Good Morning! Here’s the Monday Morning Blog?
Happy Easter! Did the Easter Bunny come hopping down your bunny trail? Did you hunt for Easter Eggs and enjoy some time with family?
Did you get a chance to touch base with that teen or young adult in your life last week? Maybe enjoy a family dinner with them? Or take them out to a ball game? The season is just getting started.
Hey teens and young adults! Be sure to take the adults in your life up on opportunities they present to spend time with you. It will be as good for you as it is for them.
April’s Theme – Life Lessons Learned from Baseball
April is when spring starts to come into season here in Minnesota. Another thing that comes into season is baseball. The regular season games have started for the professional baseball teams and games are starting soon for your local teams.
Baseball has been played for many years. It is a game that has taught many lessons to many people, whether they have played the game or not. How about this one?
“It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” – Grantland Rice, early 20th-century sportswriter and broadcaster
This month I am going to focus on baseball and those lessons. Check out my mentor page and see how I am doing it Selma P. Verde – Mentor Page
What makes a person or story inspiring?
I call these posts Inspiring Stories. What makes a story inspiring? I think a story is inspiring when it is about something that a person doesn’t normally do and it gives the reader an idea that maybe it is something they could do. Or it is the story about a person’s journey to get to that remarkable event or to something that changes their life.
This month I am featuring life lessons learned in baseball. Babe Ruth is one of the most well-known baseball icons to play the game. And he had a lot to say about what he learned while playing the game.
Who was Babe Ruth?
According to Wikipedia, George Herman “Babe” Ruth Jr. was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. He played for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and the Boston Braves as a pitcher and an outfielder during his baseball career. His big swing brought the fans out to the field during a time called live-ball, where the game changed from being one of low scoring due to great pitching to one of the home run taking the center stage.
He had a tough childhood being raised by a father who owned a saloon that his family lived in the apartments above. At the age of seven, he was sent to St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys because his father wasn’t able to supervise or mentor his son. Ruth admitted that as a youth he ran the streets, rarely attended school, and drank beer when his father was not looking.
He also came across something else at St. Mary’s. With the help of Brother Matthais, one who would become a mentor to Ruth, he was able to hone his skills as a baseball player and be put into a position to join in on some organized games to eventually get noticed by some major league coaches.
What is a baseball icon?
A baseball icon is a player that we all remember. They are typically very passionate about the game and very successful at it. Babe Ruth is seen as one of the greatest baseball players of all time and was one of the five players first elected into The Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936. I think he fits the definition.
He wasn’t always seen as the greatest role model off the field, however. He was known to have had problems with alcohol and spending time with the ladies, habits which may have come from his childhood experiences. As this may put a negative tint on him being an icon, I think it shows that he was a great baseball player and a human being.
Life Lesson he gives us
One of the things we gain from inspiring people is lessons they have learned through their passions, whether that is playing a sport, climbing a mountain or relating something to us through their life experience. I think the quote above is a great motivator for us when life gets challenging.
For baseball players, every time they go up to the plate for their time at bat, there is a chance they can either strike out or get a hit. But, they should never be afraid of taking their turn. Think about this when you are faced with fear of failing at something. Whether it is delivering a speech, taking your driving test or publishing that book know that even if you strike out, there is always another at bat.
Why is he inspiring to us?
Babe Ruth had a tough childhood but was sent to a school where they could give him the structure and opportunities to put his reckless behaviors to good use. Through his experience, he was able to pursue a career in baseball and eventually be elected into the Hall of Fame for his success on the field.
Babe Ruth is inspiring to us as he was able to climb out of his tough childhood and become the baseball icon that we all remember.
Want to learn more about Babe Ruth?
If you want to learn more about Babe Ruth, here is a link to an official website all about him – Babe Ruth
There are many books out there about Babe Ruth, his life and his baseball career. You can search Google or check out your local library for options. Or you can shop one of your local bookstores in person or shop Bookshop.org and have the purchase credited to them.
What people or stories have you found to be inspiring? Let me know what the story was and how it inspired you in the comments below.
Special Birthday Giveaway
My first book, The Hard Way, achieved its 5th year in publication on April 12th! To celebrate this milestone, I will be giving away a basket of goodies
An autographed copy of each of the books in The Way Series, The Hard Way and Shawn’s Way
A bookmark to go with each book
Your choice of a $10 gift card to where you get your favorite beverage (some people aren’t into coffee, so I wanted to put options out there)
A fun box it will all come mailed to you in
A special note directly from me to you
Take a look at my April 6th post on either Instagram or Facebook to find out how to enter. All entries must be submitted by April 27th because the drawing will be held live on April 29th.
