The Super Mental Training Book (13 page)

The background to Ellen's invitation to work with the Angels is this. Nolan Ryan, the Angels' superstar pitcher back then, started the ball rolling to have Ellen visit his teammates. One reason Ryan did so was because he had gone to Ellen for help after losing confidence in his delivery; and, the resulting hypnosis session seemed beneficial. Ryan recalls his visit to Ellen: "I was so apprehensive about visiting him that I didn't get a completely positive reaction. I got enough of

one, however, that I knew I wanted to go back if the opportunity presented itself, which it hasn't."[8] The Angels, meanwhile, were in sad shape: they were experiencing a mid-season slump, way out of contention in fifth place. Ryan felt the root cause of the Angels' woes was their negative attitude. Explained Ryan, "I think a team can develop a losing attitude just as it can develop a winning attitude. I think there's a possibility it's happened here. And the mental approach is the big thing. At this level there isn't that much difference in physical ability." Ryan accordingly talked to general manager Harry Dalton, recommending that he ask Ellen out to speak to the team. Dalton went along with the suggestion, and called up Ellen.

Ellen, naturally, accepted the challenge. He arrived at the Angels' clubhouse, and just prior to the game proceeded to hypnotize the entire team, talking to the players for 25 minutes. After this hypnosis session, Ellen then worked separately with Don Baylor, the Angels' designated hitter. Baylor had experienced a terrible season, batting only .225. What happened afterwards in that night's game against Seattle forms the perfect ad for hypnosis. The Angels defeated the Mariners, 5-4, with Don Baylor hitting the winning home run! Nolan Ryan also pitched well, striking out 12, which broke Sandy Koufax's record for most games pitched with 10 or more strikeouts.

I asked Arthur Ellen about his hypnosis session with the Angels, and he strongly emphasized one point. Said Ellen, "I trust that you realize that the purpose is not to perpetrate a win—can't promise a win—but to expose certain individuals to a possible way to develop a positive attitude." Generally, if the athlete can develop a positive attitude, and all else remains equal, he will emerge victorious more times than not.

Ellen, in this case, simply introduced hypnosis to the Angel players. The players, having experienced the potentialities of hypnosis, could then follow up and learn to use hypnosis on a regular basis if they desired. The individual athlete must make the final decision whether or not to regularly use hypnosis, meditation, or similar mental rehearsal techniques; it is sufficient that the coach or management expose the athlete to these techniques.

It is also praiseworthy for a coach to urge his players, within reason, to understand and learn to use hypnosis. This coaching guidance I strongly recommend. No matter where the initiative to try hypnosis originates, keep in mind Arthur Ellen's advice that "the athlete should have an experience with hypnosis. Then he'll have some semblance, a greater realization of what it is." However, the athlete himself should determine whether or not hypnosis, or any other mental rehearsal technique, will become a permanent fixture in his training regimen and pre-game preparation. Forcing the athlete to use hypnosis against his inclination, possibly productive in the short run, usually backfires over the long run. No player will react favorably to a practice that does not fit his concept of propriety, or reality.

Despite Ellen's appearance, few of the Angels followed up on the hypnosis. This at least is what Rod Carew, the California Angels' first baseman from 1979 through 1985, intimated in an August 14, 1979 interview with me. Carew, the seven-time American League batting champion, used hypnosis regularly from 1976 on. He is knowledgeable about hypnosis and willing to discuss his use of the technique and its applications to athletics. Young ballplayers in particular should pay close attention to his comments.

Carew first turned to hypnosis during his '76 season playing for Minnesota when a leg injury seriously affected his play. He said, "I had had surgery on my right knee. But, even worse was that I had a real bad pulled hamstring. It was bothering me, and I couldn't really run." Carew's brother-in-law knew a Minneapolis hypnotist named Harvey Misel, and suggested that Rod see him. Despite initial reservations, he decided to visit Misel. Recollected Carew:

The first appointment I made with Harvey Misel, I was kind of fighting it. I didn't want to go under. So, he just told me to relax myself, and all of a sudden I found myself letting go. I just kind of dozed off into a nice sleep, really relaxed. I was out for

maybe 20 minutes although I felt like I was out for an hour and a half. It really felt good; I was so rested and relaxed.

What Harvey talked to me about was concentration and discipline—disciplining my mind not to worry. I was not to concentrate on the pain in the leg—just concentrate on going out there and trying to run as fully as I normally did.

So, I went into Milwaukee for a weekend series. I had stolen about 4 bases all season. Harvey had given me a post-hypnotic suggestion, telling me what I had to do to get myself relaxed if I felt myself getting uptight. I tried it, and I ended up stealing like 7 or 8 bases in the series. I didn't worry about the leg; I just started running the way I wanted to run.

While with the Angels, Carew visited Misel whenever California came to Minneapolis to play the Twins. He would also call up the hypnotist if he needed some reinforcing suggestions, and Misel would hypnotize him over the phone. This worked because, Carew informed me, "I've gotten to be a pretty good subject." How good? The estimate from Carew was that it took him about 10 seconds to enter the hypnotic state. We would expect this, as regular practice of self-hypnosis, or frequent sessions with a hypnotist, normally develops one's ability to quickly attain the desired state.

I asked Carew what type of suggestions Misel gave him—technical suggestions such as "swing level," or general suggestions such as "play with total concentration." Carew responded that Misel provided him general suggestions: "He tells me to visualize the ball, visualize the bat making contact;" also, "concentrate on the pitcher because he's the one that has the ball." Carew was a great hitter before he took up hypnosis in 1976. But, he enjoyed even more spectacular seasons afterwards, twice coming close to batting .400 for the whole season. Improved concentration at the plate seems to be the responsible factor. The batting champion contended when I interviewed him that Misel has "helped out my concentration so much I don't even worry about it anymore. I know how to concentrate now, which is an important thing in no matter what you're doing."

Carew disagrees with those who believe hypnosis is a crutch, a support for people who are not good enough to make it on their own. At the time of his leg injury, he felt that hypnosis "was something I needed. It wasn't a crutch." After hypnosis helped restore him to top form, Carew decided he would be smart to continue using it: "I thought that hypnosis would help me in the long run, help me during the course of a 162-game schedule." Whether or not hypnosis is a "crutch" is immaterial. The main thing is that it can help any athlete achieve his full potential, a point Carew clearly realized.

During the 1982 season Bill Buckner, then with the Chicago Cubs, felt he was not hitting up to his potential. Like Carew he turned to hypnotist Harvey Misel for assistance. Sports writer David Kahn relates the story:

On Aug. 1, Buckner was hitting .278 with 54 RBIs. For the average major leaguer, those numbers would represent a good year. But, for Buckner, a lifetime .296 hitter, those numbers were unimpressive.

"I asked myself (at the time), 'What the hell's wrong with me?'" Buckner said. "'Why am I popping up and hitting so many groundouts?'"

Enter Misel. Buckner ran into the hypnotist Aug. 2 at Cubs scout Eric Soderholm's baseball clinic in Chicago, although it wasn't their first meeting. In 1976, when he was with the Dodgers, Buckner went to see Misel for an ankle injury.

Although they were both guest speakers at Soderholm's clinic, the two ended up

speaking to each other as much as the kids. Buckner told Misel he was having troubles at the plate. Misel told Buckner that he would try to help him, and the 45-minute session was arranged. Buckner had been opening his front shoulder too much, so while he was hypnotized, Buckner discussed that problem with Misel, then they talked about the positive things Buckner wanted to do.

"The idea in baseball has always been to work, work, work on the physical part of the game and you'll succeed," said Buckner. "Baseball players have never really worked on the mental part of the game. But if you're not really confident. . ."

Buckner puts himself in the hypnotic state every time he bats by tapping his bat once on the plate. His eyes look into the pitcher and his mind locks into what he had discussed with Misel. Presto—no more pop-ups and few grounders. [9]

It turns out the grounders and pop-ups were replaced by lots of hits. Continues Kahn:

Since being hypnotized by Misel 27 games ago, Buckner is batting .413 with 35 RBIs. His average has taken a quantum leap of 30 points to .308. . .

Misel isn't taking all the credit for Buckner's success, nor is Buckner ready to give it. "Remember," Buckner said, "I won the batting title (in 1980 with a .324 average) before I met this guy."

But it's difficult not to connect the two, as Buckner admitted. "I'll tell you one thing," he said, smiling, "It (the hypnosis) hasn't hurt me any."[10]

Buckner finished the '82 season with a .306 batting average, which was much closer to his potential than the .278 he had been hitting before he tried hypnosis. Also, it is noteworthy that, as Kahn states, Buckner "puts himself in the hypnotic state every time he bats by tapping his bat once on the plate." This demonstrates that you can compete while in the hypnotic state—and compete commendably—as well as enter the hypnotic state with ease. Actually, what Buckner might have been doing was carrying out a post-hypnotic suggestion given him by Misel. Misel perhaps told Buckner during their hypnosis session to tap the plate with his bat every time he came up to hit, and that once Buckner did this he would focus in on what he needed to do to hit the ball right. What makes this a plausible interpretation is Kahn's statement that Buckner's "mind locks into what he had discussed with Misel." It is fairly insignificant whether Buckner employed self-hypnosis or carried out a post-hypnotic suggestion (also known as a post-hypnotic cue in instances of this sort). What counts is the hypnosis element, and it is this element which can help you maximize your athletic potential.

Two major leaguers unequivocally used self-hypnosis. One was outfielder Ruppert Jones, an All-Star in 1982 with the San Diego Padres, who became a regular practitioner of the technique. This was reported in an article by Phil Collier of The Sporting News, Collier offered this brief description of how Jones went about his self-hypnosis:

First, he decides in his mind what he wants to do. Then, he passes the message along to the rest of his body through the power of concentration. Finally, he just goes out, feeling confident, relaxed and completely prepared, and does it.

"Self-hypnosis is something I've been working at the past couple of ears," he said, "but, like everything else, you get better at it with practice."[11]

Pitcher Dennis Lamp, when he played for the Toronto Blue Jays, took self-hypnosis to its limit. He developed the instant self-hypnosis capability—a capability which, as we discussed in the Introduction, provides numerous advantages to the athlete. Reporter Steve Rudman related in 1985 that "Lamp hypnotizes himself twice a day. Sometimes he even hypnotizes himself while he's on the mound."[12] Lamp's record in 1985 as a middle man relief pitcher was 11-0;

obviously, it is hard to perform any better. Lamp attributed much of his success to self-hypnosis, stating:

I have a key word I use to put myself under. I can't tell you what the word is, but I can put myself under in bed or on the bench. Then I visualize myself throwing correctly, thinking about the mechanics of pitching. There is no question that hypnosis is the most important thing I have going for me. It got me to the big leagues. Without it, my talent would not have been able to come through. I call it mental conditioning.

We noted previously that to acquire the instant self-hypnosis capability requires diligent practice. By hypnotizing himself twice a day, it is not surprising that Lamp developed this capability. Because he could put himself under at any time, Lamp had no need for a hypnotist, avoiding in the process the associated expenses and inconvenience. Karl Kuehl, player personnel director for the Oakland A's, who has worked with several major leaguers on their mental preparation, believes hypnosis is most beneficial when the player can employ the technique on his own, becoming, like Lamp, his own "mental coach." Observes Kuehl:

Hypnotism can help a player relax. It can help speed up the learning process. But you don't want a situation where the player is relying on the hypnotist. You want a situation where the player is in control of his own relaxation process. The idea is to get control to help himself.[13]

Kuehl's statement that "the idea is to get the player to help himself falls in line with the purpose of this book. There are dozens of mental training strategies spelled out in this book for you to try. I urge you to study these techniques, and attempt to learn one or more of them. Then, apply the one(s) you have chosen to your sport and see what happens. If possible, rely on yourself, rather than outsiders, for your mental preparation. As Kuehl points out, "You want a situation where the player is in control. . ."

Although Jones and Lamp used self-hypnosis, most major leaguers who get involved with hypnosis tend to work with a hypnotist; and, the hypnotist who in recent years has seemingly attracted the most professional baseball clients is Harvey Misel. Because Misel has figured so prominently in opening up professional baseball to hypnosis, by among other things serving as a team hypnotist himself, we shall examine his work at length.