Life and baseball

I am often asked which sport I like the best.  Here is how I respond:

 

I like to watch football on television, play basketball, and watch baseball in person.

 

There is something about a ballgame (in the summer) with the sound of the crack of the bat, hot dogs and the fresh air that is wonderful.

 

Here's what I know about baseball.  It is predicated on precision and predictability.

 

Steven Roberts writes, "A .260 hitter might have a good or bad year, but eventually he will revert to his norm.  He will hit .260.  It's the same with pitching.  Conventional hurlers deliberately try to spin the ball in a certain way.  Depending on that spin, the ball will sink or curve, break left or right."

 

"But there is one notable exception to baseball's predictability - the knuckleball.  A good knuckleball hardly pins at all.  Because a knuckler doesn't spin, it is entirely unpredictable......As a result, the pitcher and the catcher - let alone the hitter - have no idea where the ball is going."

 

Doesn't that describe life?

 

Have you ever caught yourself saying, "it is always something?"

 

Sometimes life throws us a curveball.  But sometimes it is even worse.  We are thrown a knuckleball where it is like trying to eat Jell-O with chop sticks. 

 

Nothing we do is right.  Everything we try doesn't work.  We don't know what to do.

 

A few suggestions when the "knuckle ball" comes:

 

Realize that it is a season of difficulty.

 

Realize that God is in control.

 

Realize that while you might "strike out" this time - there is always another at-bat.

 

Don't quit.  Keep on going.  You will eventually hit a home run.

 

Just a thought for a Tuesday.