Death of a Mentor

March 1, 2011 6:49 AM

Harvey Dorfman, author of The Mental ABCs of Pitching and The Mental Game of Baseball, died on February 28th. A sports psychologist, Dorfman counseled hundreds of baseball players, mentoring some of the best players in the modern era. Mike Pelfrey called Dorfman after nearly every start. Roy Halladay, before he was "Doc," went to see the Dorfman and continues to give his book on pitching to all young pitchers. A 2009 profile of "Dr. Baseball" explained how Dorfman worked, "One week I’m Hamlet, the next week I'm Bozo. You come to me with a certain disposition; I better know who to play…. I am neither an asshole nor a saint, in totality. I am whatever is required at the moment."
posted by gladly (2 comments total)

Thanks for posting this. As a Blue Jays fan, it's pretty easy to believe that this book has something to do with all our good young pitching in the last 5 years. RIP.
posted by auto-correct at 8:36 AM on March 1, 2011

Sure, physical gifts are important in sports, but I firmly believe that the mental part is more important that most give it credit for. Anyone can perform at their best for a day or three, but doing it day in and day out over a career? That's a mental skill.
posted by eas98 at 1:16 PM on March 1, 2011