This is going to be quick because I'm at work and shouldn't really be on here, but I think I'm still experiencing a rush from the baseball game last night. What an exciting and thrilling game for the Rays team last night. It probably wasn't one of the finest performances by my favorite Rays player, or the perfection he seeks, but hey....we can't always be on our "A" game, right? Jacob still played well, just had somewhat of a difficult night on the pitchers mound.
To make a long story short, we were trailing pretty much the entire game (with at least a 3 run margin, if not more) and came back in the last inning to win the game 11-10 (or was it 10-9?). It was very exciting and we couldn't of ended the night on a better note...at least the majority of us felt that way anyways.
As we were walking to the car, Jacob seemed a little bummed despite the team's win...most likely a little down about his own personal performance. Just as he sat down in the car and was getting ready to shut the door, somebody reached their hand in and pulled the door back open...it was the umpire from our game. He looked at Jacob and said, "you need to relax, pace yourself out there on the mound...you are the one in control" and he gave Jacob one of the game balls and walked away. A little taken back by this gentleman's gesture, Jacob only had a brief second to say "thank you" before the man disappeared into the dark parking lot. Jacob just stared at the ball and then turned to me and said, "that was nice."
We've all heard that famous quote that baseball is 90% mental...admittingly, a little something I think my son could work on. Sometimes I wished I could instill in him that "perfection and baseball do not mix" and that the essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection. I certainly want Jacob to strive to be his best, but he has to learn that he can't be perfect out on that baseball diamond all the time.
To my little man - don't be so tough on yourself... just strive for continuous improvement, rather than for perfection. As the famous baseball player, Tug McGraw, once said, "Ya gotta believe!" I believe in you, Jacob...now you need to believe in yourself!
To make a long story short, we were trailing pretty much the entire game (with at least a 3 run margin, if not more) and came back in the last inning to win the game 11-10 (or was it 10-9?). It was very exciting and we couldn't of ended the night on a better note...at least the majority of us felt that way anyways.
As we were walking to the car, Jacob seemed a little bummed despite the team's win...most likely a little down about his own personal performance. Just as he sat down in the car and was getting ready to shut the door, somebody reached their hand in and pulled the door back open...it was the umpire from our game. He looked at Jacob and said, "you need to relax, pace yourself out there on the mound...you are the one in control" and he gave Jacob one of the game balls and walked away. A little taken back by this gentleman's gesture, Jacob only had a brief second to say "thank you" before the man disappeared into the dark parking lot. Jacob just stared at the ball and then turned to me and said, "that was nice."
We've all heard that famous quote that baseball is 90% mental...admittingly, a little something I think my son could work on. Sometimes I wished I could instill in him that "perfection and baseball do not mix" and that the essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection. I certainly want Jacob to strive to be his best, but he has to learn that he can't be perfect out on that baseball diamond all the time.
To my little man - don't be so tough on yourself... just strive for continuous improvement, rather than for perfection. As the famous baseball player, Tug McGraw, once said, "Ya gotta believe!" I believe in you, Jacob...now you need to believe in yourself!
XOXO,
Mommy
1 comment:
well said s.i.l.
very well said!
all my love to you, and my honey bear!
Post a Comment