5 Ways Baseball is Like Life

Baseball is a lot like life. Probably more so than any other sport. These baseball lessons are inspired by the Yankees’ recent struggles and are intended to offer fans a fresh perspective. It turns out, even when you lose, you can learn lessons about life from baseball. This perspective is needed as the Yankees plummet in the standings. Sometimes, even a $300 million payroll does not help you, but it makes sense to impart some lessons learned coaching Little League Baseball, because the Yankees have played like Little Leaguers. Do you know these lessons?

Baseball is a lot Like Life, Because…

The Line Drives Get Caught, And The Pop-Ups Fall In

This one is a baseball truism that happens all the time. I witnessed a pop fly fall in and end a bunch of baseball careers. In August 2023, in extra innings, the Loudoun Babe Ruth Senior All-Star team was playing defense with a baserunner on second base in the bottom of the ninth inning (a standard game was seven innings). With two outs, the hitter landed a little pop-up behind second base.

It was in a perfect spot and had found grass. The baserunner scored the winning run, and the Loudoun Babe Ruth Senior team lost the game, an elimination game in the semifinals. Most of the players on the team would never play organized baseball again, a harsh reality for many players in the sport.

I felt terrible for the starting pitcher who was on in relief and all of the players on the field that day. They learned an important life lesson that you win some and lose some. It seems like poor efforts are successful all the time, while great ones are never recognized. There is a saying- I would rather be lucky than good any day. What this means is that luck plays a bigger role in success than skill all the time.

Your Success Depends On Your Teammates

In baseball, no matter which position you play, you depend on your teammates for success. This is a constant. If you are pitching, the fielders must field batted balls. If you are fielding, you depend on your teammates to make great plays. You occasionally back them up, and sometimes they throw the ball to you for a double play.

If you are on base, you depend on your teammates to move you up the bases. If you are at bat, the Pitcher, though they are on the other team, must throw you strikes, and you rely on the Umpire to call a good game. This is the life case, too, where your success often depends on others. Being a good teammate is key to life, and baseball teaches you that.

If You Break the Rules, Cheat or Look Unkept an Umpire Will Correct You

In life, it is essential always to look your best. This is the case in baseball, too, where if you look disheveled in any way, the Umpire will caution you. Some professional baseball teams, like the New York Yankees, have rules for how players look.

Always Hustle and Do Your Best: Players Run and Coaches Walk

Hustle is vital in both baseball games and baseball practices. Coaches are always on players, regardless of age, to hustle on and off the field. If you do your best, then nobody can fault you for your effort. It is important to note that this is a life rule, and in life, you must always do your best and hustle. In this way, baseball training is training for life.

Conclusion

In baseball, more than any other sport, failure is everywhere. The canonical example of this is batting, where success a mere three times out of ten guarantees a long and noteworthy career; one will probably make it to the Hall of Fame if they bat .300, but there is failure all over the game. Think how often a Pitcher throws the ball not where they want. Or consider how difficult it is to field a baseball properly.

Mariano Rivera, perhaps the greatest Pitcher ever, indeed the greatest closer ever, once philosophized that the most important thing for a closer is to focus on after a failure is the next pitch and to forget blowing saves as soon as you blow them (Rivera, 2014).

This is the case in life also, and baseball prepares you for that. In life, you fail more than you succeed, and it is crucial to learn this lesson early on. One needs to focus on the next opportunity. It is essential to focus on the next pitch and not dwell on the past. It is funny, but the Yankees took a lead right as I was writing this.