To focus on one pitch at a time is one of the most challenging things for any baseball player from a mental perspective. It’s simple, but not easy.
The inability to do it can lead to innings spiraling out of control, as one bad pitch leads to another and another as a pitcher gets more frustrated. Or it shows up in the inability to put a bad inning to the side and continue to finish an outing strong.
The ability to focus from pitch to pitch regardless of the result is a gift of sorts that Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly has always possessed. It’s helped him to quietly put together excellent seasons, even if it might not be helpful at times on the home front.
“It’s probably the same [characteristic] that makes my wife irritated,” Kelly said with a smile. “She would probably like me to be more animated about certain things, but that’s just kind of how I’ve always operated. That’s just kind of my personality. I really try my hardest to not give attention to things that I can’t control.”
From a young age on the diamond, it was reinforced to Kelly that the only thing he could control was executing the pitch he was about to throw.
Coaches use different ways to describe it. Some will say “one pitch at a time,” others “this pitch,” while others say “next pitch.”
“That’s my job at the end of the day -- to execute one pitch at a time,” Kelly said. "The focus is that pitch, and then whatever happens with that pitch, whether it’s good or bad, the focus is the next pitch. Obviously, you take what that pitch gives you. Like, if it's not the pitch that I tried to execute, there's something to learn from that pitch and something to use from that pitch. But then it’s on to the next pitch.”
Again, it sounds simple, but in the heat of competition, it’s tough to remember and follow.
For Arizona manager Torey Lovullo, Kelly’s mental approach is every bit as important as his physical skills. Lovullo channels “Ted Lasso,” where the head coach tells his players that the happiest animal in the world is a goldfish because it has the shortest memory.
“I think he's got a memory like a goldfish, right?” Lovullo said. “He forgets about it as fast as anybody I've ever seen. And that's a credit to him. Whether it's a good or a bad moment, or good or bad outing. He’s the same guy every single day.”
Success didn’t come easily to Kelly. He isn’t going to light up radar guns and, after not reaching the big leagues with the Rays’ organization, he went and pitched in Korea for four years before the Diamondbacks signed him ahead of the 2019 season.
In the years since, he’s picked up the nickname “Merrill the Mainstay” for his consistent performances.
Kelly’s ability to be calm and focused showed up in the 2023 postseason, when the Diamondbacks made a surprising run to the World Series.
Kelly won Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Dodgers. After a rough start in Game 2 of the NL Championship Series against the Phillies, he rebounded to win Game 6. He then tossed seven innings of one-run ball against the Rangers to account for Arizona’s lone win in the World Series.
“People outside of baseball, or people who don't know me very well, they'll ask me about the nerves of those games, or how anxious I was, or something along those lines,” Kelly said. “And people are shocked when I say that honestly, those were some of the most clear and calm games that I've thrown in my life. My goal through that whole process was just to enjoy it as much as I could. You know, obviously my focus was there, but I feel like when you're out there with that mentality, rather than, ‘This is it,’ then we're a lot more loose and we're a lot more clear to do our jobs.”