Now, I’m no sports expert, but I heard a stat the other day that I loved so much, I have to pass it on.
Up or down, he does it swinging.
Never mind that I first heard about the stat from a contestant on Survivor named Russell who is so fun to watch, I’m counting the days until CBS on Thursday. And never mind that sports fans are all over the web arguing the finer points of Babe’s numbers and what they really mean. But the fact is this:
Babe Ruth was the greatest home run hitter of his time. But he also had a lot of strikeouts: He struck out nearly twice as much as he hit a home run.
To be specific, Babe hit 714 home runs and he had 1330 strikeouts. Of his up at bats, 24% resulted in strikeouts (compared to the league average of about 12%). It’s been pointed out that this is because it’s a strategy as a batter—that to make more big hits, you have to take more big swings. But that’s exactly the part I like best! It’s true in life, in love, in dating: If you want more big hits, you have to take more big swings.
You can take it literally if you want: That if you want to go on more dates, ask or accept more often. But it’s true in general, too. Put your spirit out there more, too. Put yourself out there in life. Step forward, out of the box. Show people who you are, proudly. Who cares if you miss or you blow it or some people don’t respond with total awe about who you really are? At least you’ll know that you’re putting your all into being you.
Bring the hope back into your life, each time you step up to your day. There’s only one way you’re going to get a home run out of it like Babe so often did, and that’s by swinging.
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amy! great post. it’s very similar to how I usually explain my dating strategy to people…also in terms of baseball. basically, if I think a girl is cute when I walk by her on the street, I’ll walk up and say hi. this results in a lot of rejections, but I’ve also met a few girlfriends and life-long friends because of these walk ups.
so when I tell people to go do it themselves they always mention the rejection factor. I reply with a baseball stat: any batter that simply gets 3 hits out of 10 at bats is an amazing baseball player. people make it into the hall of fame for doing that their whole career. so I look at the whole thing like stats! I’d rather go up to 500 girls and get rejected 499 times in order to meet the girl of my dreams!!
keep up the good work!
What a brilliant comment, Kevin! I LOVE that you look at approaching girls this way. It’s so true. We’re so often afraid of failure that we don’t try for dates or love or great things at all — but the truth is, even the smallest gain is worth it. And in some sports, even makes records! I support you fully in your attempt to reach Lucky Lady 500 (though it may come even sooner than that…) Thanks for sharing! —Amy