I played baseball when I was younger but didn’t make the high school team. I tried out for second base then but wasn’t very good. I couldn’t hit all that well and my second base proficiency was, well, second rate.
I tried all the positions growing up – pitcher, catcher, infielder and outfielder. Quite frankly, I may have decided on second base because it was the least dangerous. But I remembered that when I was a catcher in little league and elementary school, I’d won some accolades. I had a decent arm and good hands, and I felt less inhibited with all that gear (aka, the “tools of ignorance”) on.
When I decided to go to college, I had three goals: I wanted to (1) go away to school, (2) get my bachelor’s degree, and (3) play baseball (and not necessarily in that order). I was intent on accomplishing all three.
I was not very studious in high school My grades weren’t that good; somewhat miraculously, however, I got accepted at Loyola College in Baltimore. I had barely survived the first fall semester, when, all of a sudden, here came spring, when a young man’s thoughts turn to … well, in my case, baseball.
I tried out for the varsity team as a catcher, taking my lumps along the way. The pitchers were out to impress and they were throwing hard. Because it was February and cold outside, we were indoors. The other catchers handling the pitchers were catching without a mask, but after I’d had my nose bloodied a few times, I swallowed my pride and wore one.
On the last day of tryouts, I showed up early to imagine myself on the team. This was the day my fate would be decided.
My hitting had improved the previous summer while playing softball, but I hadn’t witnessed any curve balls in that league. Here I would encounter plenty.
As I stood in the on-deck circle during an intra-squad scrimmage that day, my eyes met those of “Walt,” another prospect whom I knew from the dorm. He’d observed that “John” threw the ball right down the middle. I concurred, having seen his repertoire of pitches in the gym while catching him.
When it was my turn to bat, I dug in, remembering what Walt had told me. It was late in the game and my dream was on the line. Sure enough, one of the first pitches I saw was a fastball right down Broadway. I hammered it out into left field, driving in several runs in the process. It was at a crucial point in the game. Not only did I surprise myself, but I surprised the coach as well, who now had a harder time deciding whom to let go.
After the game, I passed all the defensive drills the coach put me through and made the team. In all honesty, it was the advice Walt gave me, and my putting it to good use, that enabled me to realize my dream of playing college baseball.
Anyway, I’ll be giving a listening workshop at various American Executive Centers in August. Come on out and join us. To register for it, go here: http://www.americanexecutivecenters.com/summer-learning-seminars/