A Fundamental Truth: The Difference Between Understanding And Discipline

At the outset I want to make clear my intention is not to criticize or excuse any player, coach, or manager today. I aim to be fair, neutral, objective, and merely to raise questions over which you can debate the answers.

While “fundamentals” are, by their very definition, basic that does not make them easy. Or at least it does not make them easy to execute even when they are easy to comprehend. Why is this?

Whether it’s the art of throwing the ball at the cutoff man’s chest, properly engineering a rundown with an economy of throws, securing one out before trying to pursue two, many players struggle to do what they know — or certainly ought to know by the time they are playing in front of thousands of fans at the highest level.

By this time every player has been coached through high school/college and the minor leagues, and the skills we are discussing are often ones practiced daily during pre-game infield/outfield reps.

“Fool Me Once...”

When does responsibility fall on the player and when does it become a reflection of the coaching staff? As the saying goes, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

When an outfielder winds up and ignores the cut off man heaving a lollipop throw that sails over the catcher as back runners advance, it’s fair to criticize the player who surely knows better and has been taught differently both by previous instructors and current ones.

When the same outfielder keeps repeating the mistake and seemingly nothing is changing the pattern, it’s fair to question whether the coaches are effective in getting through or prioritizing a shift in behavior.

Then again players can be stubborn. Then again, it’s a teacher’s job to cut through that stubbornness and get a student’s ear followed by their cooperation and subsequent growth.

“Understanding”

In all likelihood, breakdowns in fundamentals do not arise out of a lack of comprehension of what the player is supposed to do. Unlike the nuance of a hitter’s timing device, unlike recognizing spin early, unlike correctly reading a swing and getting a quick first step or taking an efficient route while sensing how close you are to the wall, fundamentals are basic and not difficult to learn and remember.

It is not plausible that major leaguers, following years and years of being coached at high levels, are confused about matters such as who to throw to ball to when fielding a base hit in the outfield, or about the wisdom of trying to throw a ball before you have actually fielded it.

“Discipline”

So now we get to the key concept in all of this. “Discipline,” in this context, is the ability to overcome your boyish instincts and to “stay the course” of following the fundamentals.

In the moment, Lawrence Butler may see a runner he thinks he can nab at the plate and the in-the-moment first thought is, “If I throw this one to the plate on the fly I can get him. I know I can.” Upon seeing a bouncer down the 3B line, before he has time to reflect — and before he secures the ball in the glove at all — Max Muncy’s immediate reaction might be, “If I get this to the bag quick enough I can start a 5-3 DP.”

Where “discipline” comes in is to be so committed to the fundamentals that you ignore that first voice in favor of the one that sounds like a blend of every coach you have ever had, who says, “Always fire the ball at the cut off man’s chest.” The one who drones, repeatedly, “Field, then throw, even if it takes a split second longer. Get one out, then try to get two. Always.”

The arch enemy of “Discipline” is “Impulsivity”. The more impulsively you act, the less you act with discipline and consistency.

Understanding vs. Discipline

What we see often is when understanding is present but discipline is lacking and instead impulsivity, or “first thought” is allowed to take over. We see players who know better not doing it anyway, and the results are predictable.

With regard to hitting the cut off man, it’s absolutely true that sometimes only a throw on the fly will get a runner who will barely beat the throw if it one hops the base. Trouble is, 1 in 100 times your “miss the cut off man” throw might get an out otherwise not gotten but in between are 8 times your throw allows a back runner to advance unnecessarily. Every player may intellectually understand this, but it takes discipline to forego that 1 out and to take the long view that those other 8 bases are important too.

Players vs. Coaches

Back to the question of responsibility, it is in the area of “discipline” that I am inclined to fault the coaching staff. Once understanding is taught — and in this case it is taught long before any player suits up for the A’s — it is the teacher’s job to instill the discipline to follow that understanding and not give in to impulse in the moment. (And it is, in turn, the student’s job to be capable of having discipline instilled.)

When you see a given player just not having this discipline time and time again, it’s fair to suggest that player is the problem, “uncoachable,” “immature,” etc. It happens. And when you see an entire team appear to lack discipline, it’s fair to suggest the coaching staff is failing to communicate, prioritize, instill.

Coaches’ Limitations

It’s also worth noting that even if you hold coaches responsible for instilling this discipline and a commitment to following it, their available tools are limited.

I am not a big proponent of public humiliation, and the strategy of yanking a player for making a mistake is more popular with frustrated fans than it is with sensible managers who know that’s also a good way to lose a clubhouse.

“Drop and give me 100 pushups for that mistake today!” is great in movies and has little value in actual teaching.

To the extent that coaches are as much parents and psychologists as they are instructors, it is no obvious task to instill discipline in a way that is at the same time firm and humane, unrelenting and supportive, no nonsense and loving.

Conclusion

Where I personally get frustrated is not when I see a single impulsive mistake that belies the teachings every player gets repeatedly over years of competitive baseball. It’s when so many players, across many different rosters and seasons, share what appears to be a lack of discipline to follow what they know even when impulse offers competing advice.

This is a baseball article, but it could as easily be one in Psychology Today talking about the classic Freudian battle between Id and Superego. And Freud was probably lousy at rundowns but usually hit the cut off man.

I will say that I find the A’s generally lacking in that discipline that is crucial to playing good solid fundamental baseball, and it matters more to the A’s than to an average team because low payroll teams can’t as easily afford to neglect aspects of the game not tied to star ability or superior tools.

But as to where the “blame” lies and where the solution sits? That’s as complex a question as the problem is a, well, fundamental one.