October is a month when I focus on integrity. I define integrity as doing the right thing even when, and especially when, I can do the wrong thing. Baseball gives us opportunities to practice that every day.
You can skip the last few repetitions when your coach turns away.
You can blame a teammate for a mistake you made.
You can give less effort because you are frustrated about where you are batting or how little you are playing.
In those moments, your response reveals what is guiding you.
Whether you are learning the game or playing professionally, you need core values to guide your development. Learning to hit the ball hard, throw the ball hard, and field your position matters. But those abilities alone cannot prepare you for every responsibility that comes with being a player, a teammate and a person.
Decide What Will Guide You
Core values are the principles you choose to guide your decisions, especially when those decisions are difficult.
A goal might be to make the team, earn a starting position or play professionally. A value guides how you pursue that goal and how you respond when things do not go your way.
If you value humility, you remain willing to learn after a great game. If you value teamwork, you support the player competing for your position. If you value integrity, you take responsibility for your preparation even when nobody is checking.
Your goals may change as you grow.
Your values give you a foundation through those changes.
Choose Values That Are Authentic to You
I want players to understand their values well enough to explain them in their own words.
Start by asking yourself:
What do I respect about the people I trust?
What kind of teammate do I want to be?
What behavior am I unwilling to excuse in myself, even if it helps me get ahead?
Choose three to five values that you are willing to practice. You might choose integrity, humility, excellence, loyalty, stewardship or teamwork. Your words may differ, but each one needs a clear meaning.
If you choose excellence, define what excellence requires of you. Does it mean arriving prepared, giving attention to your fundamentals and finishing your work with care?
Be honest about the difference between a value you already practice and one you need to strengthen. You do not have to pretend you have mastered something to commit to it.
Younger players can work through this with a parent or coach. Older players can ask someone they trust whether their behavior reflects the values they claim.
Put Your Values Into Action
Here is the connection I want every player to understand: values put into action become virtues.
Saying that you value integrity is a declaration. Owning your mistake when you could get away with blaming someone else is practice. Repeatedly choosing that response helps integrity become part of your character.
On the field, those choices are specific:
- Integrity – Report your repetitions accurately, including the ones you did not finish.
- Humility – Listen to a correction and work to apply it.
- Teamwork – Back up a throw even when you are unlikely to be needed.
- Stewardship – Care for your equipment and the field.
- Excellence – Give routine work the attention it deserves.
A value needs an action attached to it. Otherwise, it is easy to admire the word without accepting the responsibility.
Practice Until Your Values Become Dependable
In baseball, we repeat movements so we can execute them with less conscious effort during competition. We can approach our character with that same intention.
When you consistently prepare your equipment, you spend less time debating whether to do it. When you practice taking responsibility, you become more ready to acknowledge a mistake and respond constructively.
That is how values help us get things done without having to stop and negotiate every responsibility with ourselves.
It does not mean we stop thinking. New situations still require judgment. It means we have practiced a dependable starting point.
You cannot know everything. You cannot do everything right. But you can prepare yourself to respond with honesty, effort, humility and care when you do not have every answer.
A player with humility can ask for help. A player with integrity can admit confusion. A player committed to teamwork can communicate before a misunderstanding becomes a bigger problem.
Carry Your Character Through the Game
Baseball will give you bad hops, strikeouts, disagreements and days when your preparation does not produce the result you wanted.
Your values help determine what happens next.
Do you carry a poor at bat into your defensive effort?
Do you stop preparing when you lose a starting position?
Can your teammates depend on you while you are struggling?
Strong core values support the preparation, accountability, and relationships that help players perform consistently. They do not guarantee a hit or a perfect game. They help you remain dependable while you keep developing your skills.
Those same habits travel with you into school, work, family and community. Taking responsibility matters wherever people are counting on you.
This October, choose one action that will make integrity visible in your life. Finish the work you agreed to do. Tell the truth about your preparation. Own a mistake and take the next step to correct it.
Then practice that action again tomorrow.
The goal is for integrity to become so familiar in your choices that people can experience it in your character.
Your values become virtues when you put them into action. Give them something to do.
If you have questions about how my coaching and wellness counseling approach can support your son, email me at askCJ@DiamondDirectors.com.
Remember: Intelligence tops being smart.
For more information, visit L.E.A.D. Center for Youth today.
If you found this inspiring and thought-provoking, or if you have any questions, comments or concerns, add me on Discord and let’s go deeper.
C.J. Stewart has built a reputation as one of the leading professional hitting instructors in the country. He is a former professional baseball player in the Chicago Cubs organization and has also served as an associate scout for the Cincinnati Reds. As founder and CEO of Diamond Directors Player Development, C.J. has more than 22 years of player development experience and has built an impressive list of clients, including some of the top young prospects in baseball today. If your desire is to change your game for the better, C.J. Stewart has a proven system of development and a track record of success that can work for you.
