Brandon Guyer isn’t the most recognizable face or name. The former top prospect played seven MLB seasons for two different teams but was never able to stick.
Guyer played in the majors for the Rays and Guardians while also spending time in the minor leagues with the Cubs, White Sox, and Giants. He retired in 2020 and is currently working with the Los Angeles Angels, the University of Virginia Baseball, and the University of Houston Baseball.
Guyer joined WEEI’s Rob Bradford on the Audacy Original Podcast “Baseball Isn’t Boring” and talked about the advice that he would give to upcoming MLB draftees, and really people of all ages.
“What I like to think is the number one skill for all athletes is control the controllables. You can’t control where you’re drafted. Say you’re drafted very high. Then it becomes we don’t want to put that added pressure on ourselves,” Guyer said (14:50 in player above). “What can you control? Well, you control how you respond to adversity. You control your effort. Your energy. You control your attitude. You control your preparation, your perspective on everything.
“There’s so much out of our control that when we start to focus on that, then that pressure mounts. Then that fear mounts. Then that anxiety mounts. Because all of a sudden we start thinking about what other people think, what other people decide to do with you. I’m this big prospect now, I got to do this, I got to do that. These people must expect this out of me.”
Guyer was drafted in the fifth round of the 2007 MLB Draft by the Chicago Cubs. That may have caused him to put some extra expectations on himself, but he figured out a way to deal with that.
“A mantra that I really try to get across to whether it’s big leaguers or youth players is execution over expectations,” he said. “If you are drafted in this draft, no matter where you are, say you’re the number one overall pick. The only thing you should think about is executing what’s 100% in your control, which we call your process, and not worry about outcomes.
“If you are so ruthless and intentional with your process, then as a byproduct your outcomes are going to come your way. That mantra, execution over expectations, only expect yourself to execute what’s 100% in your control.”
Guyer wasn’t always able to focus on that mantra. It was a skill that he was able to develop.
“It’s not something that everyone just has. We can train it off the field with the little things that happen to us that are out of our control and as we know, on the field there’s going to be so much that happens to us that is out of our control, so really, really slowly but surely develop that skill and remember that mantra and then pressure melts away,” he said. “You’ll play free and loose, and then your true talent comes out on a consistent basis and you show up and you show out like that player they drafted you as by simply doing that.”
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