Hall of Famer Lou Brock struggled to play high school baseball, and it took a miracle for him to play baseball in college. Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig was an inconsistent baseball player in high school and college and almost became a pro football player, instead. Certain future-Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. deliberately overdosed on sleeping pills when he was a senior in high school because he worried about not being good enough to play major-league baseball. Baseball is a difficult sport and even its greatest players undergo mighty struggles to master the reality of the game.
The reality is harsh. The average major league batter hits about .270 and his career lasts only a handful of years. In major league history, only around 25 players have a career batting average of .330 or greater. There are 30 current major league teams, each with a 40 man roster, and those 1200 players come from a pool of Little League youth players numbering over 2 million. The odds are overwhelming against ever making to the majors, let alone being a great hitter at the highest level. However….
“You have to face reality sometime. But there’s no sense in facing it until somebody forces you to,” said Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane. If you are not a great hitter at age 11 or 15 or 21, it does not mean you cannot improve. If you are an average, run-of-the-mill player in middle school, high school or college, it does not mean you will not blossom and develop into a great hitter.
Face reality: just make certain that you, and you alone, determine what that reality is. If you want to become a great hitter, and are willing to put in the thought, time and dedication, do not allow anyone to dissuade you from pursuing your dream. Give it your best effort and change yourself and transform yourself until you mold reality to your ideal, just like the band Black Sabbath did on their landmark 3rd album. Get real, get great!
From November 2010, http://raisingahitter.wordpress.com
The reality is harsh. The average major league batter hits about .270 and his career lasts only a handful of years. In major league history, only around 25 players have a career batting average of .330 or greater. There are 30 current major league teams, each with a 40 man roster, and those 1200 players come from a pool of Little League youth players numbering over 2 million. The odds are overwhelming against ever making to the majors, let alone being a great hitter at the highest level. However….
“You have to face reality sometime. But there’s no sense in facing it until somebody forces you to,” said Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane. If you are not a great hitter at age 11 or 15 or 21, it does not mean you cannot improve. If you are an average, run-of-the-mill player in middle school, high school or college, it does not mean you will not blossom and develop into a great hitter.
Face reality: just make certain that you, and you alone, determine what that reality is. If you want to become a great hitter, and are willing to put in the thought, time and dedication, do not allow anyone to dissuade you from pursuing your dream. Give it your best effort and change yourself and transform yourself until you mold reality to your ideal, just like the band Black Sabbath did on their landmark 3rd album. Get real, get great!
From November 2010, http://raisingahitter.wordpress.com