"Fellas....this is a game of inches"

I've had the most difficult time while teaching and/or coaching the game of baseball when it comes to explaining the importance of the game.  The goal of the game is obviously to score more runs than the opposing team..  The way I teach it is, that our team has to be better than the other team at scoring.  Seems like a simple concept right?

But in my eyes, when you break the sport into small sections, it is the small things that matter the most.  Not the big hit or the home run or the strikeout pitch, etc.  It is the things that lead up to those big events.  In  another word(s), it is the small things in the game that matter most.  That is:  a pitch that led up to the strike out, the stolen base that got the runner in position for the big hit, the double play that prevented the hitting team from gaining momentum, the extra step on a base runners lead that allowed him to take the pursing base on an infield hit, the bunt with no one out that was strategically placed to move a runner to third (so the next hitter could hit a sacrifice fly to win the game), the catcher that made a great block to prevent a passed ball from the pitcher when he had the batter on a 1 and 2 count.  Those are the things that no one "EVER" talks about.  But those are the things that give baseball teams advantages when playing the game.

Now, the majority of the people reading this blog that understand my perspective will probably be students of the game of baseball.  But let me put this analogy in a more broader perspective. These are the things that one should do to place them into a better position to be successful in LIFE:  to be successful, one might:  get a higher education degree, one might place more money in savings each month, one might invest in their families livelihood, one will place money in a retirement account for future endeavors, one might discipline their children so they don't grow up to be hoodlum's.  These are just to touch on a few, but I view my life as if it is a game of baseball.  Some people might think that this is a ridiculous point of view, but this game gave me direction and has taught me discipline and self perseverance.  The same concept that I try to instill in the youth I am in touch with.

As I digress:  Just as life is a game of inches, so is the sport that I choose to teach.  As a mathematics instructor, my mind constantly uses statistics to make decisions.  A baseball circumference is roughly 9 inches, the home plate is 17 inches by 8.5 inches by 12 inches at the point (irregular pentagon).  The distance from each base is 90 foot (1,080 inches).  The distance from home plate to the pitchers mound is 60 foot 6 inches.  I have stated all of that to come to my conclusion.......  If we don't take every opportunity and every "inch" that the opposing team gives us, then we are not at the greater advantage to win; period.  I love to win, but more importantly, I love showing kids how to be winners.  Not just in the game of baseball, but in the game of life (which is a much harder game to play).  All I ask from anyone,  albeit, someone I'm coaching  or someone I'm teaching in the class room; and that is to be committed to "everything" that you do!.

--Seth