Eli’s letter

Here's the picture of what you're building this season.

You can make plays at shortstop that most kids can't even attempt — the range, the arm, the barehand, the throw from anywhere. That's real, and it's rare. So let's be clear about what this season is actually about: it's not the highlight plays. You've already got those. It's the boring ones — the routine grounder and the two-strike at-bat — because those are the plays that actually win games and get you to the next level.

• Your range and your arm are genuinely special. You get to balls other shortstops don't, and you can throw from anywhere. That's the hard part, and you have it.
• You want the moment. Game on the line, you want the ball hit to you. That fearlessness is a weapon a lot of players never develop.
• You've got real bat speed. When you get your pitch, you do damage.
• Your two-strike approach is coming along — you're starting to fight off the tough pitch and go the other way instead of striking out.

On the routine grounder, slow your feet down. It sounds backward, but the errors on the easy plays come from rushing — you've got the arm to make that throw with time to spare, so give yourself the time. Get behind the ball, get your feet set, then throw. The great players make the routine play look boring on purpose. That's the goal: make the easy one automatic, so your coach never has to hold his breath on a ball hit right at you.

Tee work the other way, footwork on the routine grounder, laying off the high fastball — none of it is glamorous. It doesn't feel like it's adding up. It is. The shortstop who's still a shortstop at the next level is the one who made the routine play routine when he was your age. You already have the flash. This season is about the foundation underneath it. Keep going.