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Great put Doc.
To add some kindling ...
I am a pianist. Been playing since I was 6. Been performing on stage routinely since age 11. I'm not world class, but I'm pretty darn good. What I know from my musical endeavors is this: You "think" your way through practice. The underlying purpose of practice is to learn a piece so well that when it comes time to perform, you don't have to think at all. I can tell you from a LOT of personal experience that the less thinking on stage, the better performance. A great performance flows through you - it doesn't come out of you.
Additionally, in 1988, I won the Starfleet Battles National Championship. SFB is a strategy board game based on Star Trek ships with a 300 page rule book -- we're talking TONS of thought involved -- chess-level variations with a vastly more complex set of moves available. But ... in '88, when I went on my run ... BEFORE I went to the tourney I did a ton of analysis, review of games, developed game plans for every possible opponent I might face. But, in the moment, it was all reaction. For 4 days I operated almost entirely on instinct. I'm sure with your chess background you understand the concept of "feeling" a multi-move combination exists before actually seeing it.
I believe, in MLB baseball, it is simply impossible for hitters to "think" their way to success. You can game plan. You can scout. You can work on any number of mental aspects of the game during practice. But in game, it all moves too fast. You cannot possibly succeed, (IMHO), if you are spending time (even nano-seconds) "thinking". Thinking during a pitch is death. Thinking between pitches can be helpful -- but the ultimate success/failure is, IMO, training your body to react appropriately to the minutia.
Ackley was NEVER shrill in college. He and Seager were nearly identical hitters ... except Ackley had a better eye. When Ackley was drafted, I said I expected a glide path toward success ... first would come a good OBP ... he would walk a lot. Then his average would come up ... then he would add power. His minor league progression:
'10 - West Tenn: .263/.389/.384 -- (126 patience and 121 ISO)
'10 - Tacoma : .274/.338/.439 -- (64 patience and 165 ISO)
'11 - Tacoma: .303/.421/.487 -- (118 patience and 184 ISO)
But his MLB results
'11 - .273/.348/.417 -- (75 patience and 144 ISO)
'12 - .222/.298/.327 -- (76 patience and 105 ISO)
Something isn't right. If you look at his career HR numbers on BBREF. In 2011, three (3) of his 6 HRs came on 3-ball counts. In 2012 ... of his 8 HRs, ZERO are on 3-ball counts, and only 1 was on a 2-ball count. My belief is that Ackley is getting INSTRUCTION that is hurting. Here are his count splits last year and this:
Batter ahead: 1.000 - .749
Even count : .710 - .576
Pitcher ahead: .544 - .524
I think he's being "taught" shrillness.