A Pitch That Changed Lives.
I love to watch baseball; specifically, I love to watch a good pitcher.
Yes, I’ve played. I once had a mean fast ball, of which I struck out quite a few batters. Sorry; I also hit a few as well. My trouble as a pitcher wasn’t throwing the ball. I could cut a pitch in the strike zone with a speed that many couldn’t handle. My problem was the mental game that went along with it. I worried too much about the things I couldn’tcontrol, and that’s when my pitches strayed.
Say what you want about Roger Clemens, he is a pitching legend and a hero to me in many ways. I loved watching The Rocket, as he was dubbed, and for those of you reading who have seen him stand on the mound, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Nobody threw like Clemens.
Clemens made the game exciting. He brought a fire and intensity to it that seemed rare among other pitchers. When the Rocket stood on the mound, passion leaked with each throw. In post season, he thrilled. He kept fans on the edge of their seats. The strike outs ticked in the record books. He made the game come alive.
And yet, as one of the most dominant pitchers in Major League history, he is not in the Hall of Fame. Politics. An unfortunate situation. A bad taste in the public eye. The voting process recently took place once more. Once more he wasn’t inducted. Now, after 10 years of waiting, his eligibility is over. Honestly, it saddens me. He should have been there.
It struck a chord when Roger put out his statement.
His statement hit me in a very timely moment.
If you’ll open your own heart as well, I think it will touch yours too.
Don't we all want to make a difference in this world? Don't you?
I know that some people act like they are immune to the effects of social media and the viewpoint of our culture around us. We pretend that what other people say and do doesn’t make any difference. We go about our day trying to tell ourselves that "people are people," and that “Sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me,” right?
But how many of you ever stood on the pitcher’s mound in fifth grade and tried to throw a fast ball when you were mentally rattled?
It just doesn’t happen. You end up hitting a batter, trust me, I know.
My point is, I admit this was happening to me. We all do it to some degree. Unfortunately, in 2022, the social media machine has developed us this way. Don’t we all like validation? We enjoy seeing engagement to our voice, right? We make a post, we hit publish on Facebook, we try to tell the world our message. We hold our heads high, thinking we are helping people, only to find out hours later that the post, the text, the message we meant to convey is dead in the water with little engagement, and almost zero traffic surrounding it.
And then, you slump your head in disappointment, and wonder: Didn’t everyone just see that pitch?
Sometimes we get caught up in the numbers.
I went on a walk this week; I do some of my best reflection while walking. Though it was freezing cold, the crystal clarity was good to my mind. I thought deep and processed it all. Roger Clemens. The legend. He didn’t pitch to get in. He pitched to make a difference. He sure made a difference to me.
My thoughts drifted through the snowy hills of Western Pennsylvania.
What am I here to do as an author?
Is my goal just to be on the NY Times Bestseller list?
How do I define my own success?
What is my target in life?
What really matters to me?
Like Roger, Am I pitching to make a difference?
What questions tend to haunt your mind and heart?
(Photo credit: MATT CAMPBELL/AFP/Getty Images)
Not only caught up in numbers, sometimes we can be consumed with them. Sometimes we can be so wrapped up in the measuring stick that society is holding that we assume it is the only one that is important. We look around and see it in plain sight. Everybody else tells us what is important. Cristiano Ronaldo has 378 million Instagram followers. He's on the top of the list. Does that mean that he is the king of success? Some say yes. But what if you are holding the measuring stick that Roger Clemens claims to be using? Despite the disappointment of not being ushered into Hall of Fame glory, he realized a long time ago that achieving the goal of making a generational difference in his family is far better.
Don’t you agree?
Then why do we get so bent out of shape when only four people like our recent Facebook post?
I got a wakeup call this week, in part by the hand of one of my heroes, in whole by the hand of our Lord. In the end, though glorious, Clemen’s 354 wins as a Major League pitcher will not define him, nor his 4,672 strike outs. His seven Cy Young Awards will just be an added detail. Instead, it takes a certain maturity (and probably the experience of being under stress on the mound) to stand in the spotlight of our culture today and be proud of what really matters. That, is what he aims for.
For me, I want to make a difference in the lives of my readers.
Matthew 6:19-21- “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The NY Times Bestseller list would be a dream to achieve, but it's something that comes and goes in a moment.
The Hall of Fame would have been nice, but it plays little difference in Roger Clemen’s end game. The difference he made in his family and community will make much more impact than what the masses who walk through those halls will ever really know.
My call to action today is simple. Clear the clutter of the mind. Take a moment and ground yourself. What really, is important to you? When your life is all said and done, what will be the thing that brings you peace knowing you’ve accomplished it? For me, what Clemens said has made a huge impact, one I'm still reflecting on.
The Hall of Fame? The NY Times list?
Or real change in those you love?
For now, I’ll take the four Facebook likes.
By Chuck Carr