Go Ahead, Steal It.
For those of you who are not Red Sox fans, Dave Roberts is probably an unfamiliar name. In short, he is the player who pulled off one of the most exciting moments in baseball history -- unless you are a Yankees fan.
In the fourth game of the 2004 American League play-offs, the Sox down a humiliating three games to their historic rivals -- the New York Yankees, Roberts did what might seem like a very small thing. He stole second base. But as we are taught over and over, this one act lead to other things. A hit up the middle and Roberts' speed meant he would score the run that tied it in the ninth. The Sox went on to win it and then didn't stop winning, until they had swept the World Series.
I saw an interview with Roberts recently, and in it, he said that when he was on first base that night, his manager Terry Francona gave him no sign to steal, no sign to stay put. He trusted Roberts, a veteran of the game, to know what to do. Roberts said he was thinking of the words of one of his mentors as he took his lead, "You can't be afraid to fail." He said he felt as if the whole world knew he was going to try and steal that base, and he wanted to be that guy; the one who rose to the occasion in this pivotal moment, or went down trying.
And, ah well. The rest is history.
How many times do I feel that moment; Roberts on first, taking his lead? How often do we let the cloud of failure loom low?
Life is not baseball, but I figure everyone needs a little encouragement to not only take that lead -- but break into a run.
posted by Mutha @ 9:07 AM
2 Comments:
Love your baseball post. There's so much around us that can be taken for inspiration, metaphorically and allegorically.
My son just played in his first baseball game this weekend, in the little league. He was the also the littlest player on the team. He looked sweet standing out there between 1st & 2nd base, the shortstop. Since most of the kids cannot yet pitch or catch, almost everyone was walked, and then went on to steal bases all the way home. It was fun to watch - the first baseball game I'd seen in ages.
Thanks Indie! I do some assistant coaching in the town Little League in which my two sons play and the determination of champions, the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat -- it is all there. Plus the uniforms are too big, the six-year-olds can hit but not throw or catch, and the nine-year-olds are mad enough to cry when they lose -- but determined to NOT to in front of one another. That is for the Mom driving the player home to witness.
Good luck to your boy! Enjoy!
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