Baseball wisdom...











It's Friday! The weather is beautiful, and the hometown Texas Rangers are up 2-0 in the American League Divisional Series. In honor of such of such happy news, and because our chapter in Proverbs today deals with the subject of "wisdom", today's blog will cover the subject of baseball wisdom...

I love baseball...always have...always will. I realize that it's not the most "exciting" sport in the world, and I've heard it described as being akin to watching paint dry....but if you can appreciate the beauty of the field, the art of the perfect pitch, and the intricacies that comprise great base running strategy, perhaps you can enjoy this year's Fall Classic just a little bit more than you have in the past.

Pitching is about anticipation...the hitter trying to anticipate the pitcher's next move...the pitcher trying to anticipate what the hitter might anticipate, so he can do something unexpected and surprise him. It's about speed...fast or slow...and as they say in real estate...it's about "location, location, location..."

In baseball, the tie always goes to the runner...on a fly ball with less than 2 outs, you run half-way to the next base, check whether the ball is caught, and either keep going or return to your base, if it's caught. If the ball is caught and the runner is hung up between the bases because he wasn't playing close attention, he'll probably be "doubled up" by the fielder throwing the ball to the base that the runner just left.

When there are 2 outs, the runners always run...always!

On a "hit and run"...no one is hit by a car and left for dead. The runner on first anticipates the batter hitting the ball, and starts running for 2nd base just a split second early...it helps to avoid a double-play!

If the batter hits a fly ball to the deep outfield and it bounces over the fence...it's not a homerun, but a "ground rule double."

A successful "squeeze play" is one of the most exciting plays in baseball...it doesn't happen very often...a "triple play" is also very exciting, and doesn't happen very often.

Success in baseball is equal parts patience and aggression...hand/eye coordination and speed...brute strength and nimble agility...baseball, played well, is a thing of beauty!

I hope you watch a little bit of this year's Playoffs and World Series...Play Ball!


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