Like Tiger in golf, everyone is gunning for A-Rod. And he, like Tiger, knows it.

The reason we are infatuated with Tiger is that he, time and again, faces down immense pressure. We’d all love to know what’s inside his head when he faces a putt to win the U.S. Open. We’d all love to know if he has a mantra, a good-luck charm, just what it is that allows him to flow when the situation exudes with tension.

This is what draws us to the great ones. They find the ability to laugh internally at pressure. Pete Rose was drawn to pressure.

In 1980, in the middle of an eighth-inning comeback against Nolan Ryan in the decisive Game 5 of the NLCS, Pete yelled at Ryan, “you ain’t getting me out, either.”

I heard it, I was there and Pete worked a walk. No way on God’s green earth would I have done that. Yelling at the pitcher is just not done. Imagine doubling, tripling the pressure of that moment. The great ones want more pressure for some reason. The great ones have no fear of failing.

Much of my career I feared failure. I believe A-Rod did, too.

I’ve studied this because I wanted to be Rose or Derek Jeter, that kind of player. We all do.

I concluded that an athletes that was extremely gifted physically was better off with a blase or indifferent attitude concerning the public perception of him. Rose? Reggie? Gary Sheffield? Manny Ramirez? There are many more.

It helps to place little, if any, credence on what people think of you or what writers or the media are writing about you. To be impervious to pressure, you either have to be borderline ignorant, or totally secure with yourself as a person. You must have a plan of attack to combat the demons of pressure.

Alex Rodriguez wants to be liked. He cares about his image, the public’s perception of him, and he wants to add adjectives like “clutch” and “winner” to his resume.

He wants to be perceived in the same way as Jeter, but he knows he has to earn it. You can’t fault him for that. However, the correct approach is to let it evolve, let it come to you.

Derek Jeter didn’t plan or force his quest for Mr. October status. He worked efficiently on each at bat, each ground ball, and made his presence known by doing the small things.

Keeping your focus on the little things allows the big ones to find you. This is great advice for all postseason combatants — especially one named A-Rod, who has one final hurdle.

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