5. Perseverance, Hershiser Style.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(IBD'S 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)

Byline: Cord Cooper

Orel Hershiser was twice cut from his high school baseball team, and faced tough criticism from early coaches -- yet he went on to become one of pro baseball's best-known pitchers, playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants and New York Mets.

Pitching into his early 40s, Hershiser won a string of honors, including the Cy Young Award and National League Gold Glove Award. In 1988, he broke pitcher Don Drysdale's scoreless-inning record, pitching 59 consecutive scoreless innings in one of the standout years of his career.

He credits his success to key principles he's followed for more than three decades, he writes in "Between the Lines" (Warner Books, 2001). Many of his principles involve these characteristics:

Self-discipline. Hershiser developed a sense of discipline early. As a boy, he spent countless hours practicing his batting swing, slamming balls into the fence behind his house. "I was Al Kaline. I was Hank Aaron. I was Mickey Mantle. I did this over and over again. Thousands of times," he said. "No one was going to make me work harder than I was going to make myself work."

Years later, in the pros, his determination to improve only grew stronger. "I created a sense of urgency to learn everything I could before my physical capabilities peaked, so I could still be successful as my ...