"I always had the attitude that I wanted to throw a no-hitter every game"
About this Quote
What sounds like brashness is really a blueprint for competitive clarity. Dennis Eckersley saying he wanted to throw a no-hitter every game isn`t a literal claim so much as a refusal to negotiate with mediocrity. A no-hitter is baseball`s cleanest, most uncompromising standard: no traffic, no excuses, no messy bargaining with the game. By naming that as the baseline, Eckersley reveals the private psychology elite pitchers use to survive a sport built on failure.
The intent is simple: set the target so high that ordinary success becomes the byproduct, not the goal. Pitchers who aim to "keep us in it" can talk themselves into nibbling, fear, and compromise. Eckersley`s phrasing is about attacking, not surviving. Even when you give up a hit in the first inning, the mindset still demands dominance on the next pitch. It`s a mental hack against the sport`s tendency to shrink you: one bloop single, one bad hop, and the innings start to feel like damage control.
Context matters because Eckersley lived multiple baseball lives: starter, then a reinvented, swaggering closer with an almost theatrical edge. Relief pitching is a high-wire job where doubt gets loud fast; you`re judged on a handful of pitches and one mistake can define the night. "Every game" isn`t a promise to history. It`s self-programming: aim for the impossible, so the pressure doesn`t make you play small.
The intent is simple: set the target so high that ordinary success becomes the byproduct, not the goal. Pitchers who aim to "keep us in it" can talk themselves into nibbling, fear, and compromise. Eckersley`s phrasing is about attacking, not surviving. Even when you give up a hit in the first inning, the mindset still demands dominance on the next pitch. It`s a mental hack against the sport`s tendency to shrink you: one bloop single, one bad hop, and the innings start to feel like damage control.
Context matters because Eckersley lived multiple baseball lives: starter, then a reinvented, swaggering closer with an almost theatrical edge. Relief pitching is a high-wire job where doubt gets loud fast; you`re judged on a handful of pitches and one mistake can define the night. "Every game" isn`t a promise to history. It`s self-programming: aim for the impossible, so the pressure doesn`t make you play small.
Quote Details
| Topic | Goal Setting |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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