Barry Craddock

Hot take: most amateur hitters and their coaches focus on mechanics, thinking magic can be sprinkled and outcomes will change. Mechanics matter for sure but let’s talk about timing and pitch selection before we make wholesale swing changes!

During one of the worst losing streaks of my career, our team president walked into my office. Keli McGregor. One of the best men I've ever known. He could have come to vent. To question my decisions. To ask hard questions. Instead, he said: "Cut to the chase, Clint. What's next?" I looked him in the eye and gave him two words: "Shower well." The Colorado Rockies were struggling badly that year. Pregame preparation was solid. Scout meetings, early work, attention to detail. All of it was there. But at game time, the tires were flat. I told Keli: the game did everything it could to us today. We just couldn't meet its demands. Now it was time to reset. "Shower well" means exactly this: • Watch the frustration circle down the drain • Shampoo, rinse, repeat and get the grime of today completely off your mind • Walk out clean, go home, and actually rest Leave it at the ballpark. The game is over. There's nothing left to solve tonight. Keli nodded. Asked if he could share it with the whole organization. I said sure. And then it hit me. This isn't just for baseball. Bad day at the office. Grumpy boss. Missed deadline. Traffic on the way home. You can carry all of that through your front door. Or you can shower well. I've never seen a single problem get better because someone dragged it home with them. The reset is a discipline. Same as preparation. Same as showing up. Either we win. Or we learn. The only real loss? When you don't take a single thing out of a hard day. So tonight, whatever kind of day it was, shower well. Tomorrow is a new at-bat. What does your reset look like? I'd love to hear it.