On baseball's biggest stage in the 1986 World Series, the New York Mets' Ron Darling pitched seven shutout innings in game four. It came at a critical moment and effectively swung the momentum, helping to secure the Mets a victory en route to a championship. Many have argued he was even more valuable to New York than Bill Buckner.

Darling has since retired from the game, but as a baseball analyst for TBS and SNY he still uses some of the lessons he learned on the pitcher's mound, from exuding confidence to focusing on the task at hand. He also recently wrote his first book, "The Complete Game," which examines the mental aspects of throwing a baseball in the majors. We caught up with Darling and asked him to give us some pointers on handling big-time, high-pressure situations.

After the jump, Darling dishes on everything from the importance of confidence to how the hard-partying lifestyle of the 1986 Mets gave that team character.

Confidence -- Whether Real or Faked -- Is Key
Darling: "At times, I really dealt with pressure well, and at other times, I did not. That is the problem -- finding where your comfort zone is. That's the most difficult thing to do. I did it by trying to use my intelligence and match that up with my physical gifts. And even if you don't feel it, you need to trick yourself into having this great feeling of confidence. Even feigned confidence is better than no confidence at all. Just go into it with, I give my team the best chance to win every time I take that mound. When it's time to go is when you can no longer, honestly, say that before the game."

Don't Just Rely on Your Gifts
"When you get to professional baseball, everyone was the best player from their town. Everyone was the hero, so you have to learn quickly that it's going to take a lot more than physical gifts to succeed. It's the ones who handle their insides the best are the ones that are going to stick around."

Don't Change Your Routine for the Big Games
"When I pitched in the World Series, there was added pressure you can't get away from. But the men and women who deal with high pressure the best are the ones who can keep the task succinctly simple. There are so many outside distractions. For me, it was everything from 50,000 screaming fans to family members wanting tickets. The guys who can reach back and say, It's still a baseball game. I still have to throw strike one. I still have to get out one. I still want to limit my pitches. Those are the guys who have the most success."

Remember What You've Been Taught
"I always thought my teammate Keith Hernandez was one of the best at dealing with big games. He would get fired up, but he would go back to the basics. After the game, I say, 'How did you feel tonight?' He'd sometimes say, 'I didn't feel so great. I talked to my dad and he said I was dropping my shoulder.' So his father who taught him how to hit when he was 6 years old was still his best hitting coach. When push comes to shove, you've got rely on the simple things you learned when you were young. That's your foundation."

Keep It Simple
"I was taught by my father how to play the game correctly, so every broadcast I have, I concentrate like I'm talking to my father -- like my father is the guy watching the game. When I'm able to do that, I always have a good broadcast."

Do It With Character
"The [1986 Mets were] very close. There were a lot of shenanigans, because of that. We were so young and we had such hubris. We thought we could do it forever. So on a microeconomic level, it might have hurt us as far as our chances of being one of the great teams of all time. But our chemistry did produce one of the great seasons of all time. One-hundred-eight wins is nothing to sneeze at. But it wasn't only the wins, it was the way we did it. We fought together, we cried together, we laughed together, and we had a beer together. That's one of the reasons Mets fans love that team."

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