This will be my 30th consecutive year attending baseball's Opening Day. I treat it like a national holiday—the one day a year that I refuse to work or be anywhere else but the stadium. This year will be no different.
Scandals, drama, and intrigue have been always part of the fabric of the game. We talk about it, argue with colleagues, express our distaste, and then we put an asterisk in the record book and move on. Opening Day also means a new beginning, new hope, and a new chance to succeed.
My love affair with baseball began four decades ago when I went to my first Major League game at the age of twelve. My dad taught me the basics of the game and my mom taught me how to fill out the scorecard. We were living in LA at the time, so I quickly learned to love the Dodgers.
I listened intently to the radio as Vin Scully lovingly set the scene and called the plays. On any given day, I could recite the statistics for Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Dusty Baker, and Ron Cey, but I couldn't quite put in to words what it was that made my heart sing whenever I heard "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."
When I moved to Virginia to start my career, Cal Ripken Jr.'s streak was already eight years old and the Baltimore Oriels stadium was just an hour away. Opening Day in 1990 rekindled my love affair with the game.
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
Now that I am in my fifties, I can see what my 12-year-old self could not: why baseball matters. Baseball teaches us that "teamwork makes the dream work." Standing along the baseline with your teammates, you become part of something larger than yourself.
Whether it is your family, your workmates, or your close friends—being part of a crew teaches you loyalty, friendship, and the freedom to be yourself and know you will be accepted. It also inspires you to want to be your best and do your part.
At the end of the day, you have your own statistics, but what they don't track is how your well-timed hit helped your teammate set a record for runs scored in an inning, or how your walk in the eighth allowed your teammate to hit their first walk-off home-run.
Hitters get most of the glory, but Pitchers have taught me their fair share. For example, they taught me to have many tools in my toolkit. Don't just depend on one skill—not every problem can be solved with a hammer (or a fastball). You need tools for every situation and the more tools you have, the more valuable you are to your team. Also, your delivery matters! An effective delivery can make a weak pitch harder to hit.
Related: How to Lead Like a Heisman Trophy Winner
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As for leadership lessons, you don't have to watch for very long to see evidence of a Skipper supporting his team by arguing with an umpire or challenging a call. A leader who supports the team every time is one who will get the most out of the talent.
There will always be calls that seem unfair, but they are rarely worth arguing about. It is much better to stay in the game than to watch from the locker room.
BRENDA - LET'S TRY TO TEASE THIS^ PIECE OUT A BIT MORE.
Keep Your Head in the Game, Despite the Odds
My favorite lesson, though, is the one the Nationals taught me this year. Baseball is often considered a game of failure. In this case, the odds were especially bleak. According to MLB Stats, the Nationals had less than a 0.1% chance to win the World Series.
As they battled through the 2019 post-season, they were able to keep their heads in the game, through both successes and failures. Ultimately, the results spoke for themselves—a historic comeback and World Series win.
The lesson? Stay in the fight and see it through. Don't let the defeats of the past dampen your enthusiasm or effort. Every game is worth playing your best, and if you play it with all of your heart, you will end up a winner (trophy optional).
Life is a game—play hard and dance whenever you can!
So here's to the new baseball year: hope springs eternal! On Opening Day, we are all undefeated and the dream is alive and vibrant! As for me, I will be at Nat's Park, watching them raise the Championship banner and celebrating their success with a hot dog and a beer.
Play ball!
