Legendary Detroit Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell stated that “Baseball is a lot like life. It’s a day-to-day existence, full of ups and downs. You make the most of your opportunities in baseball as you do in life.”
Ernie Harwell like any person who has been involved with the game for an extended period of time could tell you story after story of opportunities taken and missed by ballplayers young and old.
Baseball will give you the opportunity. Because our game is played so often, the opportunities are increased. We have to be ready for the next opportunity. The next opportunity might come on the next play or the next day, but it will always come.
Ballplayers this weekend might be playing in a tournament where they might play up to 30 innings. Each inning and each pitch allows an opportunity. You will have your ups and downs during that time period, more importantly you will have many opportunities.
A common complaint when a young player does not succeed is the lack of opportunity. I rarely believe in this complaint because every player gets many opportunities. We cannot let one missed opportunity or one bad day get in the way of our next opportunity.
Helen Keller once said “when one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one what has been opened for us.”
Continue to be ready for the next opportunity. It will come and it is up to us to take advantage.
Be the ballplayer that at the end of your career you can state that you took advantage of your opportunities instead of the ballplayer who complains about the opportunities that you were not given.
Until Next Time