I don't use any particular gimmicks or fancy techniques to enhance my concentration. I just block things out, focusing completely on the task of retiring the hitter. Maintaining concentration depends on what I call tunnel vision; nothing else in the world exists but the catcher's target, the hitter, and my perfect delivery. This is a space where I feel comfortable and relaxed. I don't get distracted by all the external stuff going on around me.

The ability to block things out is something you develop through experience. Young pitchers have a tendency to lose their composure on the mound, falling prey to negative thoughts. Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman were notable exceptions; they were both blessed with incredible mental discipline. The entire Mets' staff, in fact, was remarkable for its mental maturity.

Unfortunately, some pitchers are unable to learn how to concentrate and focus properly. I've played with very talented athletes who never appreciated how important the mental side of baseball is to success; not surprisingly, most of them didn't last too long, even though they had enough talent to win ball games.

You can't have a long, successful career without a positive attitude. I believe that an I-can-do-this mentality is a pitcher's best friend. You must have confidence in your stuff. That confidence translates into an aggressive -- not arrogant -- posture on the mound. (Blatant arrogance, such as staring a guy down, is unprofessional and makes the hitter even more determined to beat you at your own game.) A pitcher lacking in self-confidence, however, can't be aggressive, and that timidity will betray you every time.

It's easy to identify pitchers who are afraid of getting hit hard; they lose confidence in their fastball so they won't throw it for strikes, they nibble and get behind in the count. What these pitchers don't realize is that they're beating themselves. Trying to be too fine, they lose their edge and are forced to pitch defensively. A pitcher with the count in his favor has the advantage. Once you get ahead on the hitter, then you've got all your options and you can throw your best stuff. If you make a bad pitch in that spot you've got no one but yourself to blame.

Throwing inside to a hitter is at the heart of aggressive pitching. You can't let the fear of hitting -- or hurting -- the hitter deter you from coming in with a fastball. Of course, it's essential to have confidence in your control and in your ability to throw inside. But don't let your concern over hitting somebody and putting him on base take away from your aggressiveness. If you teach a hitter that you'll throw inside -- if he knows that -- then his whole approach to facing you is quite different.

A lot of young pitchers in the big leagues right now are afraid to throw inside. This fear invites a hitter to dig in and dominate the outer part of the plate. The decline of the inside pitch can be traced to two factors: a lack of instruction at the minor-league level, and the recent rule changes discouraging guys from coming in too often -- umpire warnings, for instance, that lead to pitchers getting kicked out of the game. Umpires should have the power to prevent beanball wars, ugly incidents where players get hurt and things get out of hand. But I've also seen umpires warn pitchers in cases that didn't warrant it, where a strategic inside pitch got away from someone who wasn't trying to hit anybody.

Pitching inside was a fact of life in the 1960s. You had to demonstrate early in the game that you were more than happy to pitch in to a hitter to keep him honest. In an 0-2 situation it was taken for granted that you'd come in on a hitter to make your pitches away more effective.

Young pitchers have to realize that it's okay to claim the inside part of the plate as their own. It's especially important these days, what with hitters having the advantage of using aluminum bats at the college level. Those aluminum bats make a pitcher's life even harder. For one thing, a guy can fist out a hit without making solid contact; a broken-bat foul ball with wood is often a single with aluminum. But you still have to establish that you're not afraid to pitch inside. You can't afford to let a hitter develop a comfort zone. If he knows you won't throw in, then he'll dive out over the plate. You have to put the thought in his mind that you're willing to pitch in -- always keep the hitter guessing. Never show your hand. I talked to my son Reid, a freshman at the University of Texas, about pitching in and I explained to him that discretion is the key to this technique: If you throw a fastball inside, you're occasionally going to hit a batter. Well, you certainly don't want to nail a guy with men on base when you could lose a ball game because of it. So, in a do-or-die situation, always consider how good your control is before throwing inside to a hitter.

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