The 19-Second Difference Between Champions and Everyone Else

Pro Hitting Insights

Let me tell you about a player who should have been a perennial All-Star.

I coached him in professional baseball – incredible talent, all the tools, destined for the big leagues. But watching him was like watching Jekyll and Hyde. One day he’d go 4-for-4 with two bombs. Next day, he’d punch a water cooler after striking out and get himself benched.

The talent was undeniable. The emotional rollercoaster? It was destroying his career.

His problem wasn’t ability. It was that his emotions ran so hot and cold, his performance followed suit. When he was good, he was untouchable. When he was bad, he was unwatchable. And like 90% of players at every level, he had no idea how to regulate it.

He was living in what we call “RED LIGHT” – completely at the mercy of his emotional state. No control. No consistency. No chance of reaching his potential.

The Stoplight Nobody Teaches

Here’s what kills me: We’ll spend $500 on a new bat to add 2 mph of exit velocity, but we won’t spend 19 seconds on breathing to add 13 mph of bat speed.

Yeah, you read that right. Nineteen seconds.

Ken Ravizza and Tom Hanson introduced the Stoplight System in “Heads Up Baseball” over 20 years ago, yet most coaches still think mental training is some new-age nonsense. Meanwhile, every big leaguer I’ve worked with has some version of it.

Here’s the truth your travel ball coach won’t tell you: Every player operates in one of three mental states:

The problem? Most kids don’t know which light they’re in until they’re already walking back to the dugout.

Your Body Doesn’t Lie

Want to know your mental state? Check your hands.

Seriously, right now – make a fist. Squeeze it as hard as you can. Now try to move that fist quickly. Feels like you’re moving through molasses, right?

That’s RED LIGHT. That’s what happens to your swing when you’re mentally fried.

Now shake your hand loose. Let it completely relax. Snap it forward.

That’s GREEN LIGHT. That’s 3X faster muscle firing. That’s the difference between a weak ground ball and a ball that leaves the yard.

Yet we’ve got kids death-gripping the bat like they’re hanging off a cliff, wondering why they can’t catch up to a fastball.

The 4-7-8 Solution

At our Winter Hitting Master Class, before we even touch a bat, we teach what I call “The Reset.” It’s stupidly simple:

That’s it. That’s the entire secret.

In 19 seconds, you can go from RED to GREEN. From panic to locked in. From seeing a golf ball at 95 mph to seeing a beach ball at 85.

But here’s what nobody tells you – and this is crucial – during that 4-second inhale, you visualize your best swing. Not just any swing. YOUR best swing. The one where everything clicked. The one that felt like butter.

Do this in the on-deck circle, and you’re literally programming your body for success.

The Between-Pitch Quick Fix

Now, you can’t do a full 19-second reset between every pitch. The ump will lose his mind. That’s where 4-4-4 comes in:

I had a kid last week – good player, probably going D2 – tell me this was “weird meditation stuff.” So I had him hit three rounds with death metal blasting at concert volume. First round, no breathing technique – he was all over the place, couldn’t barrel anything. Second round, using 4-4-4 between swings – suddenly he’s driving balls to all fields.

Same music. Same volume. Different mental state.

The music didn’t get quieter. He got better at controlling his internal volume.

The Science They Don’t Want You to Know

Here’s what proper breathing actually does (and this isn’t bro science, this is peer-reviewed research):

Players who master breathing techniques are 2X better under pressure. Not 10% better. TWICE as good when it matters most.

Your Homework (If You Have the Guts)

The Truth Nobody Wants to Hear

The best hitters I’ve ever coached – from rookie ball to The Show – all had one thing in common: They weren’t trying harder than everyone else. They were breathing better.

While everyone else is having a heart attack in the box, gripping the bat like their life depends on it, the elite are taking 4 seconds to inhale, 7 to hold, 8 to exhale.

While everyone else is in RED LIGHT, panicking about the 0-2 count, the best are using 4-4-4 to stay GREEN.

Your breathing is the only thing you can control when everything else is chaos. The pitcher, the ump, the crowd, the pressure – you can’t control any of it.

But you can control your next breath.

And one breath can change your at-bat. One at-bat can change the game. One game can change your season.

That player I mentioned? Once he started using 4-7-8 and the Stoplight System, everything changed. His emotions became his strength, not his weakness. He learned to channel that intensity instead of being controlled by it.

He’s performing at a very high level now. Consistent. Dangerous. Making the impact everyone knew he could make.

The breathing didn’t change his talent – he always had that. It gave him control over it.

About Greg Brown

Greg Brown brings extensive experience as a former MLB scout and college coach, where he developed a keen eye for evaluating talent beyond raw tools. During his time with the Houston Astros organization, Greg was instrumental in identifying and drafting players like Kike Hernandez, demonstrating his ability to recognize the intangibles that separate good players from champions. As a key member of the Florida Baseball Ranch coaching staff, Greg helps athletes understand what scouts look for and how to develop the qualities that make difference makers at every level of the game.