Life Lessons for Nate from Baseball

Nate thankfully continues to grow and all indications are that he is quite the healthy kid and for that I am thankful to God. I sometimes let my mind drift off and I wonder, what will he be like as he grows? Will he be more like his mom (has positives and negatives) or me? (mostly negatives) One thing is for certain:

We may be hoping he likes Baseball.

I sure hope the kid likes Baseball, or we will never hear the end of the complaining.

I have always liked baseball, you get to be outside, it takes teamwork, it also requires a lot of hard work to even begin to improve yourself at the game. Come to think of it, there are quite a few life lessons to be learned from playing baseball.

1) There Ain't no "I" in Team

I'm sure none of us have ever heard this wonderful statement. Who knew that sports coaches were such geniuses of the English language? But seriously, Nate has to learn, it's not all about you. So what? You went 4 for 4 at the plate and hit a home run, but the TEAM lost. Obviously, I won't downplay his personal achievements, but I want him to understand, baseball is a TEAM sport. You win as a team and you lose as a team. You always give 110% effort because that's how a good team plays, they support each other, they will put themselves on the line for each other, not for personal glory, but for the good of the team.

2) Give Maximum Effort, All the Time

Nothing infuriates me more when watching baseball then to see a batter hit a routine ground ball to a fielder and not run hard down the first base line. So what that tells me is that because there is a pretty good chance you are going to be out, you just aren't going to try. Because the odds are against you, you are just going to quit and make it easy for the other team. It makes the player look like he just doesn't care. What I hope Nate learns is that no matter what, if you're slow or fast, you run down that first base line like your britches are on fire. Because you know what? The fielder just might make an error, there just might be a bad throw, if you are hustling, the fielder may hurry to field the ball and make a mistake. I hope Nate grows to understand, that perfection, is not expected. But effort, will always be expected. He may be the slowest runner that has ever existed on this green earth, but that does not give him a free pass to not try.

3) Even the Greats Strike Out

For decades, Babe Ruth, one of the greatest baseball players to ever step onto a field, held the record for striking out more than anyone else. Babe Ruth failed to even put the ball into play more than anyone else. So why was Babe Ruth great? He was great because he didn't allow his failures to keep him down. Babe Ruth held the record for the most home runs in baseball for nearly a hundred years. He was great because he was able to step back up to the plate and face the same exact pitcher who made him look foolish the previous at bat. He was able to learn from his mistakes. People will make mistakes. I have made mistakes and will continue to do so I'm sure. Nate will make his fair share of mistakes. But what I hope Nate learns, your mistakes can define you, if you let them. How a person responds to their mistakes, is what truly defines an individual. I have heard very few stories about The Babe striking out, even though he struck out many more times than the home runs he hit. But people talk about the home runs. The stories exist because of the victories, not the failures.

These are only a few life lessons I hope Nate can learn from baseball, if he so chooses to play and enjoy the sport. I obviously hope that there are other things that are more important to him, such as serving the Lord and his family. But something as simple as a game, can teach him life lessons that he can use for the rest of his life.