If you are a regular reader of this site, you have often read the phrase, “There is a difference between sensing opportunity and seizing it.” But the question begs, how do you seize opportunity once you sense it?
On Friday, October 11th, Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder Kike Hernandez showed us how. In the second inning before a sold-out crowd, Hernanez walked to the plate to face San Diego Padres pitcher Yu Darvish. The following is what happened next:
Hernandez’s home run put the Dodgers up 1-0 and would lead the team to an eventual 2-0 victory. The Dodgers now move on to face the New York Mets in the National League championship series.
The blast was also Hernandez’s 14th career postseason home run. He clearly has an ability to deliver superior results in high-pressure situations. After reading this article from The Athletic on his exploits, I gleaned four keys to delivering superior results in high-pressure situations.
4 Keys To Delivering Superior Results In High-Pressure Situations
1. Make Adjustments
Making adjustments takes self-awareness to recognize your areas of opportunity and then the humility to make the appropriate changes.
Prior to the All-Star break, Hernandez was batting just .191. After being fitted for a new set of glasses, his performance turned around. In September, Hernandez batted .274 with an .821 OPS. Manager Dave Roberts said, “That’s why you sort of get through the regular season with Kiké. And then when you get through that, you know you’re going to get the best player.”
2. Trust Your Memory
A leader’s greatest weapon is your memory. This is because if you have done something before, you have the ability to do it again. In the deciding game of the 2017 National League Championship series against the Chicago Cubs, Hernandez hit three home runs to propel to team to the World Series.
Hernandez said in the post-game news conference, “I think this is my ninth postseason now. It gets a little easier as you do it over and over again. It allows you to realize that it’s the same game. The intensity and the importance of the game is a little — it gets a little enhanced.”
3. Trust Your Leadership
Regardless of your profession, if your leadership puts you in a high-pressure situation, it is because they have confidence in your ability. Trust their wisdom. Hernandez said, “I kept telling myself, they brought you here for a reason. They brought you here to play in October.”
4. Trust Your Preparation
You will either prepare or repair. Hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc said, “He’s not afraid of the moment. He’s here. He prepares. He’s got confidence through his preparation and he trusts it.”
Conclusion
Fellow pitcher Anthony Banda said, “It’s special. He’s built for October.” Third baseman Max Muncy added, “Some guys are built for the moment. I don’t know what it is, but he’s got it.”
I don’t know what it is either but I know it starts with the following:
- Making Adjustments
- Trusting Your Memory
- Trusting Your Leadership
- Trusting Your Preparation
Second baseman Gavin Lux concluded, “Kiké hitting a homer and making big plays is probably the least surprising thing of the night.”
May our superior results during high-pressure situations become so commonplace that are no longer surprising to our teammates as well.
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