Every Boss. Every Babysitter. Every teacher. Every parent. Every doctor or sales rep shares a piece of Mitchell Page’s dream.
Anyone who has ever puzzled over finding a way -- a fresh way -- to inspire others to take a desired course knows the challenge. The essence of the calling crosses all disciplines . In Page's case, he tests his skills with Cardinal batters, striving in the task of helping grown men to hit a leather-bound ball with a wooden stick.
"If I could sell anything, I would love to sell clutch hitting," he says. "In an RBI situation, you always want to keep the pressure on the pitcher. But then the first thing a man will do is chase a bad pitch.
"Any time you're in a clutch situation, the pitcher is going to make the first pitch his pitch. Normally, it's not going to be a cookie right down the middle. And to be able to lay off that pitch, you take the pressure off yourself. I would love to improve in that area. Anytime.
Page sets himself to the task each day, arriving at Busch Stadium as early as any of the uniformed Cardinals. Often, he will meet privately with a slumping hitter under the stands in the team's indoor batting cage, examine hours of video, then watch the night's game as intently as if his own name were on the lineup card.
"Every time they swing, I'm swinging with them," he says. "It may not look like it, but I'm right there, too. I have a photographic memory of everybody on the ball club. I know them as hitters better than they know themselves. Not blowing smoke, but I think I do see some things that other people do not see when it comes to hitters."
Using this type of "batting eye," Page assessess each Cardinal and creates one-line reminders to meet each player's need -- brief "keys" that speak to each player's challenge.
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