Only, How did You Play It?
But you cannot climb out of the dark night of the soul without first paying the price.
In this case, it means acceptance and humility. It means working harder and playing through more pain. And it means remembering the lessons of your childhood while playing a child’s game.
Above all, however, it means asking and answering life’s most difficult but important questions, like, What kind of person do I want to be? And, am I willing to sacrifice my reputation and character for money? Does the who I am, and what I stand for, have a price? Or are those things priceless?
Men such as Robinson Cano and Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds seem to want to act as if they have such soaring spirits but without paying the price. They all want to be Willis Reed or Kirk Gibson or Michael Jordan, but never will they be.
That’s because when their times came, when it was time to see not what God-given talents they had but what kind of character they had created, they were found wanting. But that won’t leave them wanting for Baseball Hall of Fame votes.
Time out of Mind
It put me in mind of Scipio. He lived and fought when Rome was a republic, as America is now. He tells us, via Livy, that the greatest honor is in victory, but that the greatest victories are not those over others.
"The man who has curbed and subjugated [his selfish desires] by his self-control has won for himself greater glory and a greater victory than we have won over Syphax."
Yes, indeed. By giving in to their wants, desires, and weaknesses they have damaged themselves, their teams, and the sport they say they love. Even a lesser-philosopher than Socrates knows you cannot hurt your soul or that of baseball, and help it at the same time.
Or your chances of entering the Hall of Fame.