All criticism and no praise makes baseball a dull game.

Excitement, enthusiasm, and praise when a good technique/result is applied is just as important as correcting/criticism when it isn’t. There has to be a balance. Positive and ethusiastic recognition of good is how you get good to stick. You can’t just get a player to only run from the bad.

This is why we as coaches have to be careful with playing the “that’s what’s expected/that’s the standard” game when it comes to not positively recognizing correct execution.

That being said, persistent criticism of bad technique, effort, mindset, etc., is just as critical to development. It has to be in balance though, with positive reinforcement, in order for it to not be perceived as overly negative and tyrannical to the player.

The game has to be fun to get the most out of the player.