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In a world where the game of baseball is different form than it once was, one thing will always be uniform: those playing the game are human beings with feelings, motivations, personal goals, physical challenges and more.
For players who pursue a career in baseball, the odds are against them from Day 1. It requires their undivided attention on a day-to-day basis for a majority of their adolescence to even earn the opportunity to be one of the few players to call themselves a professional.
America’s pastime is the game of failure where succeeding just three out of 10 times can place you in a status among the legends. This game can elevate you and place you on a pedestal on Monday, then turn around Tuesday to chew you up, spit you out and drag you through the dust all over again.
Enabling the five tools in the game that scouts look for — speed, arm strength, fielding ability, hitting for average and power — will certainly help you on your journey. However, there’s a sixth and most important tool in the bag that can unlock the rest or be what keeps you from attaining any.
This tool is something the eye cannot see, but it’s more real than any other statistic in the game. It comes with a price, of detailed focus and self-reflection and must be overcome as an invisible opponent for every single person.
“Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical,” a classic ‘Yogi-ism’ from Hall of Famer Yogi Berra that broke the code on the mental approach in baseball decades before anyone took it into account. The tool of mental health is a double-edged sword for better or worse, but the path it takes lies between your ears and the decision is yours.
The University of Florida, a nationally renowned program boasting 225 draft picks in program history with 82 making it to Major League Baseball, produces players who are well equipped and familiar with the importance of a proper mindset when approaching the game.
Unlike any other sport, baseball poses a whole new challenge. No matter how bright you shine in college, you are thrown right back at the bottom of the ladder when earning your shot in the pros, beginning a climb through the Minor League system where your sixth tool is what you must cling to the most for success.
Here’s a look at how four former Florida Gators baseball stars are trying to approach the hidden side to baseball.
Christian Scott, Pitcher, New York Mets
“You have to take the positives and negatives and continue to stack good days,” right-handed pitcher Christian Scott, who pitched for the Gators from 2019-21, said on handling everyday life in pro ball. A fifth-round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft by the New York Mets, Scott was named the Mets organization’s Pitcher of the Year in 2023. He made his Major League debut on May 4 for the Mets against the Tampa Bay Rays.
An exciting moment filled with joy and accomplishment that you only get to experience once can easily flip into a whisper of doubt and fear of failure from the invisible opponent when the pressure is on.
“Pregame, I was dancing with my headphones in because this is all you dream about, and then when I got out there, the first three batters I faced got on base and one scored,” Scott said.
That was the moment the voice of lies crept in. While the Rays were digging in at the plate to face him, Scott was also fighting the invisible opponent between his ears.
“A little bit of doubt starts to creep in your mind,” he said. “Like, ‘Am I really about to have this blow up on my debut? Is this really about to happen?” Scott said.
But he was determined to not let negative self-talk spoil his day.
“At some point you have to be like, ‘All right, now I’m going to make a pitch’ and so what. Why not?’,” he recalled. And that is exactly what he did to persevere and unlock his sixth tool.
With runners on first and third and Rays All-Star Randy Arozarena at the plate, Scott turned a pitch he wasn’t as comfortable with, one he used only eight times the entire season: a right-on-right changeup. He dug deep and threw it with conviction: a strike.
Have a night, Christian Scott!
Scott's debut is done after 94 pitches, allowing 1 run through 6.2 innings 🔥👏 pic.twitter.com/9pdrXWM0oS
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 5, 2024
He backed that up with a four-seam fastball right down the middle at 96 mph for a swinging strike for his first career strikeout. He followed that by inducing a ground-ball double play from Harold Ramirez to end the threat, then proceeded to retire the next 10 Rays. His final line: 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball, collecting six punchouts in a no-decision.
Scott went on to pitch 47 1/3 innings for the Mets this season while striking out many other notable hitters along the way, including Jazz Chisholm, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Corbin Carroll, before suffering a UCL sprain in his right elbow, ending his season. The Parkland, Fla,, native underwent Tommy John surgery in September, a procedure that likely will keep him out for the entire 2025 season as well.
Nick Pogue, Pitcher, Washington Nationals
The invisible opponent finds ways to follow you off the field and into your daily life. It has no barriers. It has no restrictions on where it can appear. It has no time frame on when it’s allowed to call you out to fight.
Right-handed pitcher Nick Pogue knows exactly what that off-the-field battle feels like and how to overcome it.
“It’s tougher than I definitely thought it was going to be, but it taught me a lot of things mentally, a lot of things about myself that I didn’t know I could do and push through,” Pogue said.
Pogue was sidelined in the heat of his UF career in 2021, redshirting after Tommy John surgery, missing an entire season of chances to prove himself. He returned his junior season, blazing back to earn a free-agent contract from the Washington Nationals in 2022.
“In hindsight, I’m very grateful [the injury] did happen because that’s something that’s taught me a lot about myself,” Pogue said.
It’s a continuous battle to keep your mind in the right shape, but you don’t have to do it alone. Adjusting to the pro schedule of playing six times a week with a single day off for seven consecutive months took a toll on him. Pogue re-sprained the same elbow in July while pitching for the High-A Wilmington Blue Rocks. The latest injury sidelined him for a few months.
His outlet to clear his mind and devise a plan for recovery was confiding in his tight community of former teammates to keep him going. It doesn’t matter whether they’re playing in the big leagues or working different jobs, Pogue knows how instrumental it’s been for him to keep his sixth tool sharp.
“One of them is Christian [Scott],” he said. “We talk at least every week, if not more.
“There’s guys that you know you’re always going to talk to and it’s not even about baseball. It’s just checking in, seeing how they’re doing, how’s life and everything like that. It’s just definitely built a bond with all of us.”
Pogue’s uplifting perspective on facing adversity sparked from meeting with a mental performance coach while rehabbing through his recent injury. Since then, it’s developed into a newfound passion for helping other athletes. Pogue put passion into action, attaining his mental performance coaching certification in September and looking to serve in that role following his playing career.
“I think a lot of people and players overlook the mental aspect,” he said. “They think that it’s just all on the field and based on talent and hard work. I think the mental aspect gets overlooked a lot and I’ve seen it firsthand.”
Nathan Hickey, Catcher, Boston Red Sox
For Nathan Hickey, the path to mental toughness and a positive mindset is like a train.
“You just got to keep chugging,” he said. “This is baseball. You’re going to get beat up, you’re going to fail so you just have to keep going and keep chugging.”
The former Gators standout catcher (2020-21) and 2021 fifth-round pick of the Boston Red Sox just wrapped up his third full season as a professional. He has found his process to be the most important tool to prepare him for everything.
“The mental side of it gets harder every year,” Hickey said. “You just got to lean on your process and die on that hill.”
Similar to Scott and Pogue, Hickey’s community that he’s built on his climb up the Minor League system is what has driven his process to stay locked in and engage in his sixth tool of mental approach both on and off the field.
“Every level you go up, you just have to find the guys you mesh with,” he said. “You lean on them for a lot of things even outside of baseball and can bond with about life to keep you going.”
It’s one thing to have a support system that guides you along your journey, but it’s another thing to have some of the best names in the game take time to lend a word of advice and learn from. In January, Hickey was invited to the Red Sox spring training in Fort Myers after earning organizational All-Star recognition in 2022 and 2023. It was at Sox camp where he says he got an understanding of what it takes after rubbing shoulders with a few notable players.
“It was sick. I got to share a locker room with true All-Stars like Trevor Story and Rafael Devers,” Hickey said. “I got to see them go through their process every single day.”
Hickey was in full student mode, soaking up any bits and crumbs of advice he could.
Oh my NATHAN HICKEY! pic.twitter.com/LjOYhxsiqG
— Worcester Red Sox (@WooSox) August 10, 2024
“The main difference that I saw was how disciplined they are,” he said. “Even if things aren’t going their way, they’re still finding their own process and sticking to it every single day.”
Hickey implemented that process, making the jump this season from Double-A to Triple-A, right on the doorstep of getting that call to crack into the big leagues.
Through his climb, his best advice for players, especially Gators, was to not take your journey for granted.
“Not a lot of people get to experience the position you’re in, especially at UF,” he said. “Just take a second to realize where you are and see the big picture will do the most for you.”
Mark Kolozsvary, Catcher, Free Agent
A common theme is having the right support system. What if you don’t have one? What if the roller coaster of life shakes you up and down, moving you from one team to the next where you don’t have a chance to forge familiarity?
A player who knows what the mental and physical grind through the system from the bottom to the top is Mark Kolozsvary, a former seventh-round draft pick of the Cincinnati Reds.
A gritty catcher on the historic 2017 Florida College World Series championship team sprinkled with teammates like Jonathan India, Brady Singer and Alex Faedo, Kolozsvary is no stranger to being surrounded with influential talent a majority of his career to push him forward.
From starting at UF as a walk-on to getting drafted in just three years, Kolozsvary built a deep resume spending time on the USA Olympic team in 2020 and then with multiple MLB teams before making his debut for the Reds in April of 2022.
🔴 First big league hit
🔴 First big league RBICongrats, @mark_kolozsvary❗️ pic.twitter.com/et1emzWBHh
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) April 28, 2022
He’s been up and down the Triple-A to MLB ladder for the last few seasons, most recently finishing a Triple-A season in the Red Sox organization alongside Hickey, then electing free agency for the second time in his career. Through it all, Kolozsvary still leans on his former brothers in the Orange and Blue to this day.
“Almost every day you look at the team across from you and see a Gator, even ones you know or not,” he said. “It’s just the way you handle business wearing a Gator jersey, it’s really cool.”
Even though he has a Gator support system, Kolozsvary makes good points in dealing with the invisible opponent when you feel alone as well.
“Getting mentally prepared every day trying to get yourself ready to play can definitely be a challenge,” he said.
Sometimes people forget baseball at this level is a cut-throat business for better or worse. Whether players are getting released, sent up, or getting down, it can be a difficult dynamic to survive in.
“There’s new faces every day,” he said. “You’re really not able to form those relationships a lot of the time because you don’t know who all is going to be there the next day.”
Enjoying the moments and staying level-headed keep Kolozsvary calm.
“Guys come and go because they can’t handle failure,” he said. “You have to realize it’s a part of the game. No matter how high or low you get it’s not going to last forever so just keep going.”
The tussle with the invisible opponent of mental health is controlled before it even starts. The mindset you choose to bring to the table every day determines how you will perform. You simply cannot neglect the importance of the sixth tool to unlock the rest, but it’s up to you
“I’ve seen too many people get in negative headspaces and once they’re there, feel like they aren’t going to accomplish anything,” he said. “But knowing it’s part of the game and that you’ll get through it gives you so much peace.”
So enjoy the moment, every last drop of experience. Lean on your network. Not the negative ones, but the positive people who want the best for you. Stick to your process and trust yourself while reflecting on the talents you have.
Remember the battle of the invisible opponent is won before you step in the ring. So start now.
For the full-length interviews with each player, visit Jesse Simmons on YouTube
