to hit with you. This is our thing. He thinks he’s not very good, but I think he’s great.”