MESSAGE #1070 THE WORLD’S LONGEST BLOG ENTRY
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Then I guess this is the word’s longest blog entry with 10,000 words. Enjoy!
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MESSAGE #1068 TALKIN’ BASEBALL
Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Brandon Laird, 3B for the Trenton Thunder (Double-A, New York Yankees).
Brandon Laird currently leads all of professional baseball with 77 Runs Batted In in 72 games.
He was named Eastern League Player of the Week and Player of the Month.
He was only the second Thunder player to hit for the cycle on May 26, including a walk-off home run.
Two nights ago, he hit a grand slam and a three-run home run (for the second time this season).
Did I forget any impressive stats? Probably.
I have been fortunate to spend some time with Laird over the past month. His numbers are amazing and his attitude is even better. He is truly a class-act and is mentally tough beyond his years.
After last night’s game, I spoke with Laird and he was telling me how he was in a bit of a “funk” last week.
I asked him how he got out of it and he said, “At first I thought, ‘What am I doing?’ then I thought about what I was doing well before and tried to focus on that. I just trusted that it would come around because failure is part of baseball.”
Laird was persistent in his approach and stayed optimistic. As most great athletes do, he focused on his effort, not his results.
I had to ask Laird about his streak and having the most RBIs in professional baseball.
“You know, I’m just taking it one day at a time. I have a plan, I try to hit the ball hard and have a good at bat,” commented Laird.
Tonight is exactly one month since I first spoke to Laird, which was the same night he hit for the cycle with a walk-off home run.
I will be talking to #29 again before the game and we’ll see if he can continue to stay hot with his bat. I have a strange feeling he will.
Play ball!
MESSAGE #1056 JUST DO IT
I’ve seen many amazing things in sports, but on May 26, 2010, I experienced the most amazing thing…well, almost.
I was selected to interview a player at the Mrs. G’s Very Important Blogger event at the New York Yankees Double-A affiliate, Trenton Thunder game. Little did I know, it turned out to be one of the Yankees’ top prospects, Brandon Laird.
We had a great conversation before the game in the hallway, next to the clubhouse, underneath the stadium. To checkout highlights and a video, click HERE. Laird then proceeded to hit for the cycle (single, double, triple, home run), with a walk-off home run with two outs, to win the game. It was only the second time someone hit for the cycle in franchise history. The reason why it was “almost” the most amazing thing I have experienced in sports was because I left when the game was still tied, 5-5. (I know, shame on me).
Well, this past Saturday night, amidst a whirlwind Special Olympics Summer Games weekend, I headed back over to the stadium, on, ironically, Special Olympics night. I again spent some time with Laird before the game.
When we were talking back on 5/26, I asked him what his best home run he ever hit was, and he said it was in a playoff game in high school.
The first thing Brandon said to me this past Saturday night was, “Remember last time you asked me what my best home run was? It was the night we spoke, when I hit for the cycle.”
We had another great conversation about success and mental toughness. He talk about his new routine and I asked the million-dollar question…
“What do you do when you don’t feel like doing your routine?”
“I just suck it up and do it anyway.”
Great answer, Brandon. And notice he used the “J” word…just.
In any great performance, they “just do it.”
When I asked Laird how he hit for the cycle, he said, “I worked my way to a hitter’s count and just got a good pitch to hit.”
Laird went on to become Eastern League Player of the Week and then Eastern League Player of the Month. It is amazing to see such an amazing athlete, but the thing I like most about Brandon Laird is not his athletic ability. The thing I like most about him is that he is a great person who has great character. He’s already in the Major Leagues, if you ask me.
Watch the video below for part of our conversation…
MESSAGE #1038 TRENTON THUNDER MRS. G’S VIB EVENT
In this video blog, Ed reports from the Mrs. G’s VIB (Very Important Blogger) event at the Trenton Thunder. Checkout the exclusive interview with Yankee prospect, Brandon Laird, who hit for the cycle in the game (including a walk-off home run).
MESSAGE #1037 I’M IN THE MINORS!
Tonight I will have a press pass for the Trenton Thunder (Double-A Affiliate, New York Yankees) game with some VIBs, Very Important Bloggers, including Hillary Morris and Debbie Schaeffer. I hope Warren Bobrow will be there because he is a food blogger and I am a foodie.
I have the honor of interviewing a player in the locker room before the game and then will be live streaming from the press box. And yes, I will have a video blog tomorrow.
So have a great day everyone and let me leave you with one of my favorite baseball quotes by the great philosopher, Yogi Berra…
Slump? I ain’t in no slump… I just ain’t hitting.
MESSAGE #1026 YESTERDAY I MET MY CHILDHOOD HERO
Today is Message #1026 (my birthday: October 26) and my lucky number. In fact, if you have spent some time with me, you know that I even have a #26 necklace that I always wear (it was my baseball number too), and all around my house I have different items with 26 on it from a street sign to old license plates to mahjong tiles.
Why the number twenty-six, you ask?
When I was younger, my hero was pitcher, Dwight Gooden (Dr. K) of the New York Mets. He was #16 and I had all of his baseball cards, doubles, and in some instances, triples of each. One day I flipped one of his cards over and noticed that his birthday was November 16 and instantly saw why his jersey number was the same. Well, from then on, my number was 26.
In addition to all of his baseball cards, I had Dwight Gooden posters, photos and magazine cutouts. I even tried to duplicate his pitching motion.
Well last night, I spent some time with Dwight Gooden at Yankee Stadium.
Wow.
It was unbelievable. He even signed a ball to me.
I asked Doc, “What was the secret to your success?”
Without hesitation, my childhood hero replied, “Hard work.”
He didn’t say, “Talent” or “Natural Ability.”
There is a phenomenon called the “Iceberg Effect.” When we see a Dwight Gooden, we only see his out-of-this-world skills (tip of the iceberg). What we don’t see is the hard work and 10,000 hours he put in to getting to that point.
Everyone wants to be an overnight success, but do you know how long it takes to become an overnight success?
Ten years.
Thank you, Mr. Gooden for continuing to be an inspiration to me and a special Happy Birthday to Coach Anthony Carter and high school tennis player, Kevin Roveda.
MESSAGE #832 YANKEES WIN!…THEEEEEE YANKEES WIN!
“I want to thank the Good Lord for making me a Yankee.”
-JOE DIMAGGIO
Well, the Bronx Bombers did it – they won their 27th World Championship.
You have to admit, the Yankees get a bad rap for having the highest payroll, but obviously that’s not a guarantee for success because this is their first World Championship since 2000.
And Andy Pettite, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera have all been (for the most part) part of the team since 1995. How many teams can say that, nowadays?
You know what I like about the Yankees?
Not that they have the most championships, but because they are a team.
When you watch the news today or read the papers (and by read the papers, I mean click on Yahoo! News)…listen to the interviews with the Yankees. It’s all about a team effort.
We can all learn from the new World Champions.
And remember what team stands for…
TEAM…Together Everyone Achieves More…as long as there’s a Total Effort from All Members.
Have a great day everyone!
The Tseng Performance Academy opens this weekend at the brand new Monroe Sports Center. Come check it out! http://monroesportscenter.com
Thanks for reading.
MESSAGE #829 WHAT AM I DOING?!?
“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”
-ALBERT SCHWEITZER
Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Rob Gurden in Orange County, CA.
It’s 2:52am…
I am awake and motivated.
To my defense, I did go to bed early, at 9:30pm.
I didn’t even watch the end of the Yankees game. Anyone that knows me, knows that I bleed pinstripes. But it’s just a game, isn’t it?
Yesterday, I gave a three-hour workshop with the great Naime Jezzeny at Yogaphoria in New Hope, PA.
There were athletes and coaches there. Some were runners, some were swimmers, some were tennis players and some were equestrian riders. Some were there for the game of life.
During the workshop, Naime talked about caring.
“If you care too much in sports and life, you’re weak. If you care, but not too much, you’re powerful,” Jezzeny said.
I care about the Yankees, but if they don’t win, I know that it’s not the end of the world.
When I compete, I like winning, but when I don’t, I make sure that I learned something.
I care about my new Tseng Performance Academy, and was up writing down ideas, but it’s not a “have to,” it’s a “want to.”
When you’re competing, strive for relaxed focus, or as my friend, noted-sports psychologist, Jeff Greenwald says, playing loose.
Go all out, but be a little relaxed…like Bruce Springsteen in Message #807.
Remember the quote above.
Do what you love and you will work harder.
If you work harder, you will have a greater chance at success.
Thanks for reading.
MESSAGE #801 BE LIKE MO…
“Don’t be well-rounded…be sharp-edged.”
Well, it’s one of my favorite times of year again – the Major League Baseball Postseason. And my New York Yankees are looking to win their first World Series ring since 2000.
I just finished reading the most recent Sports Illustrated article on Yankee closer, Mariano Rivera.
I want you to be like Mo.
He only throws one pitch. And he throws it well – better than anybody.
Many people go through life trying to do everything well. They try to be “well-rounded.”
Would you like to be pretty good at many things, or would you like to be great at one thing? Only you can answer that.
Let me tell you about Mo…
In the postseason, “his 0.77 ERA is the lowest among all pitchers with at least 30 innings. He is the only man in history to get the last out of the World Series three times. No one is close to his record 34 postseason saves.” (Verducci, T. October 2009. Mariano Saves. Sports Illustrated, 46.)
Mariano only throws one pitch.
Well, he throws it 92% of the time.
It’s the cut-fastball, or the “cutter.”
“You know what’s coming, but you know what’s coming in horror movies too. It still gets you,” says former Kansas City Royals first baseman, Mike Sweeney.
And he does it under pressure. How?
Focus. The right mindset. Nothing bothers him.
“My mental approach is simple: Get three outs. As quick as possible. If I can throw three, four pitches, the better it is. I don’t care how I get you out. As long as I get you out. The quicker, the better. And that’s the only thing I have on my mind.”
Rivera is nearly 40 years old and his stats are better now, towards the end of his career.
He takes it seriously because he knows one day he won’t be able to stand on that mound of dirt surrounded by the Merion Bluegrass. He doesn’t go out and party. He believes in taking care of himself.
“I have bad games, but my confidence doesn’t change. Right after the game I will ask, ‘What happened?’ I go through the game. After that, it doesn’t hurt me at all,” says the Yankee closer.
In September, when Rivera blew his first save since April 24, he walked out of the clubhouse enjoying a chocolate ice cream cone.
Win as if you expect it and lose as if you enjoy it.
“I don’t want to second-guess myself when I retire. I want to know that I did everything that I could possibly do for my teammates to give us a chance win. If it didn’t happen, I don’t want it to be because I didn’t give it my best.”
Be like Mo today…
Thanks for reading.