Matthew Meyer

When I was with the St. Louis Cardinals, I saw Matt Carpenter do one of the strangest things. He always had a bat in his hand. Before the game. In the clubhouse. In the tunnel. Walking around the stadium. And he was constantly taking swings. No baseball. No tee. No pitcher. Just swing after swing after swing. We call them dry hacks or dry swings. One day I finally asked him about it. I said, "Carp, why do you take so many dry swings?" His answer surprised me. He said: "I'm visualizing success." That was it. I remember standing there thinking about that for a second. Because I had always viewed dry hacks as physical work. Matt viewed them differently. Every swing was a confidence rep. He wasn't just moving a bat. He was seeing himself drive a fastball into the gap. He was seeing himself stay on an off-speed pitch. He was seeing himself compete and succeed before the game ever started. That's when a light bulb went off for me. Think about it. Every player wants confidence. But most players wait for a hit before they allow themselves to feel confident. Matt was doing the opposite. He was building confidence before he ever stepped into the batter's box. By the time the game started... He had already seen himself succeed hundreds of times. So I decided to try it myself. When nobody was around, I'd grab a bat and take dry hacks. But this time, I wasn't just swinging. I was visualizing. I saw myself driving balls into the gaps. I saw myself competing with two strikes. I saw myself getting big hits in big situations. And over time, I noticed something. I felt different on the field. More confident. More relaxed. More prepared. And the results started improving too. Not because I magically became a better hitter overnight. But because I stopped waiting for confidence to show up. I started building it before the game ever started. So if youre struggling with confidence... Here's my "Confidence Booster Plan" I'd Do Tonight: 1. Dry Hacks (10 Swings) Visualize yourself driving a line drive into the gap. 2. Dry Hacks (10 Swings) Visualize yourself battling with two strikes and winning the at-bat. 3. Dry Hacks (10 Swings) Visualize your next game. See yourself stepping into the box confident, aggressive, and ready to compete. 30 swings. 30 confidence reps. One thing I've learned from Matt Carpenter: Most players practice their swing. Elite players practice confidence. Thank you for reading, Jermaine Curtis P.S. - If you enjoyed this and thought it was helpful, please share it. (When you share it, it tells me you want more content like this.)