Ego at Bat

by Howard Johns

Here with us in time, space, and our material world  was a young baseball player named Ego, playing in the minor league, having dreams of making it into the Big League.   Preventing Ego from his dream of advancement was his batting.  He was not able to hit Home Runs, an absolute requirement to get called up.  The cold hard statistics were, he was not even able to get a hit.  Try as he could an average of .000 was his best.  Practice, practice and more practice but nothing he tried worked.  Ego could not hit a double, a single, not even a bunt.

Ego studied books on batting, watched videos, and listened to motivational tapes – and the result being a total nothing.  He watched other batters hit the ball out of the park for home runs, but he could not copy their style and method.  Paying close attention to his coach and doing his best to follow the advice given  He was sure that he held the bat properly, had his feet and head in the correct position, and swung the bat smoothly and level.  He almost blew a mental fuse trying to get a positive mental attitude.

Then one day a new player showed up in training camp, his name was Universe and he had a great batting average.  After a few days he met him and Universe said to him, “kid I like your style you have all your heart in the game.  I have been looking for an upcoming star like you to team up with, how bout it?”  But sir, replied Ego, I can’t hit home runs, not even singles.  No problem, replied Universe, “I can do the batting.  You have but one thing to do, and that is to change your thinking.  You know that you can’t put your dreams and visions into a pitch, drop your hat and glove then run to home plate put on a batting helmet pick up the bat and hit your own pitch.  Just can’t be done.  Let me him the Home Runs.”

Alright kid, said Universe, “here is the plan.  I hit the home runs and you run the bases and get the score.  Dream up your biggest dream and have a vision.  Pitch it to me. Then  start running the bases, don’t look back or up until you hear the Whack of the bat then you can watch your dreams fly over the center field fence for a Home Run.  Be sure to touch all the bases, accept the pats on the back and hand shakes as you round the bases.  After you cross Home Plate to score stop and tip your cap, accept the applause and cheers it’s  all for you Kid.”

In all the baseball yet to be played, the record of runs scored by Ego will stand the the test of time and space, never to be broken. This story of Ego at bat will be told for generations to come.  The legacy of Ego will be part of the dreams and vision of baseball players yet to come.  Never forget Ego did it all with a batting average of .000.

You can read more of Howard’s thoughts and writing here.