"At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another
person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have
lighted the flame within us."
—Albert Schweitzer
"I had the pleasure of taking in a Mets and Nationals baseball game
one Saturday in September. It was a thrill because I attended the game
in the new Citi Field ballpark. I marveled at its brilliance in new brick,
stone, and steel girders, the largest I had ever seen. The girders in
the shape of a “Y” soared up a few stories, and, no doubt, supported
most of the structure. I was fascinated by the great technology and
workmanship that went into this great ballpark. So I looked up some
statistics and learned that it includes 1.2 million bricks, 11,000 light
fixtures, 2,200 doors, 850 televisions, 12,540 tons of structural steel
and 48,000 cubic yards of asphalt. An amazing feat of construction,
the stadium holds approximately 45,000 fans. I don’t have statistics on
how many people worked on it, but I can imagine fifty years from now
some grandfather telling his grandchild all about how he helped build
it half a century back.
I rarely go to baseball games, but when I do go, I get a real thrill
out of watching the players on the field. I visualize what it was like for
someone watching a game live in the 1920s or ’30s. The players would
have been stationed in basically the same spots as those who played
this game. The uniforms would have been different, but the game was
(1875-1965), Philosopher
The players’ dedication was basically the same—play hard and play your
best because if you didn’t, there would be someone sitting on the bench
just waiting for that one opportunity to show the manager that he could
play better than you and that he deserved to play full-time.
“Professional.” The word itself has a nice ring to it. The Merriam-
Webster Dictionary defines
gain or livelihood in an activity or field of endeavor often engaged in
by amateurs.”
Think of what it takes to be a professional baseball player and to
play in Major League Baseball. The amazing thing is, a young boy with
a baseball, a bat, and a glove can become the greatest baseball success
ever. He needs an intense, burning desire that never fades. He needs
so much more, but the fact remains that if the burning desire is not
present throughout, he will never be propelled to greatness in the sport
of baseball.
basically the same. The fans would clap and yell and stand and cheer.professional this way: “participating for
"Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday’s success or
put its failures behind and start over again. That’s the way life is with a new
game every day, and that’s the way baseball is."
—Bob Feller
"When I think of the greatest baseball players of all time, I think
of Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, Babe
Ruth, Cy Young, and many others. But the list is really not that long,
considering that professional Major League Baseball has been played
for more than one hundred thirty years—since 1876—by thousands of
players over all those years.
"To actually break into the Major Leagues is a very big accomplishment,
considering that most of the people who put on a baseball uniform from
childhood through adulthood will never actually make it that far. So,
what is the difference between the players who make it and those who
never make the cut?
(b. 1918), Hall of Fame baseball player
"Maybe it is only a 10 percent difference. Maybe one player is 10
"We Are Each Born into This World Destined for Greatness!" JPC
C- 2011 John Paul Carinci from the book An All-Consuming Desire To Succeed
percent faster than the others who never get called up. Ten percent? If a
player has a batting average of 250, 10 percent better is 275. Or say one
pitcher throws at eighty miles per hour and another pitcher throws at
eighty-eight miles per hour. You see the small difference? That minute
amount can mean a difference in pay of millions of dollars more once
someone makes it to the majors.
"So, I looked out onto the field while at the game, and I studied
each player carefully as he manned his position. I watched the players
in almost military precision as they guarded their ground, the area they
were each responsible for, making sure there weren’t any small mounds
of dirt that would make a baseball take a bad hop if hit to them. I even
studied the umpire as he bent down at the knees to look at every pitch.
I looked closely as he studied each pitch of the ball so carefully. Then I
realized that every pitch counts equally in value. One pitch could mean
the ballgame for one team or the other. Some, if not most, pitches would
be recorded in the record books. So it was no wonder how professional
the umpire was. This particular umpire on this day was even crouching
down behind the catcher when the pitcher was taking warm-up throws
that didn’t count for the game. I estimated that the umpire squatted
down, bent at the knees, at least three hundred times for that game.
Professional? You bet. Some umpires make it to the Major Leagues, too.
Many, however, don’t.
"Professionalism is found in all walks of life. Think again about what
it means to be “pro,” and also consider those who merely go through
the motions. I call some people “cons” because they are only conning
themselves, making believe that they are giving it their best effort, while
secretly, down deep, they are only trying to get to closing time."
The Pros and Cons of It All
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