We Came for the Game

6 Brock Francis

In “We Came for the Baseball,” a This I Believe by John Alexandria, he talks about the way baseball taught him and his friends many life lessons when they were young.  Alexandria said that his friends and him were not good enough to make the actual baseball team, so they would play on their own most of the time.  I believe that this is an excellent view of the game of baseball. Alexandria states,  “As someone must’ve written somewhere once, everything you need to know about life you can learn on a baseball field” (Alexandria).  The three lessons he says that he learned from playing the game as a child were to have a game you needed other people, sometimes you can get what you want by giving what you’ve got, and it is important to negotiate and agree.  Another lesson that baseball teaches that I would like to add is the fact failure is a part of life.  

The first lesson says that in order to have a game, you need other people.  In the game of life, no one can do it alone.  Not only will a species die if there is only one of it, living life alone would not be a pleasant way to through life.  It is natural that people enjoy interaction with others.  Similar to how Alexandria needed others to be involved to have a baseball game, we need friends and family to get involved when we go through rougher patches of life.  

The second lesson that he learns from baseball is you can get what you want by giving what you have got.  This is a simple concept that it implemented in every young mind in Kindergarten.  It is the philosophical principle that the idea of sharing is built off of.  It is always more efficient for a community of people to put their assets together in order to make the community as a whole better.  

The final concept he learns is it is important to negotiate and agree.  This I believe is the most important life lesson that he touches on.  Rarely do people see eye to eye on every matter.  Negotiation is a fundamental tool that is used every single day.  I believe that negotiation is one of the greatest tools an individual can posses.  Alexandra states, “We’d discuss the rules before each game and make sure everyone concurred. That was the next lesson: It’s important to negotiate and agree” (Alexandria).  That is a philosophy that I try to adopt in life.  I am not here for the disagreement; I am here for the enjoyment.  

     The is one final concept that baseball thought me as a child growing up engulfed by the game.  Failure is an unavoidable part of life.  In the game of baseball, if you can be successful three out of every ten tries thought ones career (thirty percent) you will guarantee a spot in the hall of fame.  This I believe, the main philosophy baseball gives us is don’t stay in the dugout after you stake out.  Instead, get back up to the plate, and when life hangs a curveball, knock it out of the park.