-Pitch 1: ball down and in. Cruz doesn’t bite, never looks interested.
-Pitch 2: fastball away Cruz breaks his bat on. Initial body language says pissed, that thought has clearly passed by the time he receives his new bat. Redoes his batting gloves on the walk back to the plate, no big deal.
-Pitch 3: fastball up, just out of the zone. Cruz demonstrates a yes, yes, yes, no approach, able to hold off late.
-Pitch 4: cutter (?) off the plate, never looks good, easy take.
-Pitch 5: another pitch on the outer half Cruz takes out to RF for a base hit.
-Post AB: glances up at the scoreboard to see the swing replay, processes the at bat. Next.
Throughout the duration of the at bat, Cruz’ expression/demeanor never changes. The broken bat, the takes, the base hit, etc. Nothing is getting inside of Cruz’ dome.
In order to be a truly elite bat, having this type of workmanlike, consistent approach, is a must. It may not look exactly like Cruz, but it should look exactly like YOU, whatever demeanor it is that you play best at.
There will be literally hundreds of ups/downs over the course of a long season. Maintaining your cool, making the emotional highs a little lower, and the lows a little higher, will go a long ways towards consistent production.