PGStaff posted:Natural talent does exist, I see it many times every year. Sure hard work and other things can help a player come closer to his potential, but his potential is always limited by something. That something is usually natural talent.
Hunter is a natural, no doubt in my mind. He is 17 and can throw 100 mph. Of course he has worked hard and had the advantage of good training and has played against the very best competition. Give some other kid all the same advantages and he might throw 80 mph. Hunter hit something like 7 in a row out of Petco. Give some other kid the same exact advantages and training and they might never hit one out of that ball park.
Baseball is a game that requires different types of natural talent. So some of the most talented don't always end up being the best. Instincts, feel for the game, thought process are all based on natural ability to a degree. You can educate all you want, but some things can't be taught. In the end it becomes a combination of physical ability and mental ability that determines the outcome.
So in my opinion, natural ability is very important and what you do with it is even more important.
Would never argue with Ted Williams, but didn't he have unusual advanced vision? Wouldn't that be considered natural? He had a natural ability over most others. To his point, he got the most out of his ability. It took more than great vision to hit like he did.
Do not disagree one bit. The great ones are naturally gifted, no doubt. Ted basically said that nobody, ever, swung the bat as much as he did to become the hitter he was & nobody, until then, put as much thought into the art of hitting as he did. He felt he was a made hitter all the way. Ted did have 20-10 vision. No doubt special but not crazy uncommon.
It would be crazy to ignore the fact that the "ceiling" of some special few is just so much greater than others, purely due to genetics. An excellent read on this very subject is "The Sports Gene" by David Epstein. Well worth the read.
30-40 years ago you had perhaps 2 pitchers in the entire game who could throw 100. Nolan & JR Richard. Last year, in 2016, there were at least 24 pitchers in professional baseball who topped 100. Are there just more "naturals" being born than ever? Or, could it be, that perhaps the genie is out of the bottle & there are the same # of special arms per capita & the "secret formula" for elite velocity is now a known that can be attained by the "gifted" with dedication & a plan to get there. Read Michael Kopech's story on the quest to become the hardest thrower of all time..