A Quote by Albert Pujols

Preparation is very important. The pitcher is going to do his job and prepare for you so you as a hitter must do the same. I always watch videotape of pitchers before the game and even sometimes during.
Preparation is very important. The pitcher is going to do his job and prepare for you, so you as a hitter must do the same. I always watch videotape of pitchers before the game and even sometimes during.
I notice a lot of hitters fraternize with pitchers. I see guys laughing and giggling before the game. These are the same pitchers who are trying to beat them. I've never seen Roger Clemens talking to hitters before the game. Bob Gibson was the same way. Man, I don't even see (Greg) Maddux playing golf with hitters.
I've always noticed how the Fenway fans get behind the pitcher, especially late in the game if you're having a good game, or if you have two strikes on a hitter, they really start to chant and anticipate a strikeout. And that's the best part about playing in Boston and at Fenway. There are knowledgeable fans who anticipate the flow of the game and they can really help out the pitcher.
Anytime a pitcher hasn't faced a hitter, I feel the pitcher has the advantage. The more times the hitter sees somebody, the more the advantage goes to the hitter.
If you want to aspire to be any pitcher in the game right now, it's probably Madison Bumgarner. I really keep a close eye on what he's doing, his preparation, his routine, how he goes about his bullpens and in between so I can incorporate that stuff into my game.
You go through mental preparation the night before the game and prepare for moments of trauma in a game when it happens.
I approach every week the same. I think I've always tried to be very professional to how I approach the game, my preparation. Every game is important.
I think there's a growing number of pitchers who want to have a plan going into a game about how they're going to go after that lineup. I'd say 75 percent want to have an idea, and they plan their attack. I know that 75 percent of hitters do not have that same type of plan against a pitcher.
Sometimes I rush my swing because I am so anxious to play well. In Cuba, the quality of the pitching is not the same as it is here. There you might find one or two pitchers at 94 or 95 mph. Here, every day I find several, and each pitcher who comes along throws his hardest stuff.
I think the biggest adjustment I've made before coming here was going from High A to Double A. I was going in facing pitchers who had more experience and knew how to throw all their stuff for strikes and in hitter's counts, things like that.
I believe you have to learn how to win. And that just doesn't come from going out on the basketball court and playing. That comes from hours and hours of preparation, preparation before that game, preparation for the other team you are playing, mental preparation.
I think I've always tried to be very professional to how I approach the game, my preparation. Every game is important.
For me, the most important thing is running a good clubhouse. The X's and the O's - you sit up in the stands and, for the most part, a lot of fans go to the game and they know what's going to happen. You're going to hit and run, steal, put a pitcher in, take a pitcher out.
I study pitchers. I visualize pitches. That gives me a better chance every time I step into the box. That doesn't mean I'm going to get a hit every game, but that's one of the reasons I've come a long way as a hitter.
The game of baseball between pitcher and hitter sets up like a game of chess in that you have to anticipate several moves ahead to set up your opponent.
I'm always amazed when a pitcher becomes angry at a hitter for hitting a home run off him. When I strike out, I don't get angry at the pitcher, I get angry at myself. I would think that if a pitcher threw up a home run ball, he should be angry at himself.
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