Mental Toughness - by Karl Kuehl & John Kuehl & Casey Tefertiller (Paperback)

About the Book

Working from a vast combined experience in professional baseball, the authors have broken down the elements of mental toughness into an easily understood package. Not only baseball players but other athletes as well as managers, coaches, and parents can learn how elements like...

Book Synopsis

Working from a combined vast experience, the authors break down the elements of mental toughness into a package that is easy to understand for players, managers, coaches, and parents. Their goal is winning baseball. They show how every at-bat or pitch is a test, particularly as players advance to higher levels. The book will help build attitude, confidence, and the ability to focus and make adjustments, helping players reach their maximum performance. In Mental Toughness, many leading professional players share their insights and offer a glimpse into the minds of major leaguers-how they think and why they act in the ways they do. Praise for Mental Toughness: "A very important book...it should be required reading for all professional players."-Keith Lieppman, Oakland A's director of player development. "I wish I'd had Mental Toughness around when I was a kid trying to figure out how to get to the big leagues and the Hall of Fame. It's a great book."-Don Sutton, Hall of Fame pitcher. "I can't imagine a better helper than Mental Toughness. It's a book that can show you how important the mental game is, and how to master it."-Orel Hershiser, Cy Young Award winner.

Review Quotes

"This well-done study will be useful to players, coaches, and students of the game of life." --M.L. Krotee, Choice Reviews

"Athletes and coaches of any sport will appreciate the aspects of Mental Toughness." --Burt Angeli, Daily News

"Use the lessons offered up from the sports world...and apply them to virtually every aspect of business: it works." --Diane C. Donovan, editor, Midwest Book Review, Midwest Book Review

"Many of the lessons are valuable to life in general...in school, in business settings, even over the poker table." --Daniel Gabriel

"Athletes-especially teen athletes-will benefit from this solid self-help guide." --Library Journal

"Very impressive. This book should be a must-read for young players desiring to learn to succeed." --Dusty Baker, Chicago Cubs Manager

"Mental Toughness is so good that it is a must-read for future athletes and non-athletes alike. Reading this book will put everyone far ahead of the game. From all my experiences as an athlete, your mind controls everything. The sooner you learn how to match the mind with the physical ability, the sky is the limit. Good luck and good reading." --Mark McGwire

"This book is comprised of great stories, which I think could apply not only in sports but in the game of life." --Gary Carter, Hall of Fame Catcher, MVP in two World Series, 11 time All-Star

"I wish I'd had Mental Toughness around when I was a kid trying to figure out how to get to the big leagues and the Hall of Fame. It's a great book. It helps players, coaches, parents, and people in every walk of life figure out how to turn losses into speed bumps rather than roadblocks. Every agent and every team ought to be required to give this book to the players they represent and sign." --Don Sutton, Hall of Fame Pitcher, 324 wins, never missed a turn in the rotation in his 23-year career

"Getting to know my own mental skills and the minds of my opponents has always helped me be a tougher competitor. If that's something you aspire to, I can't imagine a better helper than Mental Toughness. It's a book that can show you how important the mental game is, and how to master it." --Orel Hershiser, Former Cy Young Award winner, World Series MVP, pitching coach for the Texas Rangers

"Reading a book about strength training won't make you strong, and reading this book won't make you a champion...but apply what you learn from this book and there's no end to what you can accomplish." --Rich Harden, starting pitcher for the Oakland Athletics

"The authors in Mental Toughness utilize their expertise and experiences in baseball to break down the definable aspects of the mental domain that make a player a champion. The lessons are easily read and applied-and although they pertain to baseball, will help to make anyone who reads this book more effective in their field whether it is the office or on the diamond." --Mark A. Shapiro, General Manager of the Cleveland Indians

"...The thing that separates the great players from the good players is their mental stability and anyone that's serious about being successful would gain a lot by reading this book because there's a tremendous amount of information. That information is not only good for the athletes but good for anyone that wants to understand competition or understand life." --Mike Candrea, Head Coach, 2004 gold medal-winning USA Softball Olympic team

"This book is a rock solid compendium for baseball players, and softball players too, in understanding the mental side of the game and for engaging in sustained competitive performance." --Charlie Maher, Team Psychologist, Cleveland Indians

"There are powerful tools in this book that will enable players to unlock their potential.... It is a very important book, and it should be required reading for all professional players.... This book will not only make its readers better players, but it will help them to become better people." --Keith Lieppman, Oakland A's director of player development

"The term 'mental toughness' seems to have meant many things to many people. Few have troubled themselves to define it thoughtfully and thoroughly. Here is a book whose authors have done just that. Their expansive and specific treatment of the subject will both satisfy and enlighten the reader. Baseball players at every level will surely be able to apply the book's practical principles to their own performance. Non-players will take away a greater understanding of the subject-and have a very enjoyable reading experience that provides anecdote and insight." --H.A. Dorfman

"Each chapter has sound advice on how to achieve a positive attitude on and off the field." --The Horn Book Magazine

"By the end of Mental Toughness you're revved up and ready to give it your best...or shrivel to the ground out of hopelessness." --Burrelles Luce

"The best teaching and learning tool I've ever seen in baseball.... Required reading for everyone in the game." --Roland Hemond

"Mental Toughness is the best teaching and learning tool I've ever seen in baseball. It's a long-awaited missing link to success, not only for players but for coaches too. I think it should be required reading for everyone in the game." --Roland Hemond

...The thing that separates the great players from the good players is their mental stability and anyone that's serious about being successful would gain a lot by reading this book because there's a tremendous amount of information. That information is not only good for the athletes but good for anyone that wants to understand competition or understand life.

Mental Toughness is so good that it is a must-read for future athletes and non-athletes alike. Reading this book will put everyone far ahead of the game. From all my experiences as an athlete, your mind controls everything. The sooner you learn how to match the mind with the physical ability, the sky is the limit. Good luck and good reading.

Mental Toughness is the best teaching and learning tool I've ever seen in baseball. It's a long-awaited missing link to success, not only for players but for coaches too. I think it should be required reading for everyone in the game.

Athletes and coaches of any sport will appreciate the aspects of Mental Toughness.

Athletes-especially teen athletes-will benefit from this solid self-help guide.

By the end of Mental Toughness you're revved up and ready to give it your best...or shrivel to the ground out of hopelessness.

Each chapter has sound advice on how to achieve a positive attitude on and off the field.

Getting to know my own mental skills and the minds of my opponents has always helped me be a tougher competitor. If that's something you aspire to, I can't imagine a better helper than Mental Toughness. It's a book that can show you how important the mental game is, and how to master it.

I wish I'd had Mental Toughness around when I was a kid trying to figure out how to get to the big leagues and the Hall of Fame. It's a great book. It helps players, coaches, parents, and people in every walk of life figure out how to turn losses into speed bumps rather than roadblocks. Every agent and every team ought to be required to give this book to the players they represent and sign.

Many of the lessons are valuable to life in general...in school, in business settings, even over the poker table.

Reading a book about strength training won't make you strong, and reading this book won't make you a champion...but apply what you learn from this book and there's no end to what you can accomplish.

The authors in Mental Toughness utilize their expertise and experiences in baseball to break down the definable aspects of the mental domain that make a player a champion. The lessons are easily read and applied-and although they pertain to baseball, will help to make anyone who reads this book more effective in their field whether it is the office or on the diamond.

The best teaching and learning tool I've ever seen in baseball.... Required reading for everyone in the game.

The term 'mental toughness' seems to have meant many things to many people. Few have troubled themselves to define it thoughtfully and thoroughly. Here is a book whose authors have done just that. Their expansive and specific treatment of the subject will both satisfy and enlighten the reader. Baseball players at every level will surely be able to apply the book's practical principles to their own performance. Non-players will take away a greater understanding of the subject-and have a very enjoyable reading experience that provides anecdote and insight.

There are powerful tools in this book that will enable players to unlock their potential.... It is a very important book, and it should be required reading for all professional players.... This book will not only make its readers better players, but it will help them to become better people.

This book is a rock solid compendium for baseball players, and softball players too, in understanding the mental side of the game and for engaging in sustained competitive performance.

This book is comprised of great stories, which I think could apply not only in sports but in the game of life.

This well-done study will be useful to players, coaches, and students of the game of life.

Use the lessons offered up from the sports world...and apply them to virtually every aspect of business: it works.

Very impressive. This book should be a must-read for young players desiring to learn to succeed.

About the Author

Karl Kuehl is special adviser for baseball operations for the Cleveland Indians and formerly manager for the Montreal Expos; he wrote The Mental Game of Baseball with Harvey Dorfman. He lives in Fountain Hills, AZ, near Phoenix. John Kuehl has been a player, scout and manager for the Oakland A's organization. He lives in Anthem, AZ, near Phoenix. Casey Tefertiller wrote on baseball for the San Francisco Examiner and is now a staff correspondent for Baseball America. He lives in Santa Cruz, California.