MENTAL LAPSES DON"T JUST HAPPEN

The case of Jason Werth, the right fielder for the 2010 Philadelphia Phillies, is a good example of how easy it is to misunderstand people's behavior. Jason is in the last year of his contract, playing under the pressure of having to perform well in order to earn the payday of free agency. His play has been inconsistent, batting .296 with 20 home runs and 66 RBI's but going through stretches of striking out and hitting into double plays. The most telling statistic is that his batting average with men on base is below .200, meaning that he fails most when the pressure is on, and succeeds well when there is no pressure.
On August 23, his poor performance reached a new low. He is one of the few players in baseball history, and possibly the only one ever, to be picked off at second based during an intentional walk to the batter. You think he would have learned his lesson. Instead, two weeks later, he committed one of the cardinal sins of baseball, throwing to third base to catch a runner who he thought had strayed far enough off the bag to be picked off. Maybe he was trying to compensate for the mistake he had made 16 days earlier. In any case, he puts too much on the throw and nearly airmails it into the stands.
So what is going on with Jason Werth? People come up with all kinds of reasons. He is thinking too much about money and his contract. He is selfish and only worried about himself. He lacks motivation, and pouts too much. He chokes too much and is not a pressure player.
As a psychologist, none of those explanations makes any sense to me. My opinion is that he is anxious about his performance because it means too much. He is making bad decisions because he is playing out of fear, rather than for the love of the game. His mistakes get magnified in his own mind, and he tries too hard to compensate. When players are on base, he puts too much pressure on himself to deliver a hit and bring in the run. He hits home runs when he is relaxed, meaning that there is nobody on base or there is little meaning to getting a hit.
Jason Werth is a really good baseball player. He just needs to go back to playing the game that the loves and enjoy himself. When he makes that shift, you can count on him as he has proven himself over the past two years as a Phillie. Until then, you will watch how fear can level even the best of players.