Valuables

Recently I read that Charlie Sheen is selling his 1927 Babe Ruth World Series Ring and might get as much as $2 million for it. If I were to ask you to name something valuable that you own, what would you come up with? Your home, car, or diamond ring? Or is there something else you might consider even more valuable?

Serious back issues have kept me from playing baseball for the past four months. But on Saturday, I felt ready to give it a try and explained to my Manager that I would only be at 75% capacity. He is a great guy who cares deeply about each and every player much more than winning each and every game. He said he would rotate me in every other inning to insure I didn’t overdo it. We all knew this would be a tough game because we were playing the top team in the league. Sure enough it turned out to be a real barn burner. We fought hard and had a 4-run lead after the eighth inning. But unfortunately, the other team roared back and with two outs in the top of the ninth, scored 6 unanswered runs. We lost the game, but overall, we played really well and demonstrated great team chemistry.

Since I had missed so many games, I made it a point to pay attention to my teammates and keep them pumped up. All game long, I was loud and vocal, constantly cheering on our guys. Towards the end of the game, in that infamous top of the ninth inning, our pitcher was struggling and one of our outfielders missed a crucial fly ball with the bases loaded. So when the game was over I tracked down our relief pitcher and said, “You had several good at bats today and got two solid hits. You also made a great catch on the infield that should have been caught by the first basemen. Way to step up and take charge!” I then tracked down the outfielder and told him, “Hey, that was a great effort you made on that flyball. You ran a long way to get there and dove hard to try to make the catch. Nobody else on the team could have even gotten to it. Way to sacrifice your body for the team, we appreciate it!”

I guess my goal was to try to lift the spirits of my teammates since it was such a tough game. I don’t know if it worked, but as I was leaving one of my other teammates approached me and gave me a compliment. (At least I think it was a compliment). He said, “I am so glad that you are back playing with our team. You’re like a total sparkplug!”

And that got me thinking… Win or lose, being part of a team can often shape you as a person. If you can learn to focus on others as much as yourself, and truly show your teammates how much you care about them, it will often elevate your team (and you) to a much higher result. You might not win a championship ring, but chances are you will win some friends for life and that’s far more valuable… and a lot longer lasting… than any piece of jewelry!

Babe Ruth's 1927 World Series Ring

The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. 

You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, 

but if they don’t play well together, the club won’t be worth a dime.

~ Babe Ruth