Hall of Fame player Hank Aaron was one of the best hitters in the history of baseball and a model of consistency. When Hank Aaron struggled to get a hit against a particular pitcher, he would go back to the dugout to study that pitcher.
By reducing distractions from the crowd and the benches, he could concentrate on the pitcher, visualize getting a hit the next time at bat, and gain confidence.
As a matter of fact, Hank Aaron attributed much of his success in baseball to his mental preparation -both before and during the game. He was not a big advocate of the mechanics of baseball.
Instead, he believed that mental preparation and doing his "homework" was the key to becoming a great, consistent hitter year after year. He was a master at studying the pitcher before games.
"I think about how a guy mentally prepares himself to do battle, to go out and face the pitcher. I think so many hitters do not know how to get themselves prepared to play or hit against a pitcher. You have to mentally be prepared to hit against all pitchers," Aaron said in an interview with Tom Hanson.
Aaron treated each game differently because he had to face a different pitcher, and this required focus, concentration, preparation and visualization of the pitcher's stuff.
"You visualize [pitches]. You see it in your head; you think about it... I used to play every pitcher in my mind before I went to the ballpark. I started getting ready for every game the moment I woke up." (Aaron & Wheeler, 1991)