FIVE LESSONS FROM MVPS AND CLAYTON KERSHAW

By Ripken

While this year’s MVP winners each certainly had an amazing year, they have fans everywhere looking ahead.

That’s because Clayton Kershaw (26 years old) and Mike Trout (23 years old) have made their definitive marks on so early in their respective careers.

Most players who have been in the league as long as Trout and Kershaw are still struggling to define their role with a team, fighting for a starting spot among veterans. Trout and Kershaw, on the other hand, have already cemented their stardom and earned the respect of every player in the league.

Trout churns out defensive and offensive highlights quicker than Baseball Tonight producers can handle. Kershaw consistently dominates entire lineups, bringing Major League sluggers to their knees with his sharp-breaking .

But they’re just getting started. And that’s why this year’s MVP award feels less like a recognition of this year’s best and more like an indication of greatness to come.

What can you learn from Mike Trout and Clayton Kershaw? They may have an immense helping of innate talent, but you can easily translate aspects of their approach into success of your own.

Here are five lessons from this year’s MVPs:

DON’T GET BIG

As a hitter, Mike Trout keeps it simple. He knows his swing and what works for him as an individual. Like any player in the majors, Trout studies opposing , but the slugger simplifies his approach once he’s in the batter’s box.

“Don’t get big.”

Trout told MLB.com in June that he often repeats those three syllables before an at-bat. It reminds him to keep his swing short and compact.

The Lesson: There are thousands of drills for tweaking every aspect of your swing, but when you’re in a game situation facing live pitching, you have to empty your mind and let your swing do all the talking.

CONSISTENTLY CONSISTENT

Clayton Kershaw is consistent in a lot of ways. He keeps his ERA low. He delivers wins for his team. And he consistently takes home the Award — three in the last four years to be exact.

All of that consistency can be traced back to one aspect of Kershaw’s mechanics: his release point. Kershaw brings four great pitches to the mound, but hitters don’t know what’s coming because Kershaw releases each pitch from the same point. Whether he’s humming in a or snapping off a 12-to-6 curveball, every pitch remains a mystery until the last possible second.

The Lesson: For pitchers, deception is a product of consistency. As you develop a repertoire of pitches, focus on keeping your mechanics — and specifically your release point — uniform. If your motion and release remain the same, hitters won’t be able to jump on your pitches. They’ll be left guessing until it’s too late.

DEVELOP ALL YOUR TOOLS

You’d think sportswriters invented the term “5-Tool Player” for Mike Trout, the phrase is so often associated with his on-field prowess.

Trout became such a sought-after prospect at a young age because he honed each aspect of his game. As a hitter, his swing delivers both a high-contact average and power to all fields. His speed makes him a threat to steal bases. He can track down nearly every ball in his vicinity and he has an arm strong enough to catch even the fastest runner trying to take an extra base.

The Lesson: One-dimensional players have a hard time remaining competitive as they move from youth baseball to high school to college and beyond. For the best chance of making your varsity squad or earning a scholarship to play in college, avoid specializing as a power-hitter or a . Develop each aspect of your game and make yourself effective at the plate and at any position on the diamond to increase your chances of advancing to the next level.

PERFECT PREPARATION

Clayton Kershaw doesn’t just throw a before each start, he perfects it. A.J. Ellis told Buster Olney that he and Kershaw don’t even use signs in the bullpen because their pre-start routine follows the same unbreakable pattern. Every time.

"Three when I'm standing up. I sit, and three fastballs down the middle. Then three fastballs either side. Three away. Fastball inside. Three to the middle. Fastball inside. Three sliders to the middle. Then he goes to the stretch position. Two fastballs inside, two fastballs away, two changeups, one fastball inside, two curveballs, one fastball inside, two sliders. Back to the windup, and one fastball inside, one fastball away."

Kershaw clearly abides by a tenet of the Ripken Way that Cal Ripken, Sr. often repeated - “Practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.”

The Lesson: Practice with a purpose. Players who go far in this game don’t just “get loose” or “take swings.” They approach every repetition with a purpose because they know that how you practice is how you will play. They don’t just practice, they practice perfectly.

PLAY MULTIPLE SPORTS

In high school, both Mike Trout and Clayton Kershaw played multiple sports. Trout paired baseball with basketball. Kershaw played center on his high school football team.

In today’s highly competitive youth baseball environment, many players choose to specialize in baseball. They believe that a full commitment to the game will give them a competitive advantage over other players.

At Ripken Baseball, we encourage young players to give their full commitment to the game during baseball season, but to try their hand at other sports during other seasons throughout their development.

Both Cal and Bill played multiple sports growing up, and they often attribute their success on the baseball diamond to the athleticism they developed playing other games. In addition, trying their hand at other sports reduced their chances of burning out. Instead of growing weary of a year-round commitment to baseball, they enjoyed other sports and returned to baseball with renewed excitement every spring. Over the years, that excitement fueled their development into big league ballplayers.