Life Lessons Everyone Can Learn Through Baseball

Growing up, I spent more time on a baseball field than most girls. And because of this, baseball is still my favorite sport to this day. Maybe because it was my entire childhood and maybe because I learned so many important lessons from the game of baseball.

I’m gonna share those lessons with you today, so head to the batter’s box and get ready for some fast-pitched wisdom.

If you’ve ever truly watched a baseball game and “understood it”, you’ll know what I mean by these traits. But, for those who have simply sat in the stands and watched without truly knowing what the umpire means when they make “strange movements” and then a player throws a tantrum, I’ll put this in the simplest terms for those of us.

Baseball taught me this:

Not every hit will be a home run.

Every time a batter steps up to home plate is a rush of adrenaline and excitement. Think about it like this, the feeling you get when you hear good news or when you kiss a new person for the first time. That adrenaline can fuel you, don’t ever be afraid of it. However, that adrenaline is not an everyday, every moment kind of thing; it’s fleeting. Embrace those moments, embrace the day and the seconds because they won’t last forever. So swing and swing and swing, and don’t stop swinging — maybe you’ll hit your home run and maybe you won’t, but, “never let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game.”

Keep your eye on the ball.

Think of the ball as your goal. If you don’t watch it, will you ever hit it? If you don’t take the steps to complete your goals, will it ever happen? I can answer that, no. Your goal should always be in “sight” and when you reach that goal, you can say I did that because I knew what I wanted and I “hit” it.

If it’s what you love, never stop loving it.

Baseball is a sport that I love, but unfortunately, sometimes the best things come to an end. But I have learned to love it in a different way, by loving the art of it. I love watching it, thinking about what the next play is going to be. Don’t ever let someone tell you that your goals, dream, or plans for yourself are stupid or not plausible, because they’re wrong. If you have a passion for something, and I mean something that fills every part of you when you think of the possibility of it coming true, then trust it, follow it, never stop.

You can’t do everything by yourself.

Being on a team of any sort teaches you this important lesson, and so many of us forget it far too often. I’m a prime suspect of it. I absolutely hate asking others for help. Think of it from a baseball standpoint: there are nine players on the field at all times, plus two coaches on first and third. You think the catcher could run to the outfield in time to catch a pop fly before it hits the ground? Do you think you would trust your gut enough to not have your coach tell you when to stop or head on home? You need your teammates. You need friends and family. You need peers. The world was not built on the shoulders of one person, and neither are you. Build yourself up with others, the happiness and the dreams will follow.

It isn’t over, till it’s over.

In most sports that you watch on television, you’ve seen a basketball or football game go into overtime. In baseball, you have “extra innings” or that one inning to fill the bases and take the win. In life, you may have heard, “it isn’t over until the fat lady sings.” This still applies. Use everything you’ve got and push through that last inning. Whether your last inning is the end of a paper, the last couple hours of work, or those last two minutes on the treadmill, give it all you got and rewards will follow.

And in that, baseball has taught me so many lessons that I am thankful for and that I will use for the rest of my life. I can’t imagine growing up anywhere else, watching my brother play was both an honor and a privilege — I would kill to see him play again. But, I’ll always have the lessons that baseball and my big brother taught me growing up on a baseball field.