Start of Major League Baseball season is here with pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training. Football is my favorite sport, but there is just something different about baseball. The day-to-day grind is different than any other sport. You seem to play almost every day, and there’s something about that which makes the season feel like a marathon instead of a sprint. It’s the game of failures, the sport where you can fail 7 out of 10 times and be considered a great player. There aren’t many places in life where that’s true. It’s the sport where you can finish the season barely over .500 and still win a championship. It reminds you that it’s not about being perfect, it’s about getting hot at the right time and believing you belong. Former Giants manager, the late Roger Craig, was known for his phrase, “Don’t let your daubers down.” It was his way of telling his team not to get discouraged, to keep your head up, even when things aren’t going your way. In a sport with 162 games, there are going to be slumps, bad calls, tough losses, and stretches where nothing seems to click. His message was simple but powerful, stay positive and keep going. Watching baseball when I was younger, I think I was inspired by his positive attitude. It’s something I try to remind myself every time I watch or coach sports. Don’t get me wrong, I know I get very angry watching sports and coaching sports, but at the end of the game I try my best to find the positives. If I root for or coach a team that is playing well, I always say there is a lot of football (or whatever sport it is) left. Same when you aren’t playing well. The truth is my positive attitude sometimes annoys my friends, especially my friends that fans of the same teams as I am. Your highs can’t be too high, but more importantly your lows can’t get too low. Baseball, more than any other sport reminds me of that. You can lose today and be right back out there tomorrow. You can strike out three times and still be the hero in your next at-bat. The season is long, the grind is real, and not every day is going to be your day. It’s not always easy, but I always try to remain positive and we all have to remember not to let our daubers down.
