Baseball: Six Minutes of Action Crammed Into Two and One Half Hours!

If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base. ~Dave Barry

Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer. ~Ted Williams

I have discovered in twenty years of moving around a ball park, that the knowledge of the game is usually in inverse proportion to the price of the seats. ~Bill Veeck

I have heard it said that life is like baseball. Some people have written poems and articles on this topic. I find it an interesting analogy. I won’t claim to be the biggest baseball fan, although I do love to go to the games, but I will claim to be one of those thought provoking fans.

First, everyone knows that the best place to view the game is at the top of the stadium. Head out to The Ballpark in Arlington (d.b.a Ameriquest Field in Arlington) and take the three escaladers, which are very precariously hanging in mid air, to the top. Find you a good rail seat and really watch the game unfold. Let the rich corporate types watch the game for ten times the cost on the base lines. They are missing the true action.

Isn’t life like this too? Often we are so close to home plate that we miss the action in the outfield. As decisions unfold in life and we are trying to call the shots, the best place to make the decision is at the “top of the stadium” not behind the plate.

Second, how odd is it that the game is built around the defense throwing to the offense? As I transverse corporate America, I quickly see this principle unfold. How often am I left to deal with a project, which I knew nothing about, but am expected to hit out of the park? It is thrown at you, but you don’t know if it is a curve, sinker, fastball, or even if it is going to go into the dirt. You have a split second to decide, swing or not? Swing and it could be the winning run or a pop fly. Don’t and you could be called on a strike or get a freebie walk. Obviously, swinging is more gratify, but much more risky. Everybody like the homerun, but rarely notice the ‘base on balls’ guy who made an equally as smart decision.

Lastly, you have to understand that the game can be won in a multitude of ways. Unlike most other sports, in baseball one person really can win the game. While a team effort surrounds him, one pitch in the bottom of the ninth can mean the difference between a ‘W’ and an ‘L’. That is just the way the game goes. Nine and two thirds innings can be perfect, but one swing can send the home team celebrating. I think life is this way too. A person can be a great person their whole life. Do good, make all the right decisions and be a great friend. Yet in the bottom of the ninth they choose to drink and drive, experiment with risky businesses, invest a fortune of time but neglect their family to find it all gone soon after. A life of good lost in the bottom of the ninth. Thankfully the opposite is true as well.

Well that is my ramblings on baseball and life.

Ranger’s fans will understand this:
“Hello Win Column”