I'm reading a book about the minor leagues and thought I would share this quote that I think beautifully explains the 6th tool @Consultant discusses so often:
"One thing I know, because I never had overwhelming skills, is that the difference between most major leaguers and guys at this level [triple A] isn't physical; it's mental or emotional. Every guy in our clubhouse has the physical ability to play at the major-league level.
But some don't have the confidence; some don't have the attitude or the work ethic. I tell the guys all the time that most major leaguers have two hot streaks a year at the plate, maybe three in a good year. That's the time when they feel like they're going to get a hit every time they come up.
Most of the year isn't like that. Most of the year is about grinding. It's about being 0-4 and finding a way to get a hit in that fifth at-bat. It's about taking an extra base when you can to help the team or moving a runner or making a play on defense. The guys who make it are the guys who do that, because managers notice that, coaches notice that, personnel guys notice that. You can be in the worst slump of your life, and there's still a way to help the team. The guys who grind through those periods and find a way to contribute are the guys who ultimately make it. If you compete when it's hard to compete, when lying down would be easy, that's when you become a real baseball player."
-David Bell, MLB Manager (he was a triple A Manager at the time)
Excerpt from: Where Nobody Knows Your Name: Life In the Minor Leagues of Baseball by John Feinstein
Question for the crowd....is the caught, taught or innate? Or some combination of the three.