Slumps, Pressure and the Process
Judge the at bat, not the result: hard outs are good at bats.
How it actually works. Focusing on the process means grading what you control: were you on time, did you swing at good pitches, did you hit the ball hard, did you make the right play. A line drive right at the shortstop is a good at bat that shows up as an out. Over enough at bats, good process turns into good results. In a small stretch, it often does not.
Why it is done, and when it is wrong. Baseball is built on failure. A great hitter fails most of the time, and a sport like that punishes anybody who lives and dies with every result. The pressure players put on themselves usually makes a slump longer, because tension slows the swing and makes every decision harder. At the end of the day it is a game. The players who remember that tend to play it better.
What people get wrong about it. Focusing on the process is not an excuse to ignore a real problem. If you are chasing everything or late on every fastball, that is the process telling you something. The point is to judge the right things, not to stop judging.
At Little League and travel ball. Kids and parents both tend to judge a game by hits. Change the scoreboard at home: talk about hard contact, good takes, hustle and effort. A kid who learns that at twelve handles a slump at sixteen far better.
Batter's Eye: look up anything in baseball