Why Bo Porter's Motivational Techniques May Actually Work

Much as baseball drills and repetitions are used to create muscle memory, Astros Manager Bo Porter is using full immersion motivational techniques in Spring Training to re-set player's mental habits. From motivational signage in the clubhouse to 'Stros Win celebrations following on-field drills to clubhouse music to Family Feud tournaments and more, Porter is pulling out all the stops to keep his players motivated, focused and even more importantly ... loose.

In the business world, I have often rolled my eyes at some of the motivational efforts that employers utilize from time to time, mainly because a once-a-year team-building exercise has a tendency to fade quickly into the rear-view mirror once the reality of cubicles and TPS reports and malfunctioning printers set in. I'm luckier than most office workers in that I have an actual office with an actual window and a great deal of autonomy, but it still boils down to the fact that office work is not exactly what I would call fun. I may have a good work atmosphere, fun co-workers and a three-hole punch that I am almost as possessive of as Milton's red Swingline stapler, but I don't wake up every day wanting to go to the office more than anything else in my life.

Baseball is different. Don't get me wrong. The players work extremely hard to get where they are. Running, weight training, throwing sessions, hitting sessions, trying to maintain a proper diet under difficult circumstances. And unless they got a big fat bonus, they often have to work two jobs during the off-season to give them a little financial breathing room. They come into baseball with the odds stacked against them ever making it to the big leagues. They have to compete for jobs with other players who have become their best friends. They get paid next to nothing in the minors and frequently either live with complete strangers or share an apartment with three or four of their closest friends and no privacy. They have to be ready to pack up and move at a moment's notice. They suffer through the monotony of long bus trips, hoping that stinky feet and boredom are the worst problems they face on the ride. They live knowing that they could be one injury away from the dream ending.

And all of that carries over to big league camp when you have such a young, inexperienced group of players vying for jobs. For some, it is their last chance to make an impression. For some, it is the best chance of their careers if they do impress.

So with all that on their plates and on their minds, it is way too easy to forget why they want to play this game in the first place. Despite being in grown men's bodies, the best players often play with the joyful abandon of little boys. Sometimes a reminder that baseball is, after all, a game is in order.

The main reason that I think Porter's techniques may work well to keep the clubhouse loose and productive is because I've already seen a version of it work elsewhere. When I visited the Lancaster club in California last August, I was immediately struck by something that I hadn't seen elsewhere. Manager Rodney Linares and his staff encouraged the players to have fun. Don't get me wrong, they were working hard during pre-game workouts, but they were also having fun and were encouraging each other with applause and whoops of approval when anyone made a good play. Kike Hernandez cracking jokes; George Springer doing a little funky chicken dance; outfielders leaping crazily for batting practice balls, trying to outdo each other; a tip of the cap from Erik Castro as acknowledgment of applause after a good play; Telvin Nash running the bases in "stealth" mode. A club that had recently suffered several personnel cuts was upbeat and full of energy and enthusiasm.

Erik Castro - August 2012

Photo by Jayne Hansen

That night the JetHawks won the game in extra innings. Erik Castro got the walk-off hit against High Desert who led the season series 2-9 at the time. You would think that Lancaster had clinched a play-off berth as Kike Hernandez, Drew Muren and others drenched Castro with a Gatorade bucket and Jonathan Meyer and Chris Epps leaped atop the scrum in a wild on-field celebration. That team didn't need a refresher course on how to have fun. And that team, which never led the division at any point during the second half, kept having fun. All the way to a wild card berth. And all the way to the California league finals. And all the way to a League Championship. They never quit having fun.

JetHawks Win! - Lancaster 2012

Photo by Jayne Hansen

I think that is what Porter is trying to do with the Houston team. He wants them to work hard and give maximum effort, but he also wants them to remember the pure joy that a 10-year old boy feels playing the game that he loves. He wants them to support each other in good times and bad and never quit having fun. Nobody really thought that the Lancaster team had a chance in hell of pulling out a Championship title. Nobody, that is, but the people on that team. If Bo Porter can instill that attitude in his players, the Astros are going to open a few eyes in 2013.

As for me, it's back to work. I'll just live vicariously through my minor league players and wait for Hawaiian Shirt Day.