After a poor showing in spring training last year, Mets reliever Vic Black feels more mentally prepared coming into camp this season. Black struggled mightily with his control last spring, walking ten batters in nine innings. As a result of this performance, he did not make the Mets Opening Day roster.
In an article by Adam Rubin of ESPN NY, Black talks about how he has changed his mindset from last year.
“There was a desire to finally break camp, finally start with a team,” Black recalled Tuesday at Mets camp about last year. “I think now it’s understanding that the spring is a preparation for April.
“When your mind speeds up, everything else wants to go faster. Once I got in my mind to calm down, I was in the right acceleration process throughout the whole delivery and stuff like that. And also muscles relax. I think people take for granted how much your thoughts play a role in how your body feels. I’m learning to trim out the bad thoughts and embrace the good ones, and fill it up with more good ones.”
Despite starting last season in the minors, Black was able to finish the year on a promising note. Black was called-up to New York in May, and he excelled with a 2.60 ERA in 34 innings pitched.
