Finishing Strong
The college and high school baseball season is here, and the professional seasons are not too far away.
This time of year is filled with great excitement and optimism! Every team is 0-0. Every player is starting with a clean stat line.
Coaches have spent much time leading up to the season evaluating their players and contemplating several decisions.
Who will be the starters at each position on the field? Where do questions still exist that may require playing opportunities for several players in order to settle the question?
“The players make out the lineup.” Butch Thompson, Auburn Head Coach
Once starters/potential starters are determined, how will the batting order be constructed? Philosophies on this decision vary widely across the levels of the game.
The traditional MLB lineup valued speed at the top of the lineup, power in the middle, with the bottom reserved for those elite defenders who saved more runs than they drove in. But with the birth of the “Money Ball” philosophy and the use of extensive statistical analysis now prevalent in the game, the most optimal lineups are now a product of computer algorithms and models.
Twenty-five years ago, the thought of Aaron Judge hitting in the 2-hole would have been unthinkable!
With MLB teams competing over a 162 game season and players with years of performance data, it is more than reasonable to use that data to build a lineup.
Using data to build a lineup at the collegiate level is more challenging where the number of games played is far fewer and the performance data of players is limited. Programs active in the Transfer Portal with rosters of older and more experienced players might be able to use player data with a greater degree of confidence.
But for most, building a lineup anywhere other than the Major Leagues is more art than science.
And then there are the Pitching decisions. How to use your best arms? Starters? High leverage relievers? Closers?
Who begins the game on the mound is often a much easier decision than determining who will end the game. Especially at the college level where most pitchers arrive having only been used as starters. Finding those with not just the physical attributes but also the mental traits to get the final 3 outs can be very challenging.
Because the simple truth is this:
It is much more difficult to get the final 3 outs of a game than to get the first three.
One decision-making approach for those without the extensive data available to Major League teams is to ask these questions:
Who do I want at the plate in the top or bottom of the last inning down by a run?
Who do I want on the mound in the top or bottom of the last inning up by a run?
Using this approach to organize your batting order will lead to putting your best hitters at the top of the order instead of hitting them 3rd or 4th, ensuring them more at bats. If your lineup is deep, then other factors (RHH or LHH; BB/K ratio) might also be considered. But obviously, no lineup configuration can guarantee the best hitters will be at the plate when most desired.
The Pitching decisions are usually the most impactful and, for better or worse, the most controllable. As stated, those first 3 outs can be gotten by many. But those “bases jammed” or “final outs” in a tight game are a different story.
Stephen Covey wrote a book several years ago entitled, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, in which Habit #2 is presented:
“Begin with the end in mind.”
Covey writes, “To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you’re going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.”
Regardless of whether we are talking about baseball, a degree, a marriage, a family, a career, or any of a thousand other things, starting is always easier than finishing.
And even finishing strong in our faith.
I was given a book early in my career entitled, Finishing Strong, by Steve Farrar. The one core message of the book:
In the Christian life, it’s not how you start that counts most – it’s how you finish.
Much like a baseball season, the book frames life as a marathon, not a sprint, requiring grit, perseverance, and wise, intentional choices rather than just early enthusiasm or talent.
One of the more sobering statistics Farrar notes is that about only one in ten men who start strong in ministry or faith still finish faithfully by age 65, highlighting how rare it is to endure without moral failure, compromise, or dropout.
As followers of Jesus, we are all in ministry regardless of whether we preach from a pulpit, an office, a home, or a dugout. So these numbers should give us pause.
If we intend to “Finish Strong”, we need to “Begin with the end in mind.”
Be an active member of a local church. Surround yourself with a small group that can hold you accountable and with whom you can “fight the fight” against all that would bring you down. And make your personal time alone with the Lord a non-negotiable time in your day.
My dad often said, “Don’t start something you can’t finish.” He might have been talking about a fight! But he could have just as easily been talking about a relationship with Jesus and a commitment to His call on my life.
But just as our best Pitchers will blow a save and our best hitter will fail to deliver in the clutch, we will have moments of failure.
But failure isn’t final. We worship a God of infinite mercy and forgiveness. Our God is the God of second chances! And third and fourth, and…!
We are not defined by our failures. But rather, how we respond to them!
Let the words of one who committed unspeakable atrocities against God’s chosen people sink in:
“...not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own…forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14
What’s your biggest “battle” off the field?
How do you respond to failure?
What’s your plan?
Keep pressing on. Finish strong.
On and off the field.