“Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical.”

Yogi Berra knew the value of mental discipline in the game of baseball. But it was Colorado Rockies Manager Clint Hurdle who launched an incentive program for his Major League ballplayers during the 2007 season to help sharpen their mental toughness. Working with the team’s mental skills coach Ronn Svetich (“Yoda” to his players), APEX created a fun design concept for the program that highlighted the brainpower which was key to his players’ success.

The program included an overall conceptual design, manager and player logbooks, and a series of reward stickers. Whenever the coaches documented an example of a player’s mental toughness during a game, that player would receive a sticker for his personal logbook. At the end of each month, the player or players with the most stickers would receive a bonus gift in recognition of their accomplishments. The program was also implemented in the Rockies’ minor league clubs in an attempt to sharpen mental skills throughout the entire talent pipeline and was in use for several seasons following its introduction.

Considering that 2007 was the year in which the Colorado Rockies won the National League pennant and made their first (and only) World Series appearance, the Mental Toughness Challenge must have been a swinging success. But we’ll humbly refrain from taking all the credit.

So if you’re looking to hit a home run with your next creative project, contact us today. Consultation and estimates are always free.