As Lance and his mom walked away, I came up with one more penetrating thought: I suck! Ever since that day with Lance and his mom, I have made a pact with myself. I will meet every player exactly where he is physically, mentally, and emotionally and do everything in my power to help him improve himself as ballplayer and a person.
As baseball gradually returns to normal for most players reading this story, I would like to submit my question again… How do you become Jimmy Chitwood? I believe you do it by intentionally building relationships and fostering a culture of love, respect, and service among your teammates.
Unless your team is really bad at managing rundowns, the longest pay in baseball is an inside the park homerun, takes about 14-16 seconds to complete, and the only guy who has to run that far is the guy who hit the ball. Everyone else is about 4 seconds or less and a pitch takes about 1.5 seconds.
