A One, Two, Three Strikes Your Out at the Old Ball Game | ihavethoughts... v6

Early morning inspiration… ya right!!... I barely have enough energy in the morning to comprehend the “error message” spelled out in gibberish on the coffee maker so inspiration that early is usually way off in the horizon but this morning seemed different. Most likely influenced by the start of baseball season (GO Angels!!), I started to ponder life and business in baseball terms and all the sudden the complexities became simple. Life became a series of at-bats or pitches rather than an entire season. Lately, life has been in a bit of a slump, not a “grow a homeless beard” or “not wash your underwear for months” kind of slump but more a general lack of enthusiasm toward the next at-bat.

(WARNING.. Baseball terms ahead... lol)

For a while, I was batting great; double, triples and a few homeruns, but all of the sudden nothing. It’s like the pitchers found kryptonite and started to take advantage of my weaknesses. I didn’t see anymore inside fastballs that I crushed to the upper deck; all I saw was a wicked split-finger that had a bottom that dropped out like a piano from the 5th floor and I whiff it like a fool. After about a week repetitive embarrassment and a severely punctured ego, I started to lack the confidence to even swing. So instead of looking like a fool, I started to take pitches. At first I drew a few walks... a couple shimp (baseball for poorly hit ball) singles to left field but this did not last for long. After about two games, the pitchers started back up with the heat (baseball for fastball). I used to hammer that pitch out of the park but I was still standing there, blown confidence, staring at the fastballs wizzing by for yet another backwards “K” (baseball for strikeout looking).

Now I’ve got a real dilemma, I can’t hit the split-finger and can’t hit the fastball either. My strikeouts are mounting and I am coming to the realization that looking at a fastball for strike three is more embarrassing than swing at nothing but air. Sooo… back to swinging at air. A few games went by and those Ks started to rack up but out of nowhere a hard hit double, then a single up the middle then another double. Something had changed, I started to see the ball again and I was starting to hit it well but the weird thing was I could now hit the fastball and that dreaded split-finger. Wait… what just happened!?!?!... I can hit the splitter and the fastball now!!!?!??!.... SWEET!!... My confidence rose and so did the doubles and homeruns.

Then I had the epiphany… even though I may have been striking out every at-bat I was learning how to hit that dreaded split-finger with every swing. So even though my efforts weren’t immediately rewarded at the moment they paid off in the end with the ability to hit both pitches. Now I’m a better hitter overall and I can attribute that to all those embarrassing strikeouts. Striking out is just part of evolving as a player. It’s a vital part of the next step as a player or in life. For now on, I’m not going to be embarrassed with striking out as long as I go down swinging. I’ll take a strikeout swinging any day because I know I will learn something along the way.

Now its time for the curveball…