Pittsburgh Pirates Sign Holliday...Bernie Holliday, Mental Expert

What has the baseball world come to? OK, I know that ballplayers, especially pitchers, routinely seek out psychiatrists to help them focus and achieve mental clarity.

But what the Pittsburgh Pirates, of all teams, have done is mind boggling. Well, literally. They have hired a mental conditioning coordinator. His name is Bernie Holliday.

While some may argue that what they need is Matt Holliday, or even Roy Halladay,  give the Buccos credit— they may be on to something here.

For if the great quotesmith and Hall of Famer Yogi Berra is right, "baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical."

Recognizing that, since we have physical strength coaches, why not mental coaches too? I mean, players make an awful lot of money these days in case you haven't noticed. If their mental state isn't just right, that's something that could affect their ability to play baseball at a high level.

For the past five years Holliday worked on the military minds of West Point athletes/cadets and then soldiers across America.

But will he make a difference for a ballclub that hasn't had a winning season in so long they almost make the Cubs look good?

According to a recent article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette by Chuck Finder, anyone expecting, in his words, a "big, gigantic" breakthrough in the 2010 Pirates' record because of his mental-toughness work, mostly with minor-leaguers, "it's probably not going to happen. That's not how this job gets done."

"People say, 'You're a sports psychology guy.' No, I'm not," said Dr. Holliday, a civilian staffer who was based at the U.S. Military Academy and since 2006 oversaw the academy's Army Center for Enhanced Performance programs for soldiers at eight bases across the country. "It's much more of a science than people realize."

Alright, we'll take your word for it. Meanwhile, there are old-time ballplayers like Ty Cobb turning over in their graves.

Admitting that you are weak mentally or need occasional help was once a sign of being less of a man. Thank God we have moved past those days.

Or have we?

For there are still many athletes in every sport who would dispute the value of mental conditioning. And I'm sure that there are an equal number of fans who read this that think this is just a bunch of hogwash.

Dr. Nate Zinsser, director of the Army Center for Enhanced Performance said, "That Pirate ballplayer is just as emotionally invested in his success as a soldier is invested in his or her success. The consequences are a little different, of course."

Well, given the Pirates results lately, it is a very good thing that they aren't fighting for our country, come to think of it.