ST. LOUIS -- Matt Ford was riding on a Minor League bus nearly 25 years ago when future Hall of Famer Roy Halladay introduced him to Harvey Dorfman’s “The Mental ABC’s of Pitching.”
The now-Bradenton pitching coach was struggling alongside Halladay, hoping to find any ways to troubleshoot. This was the solution he needed.
“[Halladay] is like, ‘Fordy, I think this book would really help you,’ and he passed it down to me,” Ford remembers. “He ends up getting out of there not too long after that, and he goes up to Double-A, throws eight innings, one run, Triple-A, complete game, and then the rest was history for him.”
While the book put Halladay’s career back on track, it also helped Ford reach the Majors with the Brewers in 2003. Ford became a pitching coach in the Pirates’ organization in 2014, and has since brought the book into his teachings.
At Single-A Bradenton, a chapter is discussed each Tuesday by the pitching staff to create a book-club-type atmosphere. With Pittsburgh’s youngest arms often finding their way through the Marauders at some point in their career, the community makes the mental art of pitching less of a taboo subject.
“When things aren't good, [the mound] is probably the loneliest place on the face of the earth, and you have no clue what to do,” Ford said. “But if you got that as part of your tools in your toolbox out there, you can overcome some stuff. We're gonna get the foundation down with the physical and the pitch stuff. But you gotta have that mental foundation, too.”
As Ford puts it, pitchers are “whacked out of their brains,” forced to lie to themselves to turn negatives into positives. Dorfman’s book takes on a more serious tone to do so.
Ford worked through his own troubles as a Minor Leaguer, losing confidence and conviction. He allowed bad thoughts to creep in and saw changes to his “edge” and delivery. While reading Dorfman’s work, he was reminded of his talents and surged toward the Majors.
Once he moved into coaching, Ford recommended the book to his pitchers as a guide. In 2023, he implemented it across his staff through a set time each week. Every Tuesday, after the group’s pre-series meetings, they carve out 20 minutes to discuss one chapter from the book. A player is tasked with presenting the chapter before everyone goes around sharing how they relate.
Each player goes about presenting their chapter in their own way. Pirates No. 12 prospect Levi Sterling writes a page in a notebook to summarize the chapter and how it applies to him and his current game. Then he adds how his teammates can apply the idea to their games.
