Short and sweet. Ken Griffey, Jr. succinctly summed up what every hard-working baseball player has told themselves when they were feeling inadequate. Have you ever looked around at your teammates and felt you came up a bit short? If you’re solely using talent as a measuring stick, you may find yourself struggling to keep up. It’s frustrating to face the unfair truth: some guys are simply gifted with greater talent.
Does that mean that you are doomed to play second fiddle to the guy who can naturally flick the ball over the fence? Absolutely not! You may not be able to control the abilities handed to you from your parents, but you can undoubtedly control your effort and will, every second of every day. Make your preparation and execution your greatest strength. Start each day by planning out an area to work on and improve, and hold yourself accountable to follow through.
Talent is not the end all, be all. Toronto pitcher and five-time All-Star, Mark Buehrle, was cut from his high school baseball team on account of not being “good enough.” However, he chose to use this letdown to motivate himself and work on improving his game every day. This led him to an outstanding professional career and an overall record of 214-160.
Now for those of you who have been blessed with incredible baseball talent, do not waste it! You may have been given a gift, but you will have to work hard to preserve your spot on the field. As you move up the levels of baseball, you will find yourself surrounded by a greater and greater number of raw-talented players like yourself. The only thing that will put you over the top, is your effort and drive to improve yourself every single day.
So, what have you done to improve yourself today?