You have done everything correctly. All the circumstances are perfect for success. Then just at the moment when success seems imminent, the left fielder makes a catch on the warning track not more than inches from a homerun. Oh! Had you just hit the ball with more of the sweet spot on the bat barrel, had you just connected with the ball just a millimeter lower on the sphere, had you just started your swing a microsecond earlier…
Homeruns are rare events. That’s why we make a big deal when someone hits one. There are far more warning track fly balls than homeruns, far more grounders, far more strikeouts than homers. Warning track fly balls are, perhaps, the most frustrating to baseball players because the slightest change in hitting parameters makes the difference between an out and a homerun.
If hitting the ball over the fence were a common event, then our attitude toward the homerun would be different. Ho-hum. Another homer. Big deal. Where’s the hot dog guy?
The rare and fairly unreachable accomplishment makes life both interesting and inspiring. Failure is common. Ho-hum. Warning track fly balls are just a tease, a moment of hope, a fruitless effort. But if enough balls are hit to the fence occasionally one will go over, even if only with the help of the wind.
We can never be in complete control, even when we think we have done everything correctly. But sometimes, even when we think we are about to fail by an inch, a favorable wind turns seeming failure into success. We never know unless we swing for the fence.
Homeruns are rare events. That’s why we make a big deal when someone hits one. There are far more warning track fly balls than homeruns, far more grounders, far more strikeouts than homers. Warning track fly balls are, perhaps, the most frustrating to baseball players because the slightest change in hitting parameters makes the difference between an out and a homerun.
If hitting the ball over the fence were a common event, then our attitude toward the homerun would be different. Ho-hum. Another homer. Big deal. Where’s the hot dog guy?
The rare and fairly unreachable accomplishment makes life both interesting and inspiring. Failure is common. Ho-hum. Warning track fly balls are just a tease, a moment of hope, a fruitless effort. But if enough balls are hit to the fence occasionally one will go over, even if only with the help of the wind.
We can never be in complete control, even when we think we have done everything correctly. But sometimes, even when we think we are about to fail by an inch, a favorable wind turns seeming failure into success. We never know unless we swing for the fence.
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