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MESSAGE #1051 WHAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM A KID

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Last night was the major league debut of baseball phenom, Stephen Strasburg, age 21.

He is a right-handed pitcher for the Washington Nationals, who selected him with the first pick in the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft. Strasburg signed for a record $15.1 million contract on August 17, 2009. ESPN called him the “most-hyped pick in draft history” and Sports Illustrated called him the “most hyped and closely watched pitching prospect in the history of baseball.”

Now, there are many top prospects, but many of them never make it.

I think, if Strasburg stays healthy, he will make it.

Why? Because he works hard. And he’s humble. He goes all-out in every start.

So what did Strasburg do last night in his major league debut?

He struck out 14 Pittsburgh Pirates (a Nationals single-game record) over seven innings in a 5-2 victory. Oh, and his last pitch was faster than his first – 99 miles per hour.

“They didn’t really talk to me about a game plan or how to attack certain hitters,” the 21-year-old Strasburg said. “They just told me to go out there and enjoy it.”

I will be certain to follow this young man’s career over the next few years and I have a good feeling about it.

In his post-game interview he said the 5 most powerful words…

“I definitely think anything’s possible.”

MESSAGE #801 BE LIKE MO…

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“Don’t be well-rounded…be sharp-edged.”

Well, it’s one of my favorite times of year again – the Major League Baseball Postseason. And my New York Yankees are looking to win their first World Series ring since 2000.

I just finished reading the most recent Sports Illustrated article on Yankee closer, Mariano Rivera.

I want you to be like Mo.

He only throws one pitch. And he throws it well – better than anybody.

Many people go through life trying to do everything well. They try to be “well-rounded.”

Would you like to be pretty good at many things, or would you like to be great at one thing? Only you can answer that.

Let me tell you about Mo…

In the postseason, “his 0.77 ERA is the lowest among all pitchers with at least 30 innings. He is the only man in history to get the last out of the World Series three times. No one is close to his record 34 postseason saves.” (Verducci, T. October 2009. Mariano Saves. Sports Illustrated, 46.)

Mariano only throws one pitch.

Well, he throws it 92% of the time.

It’s the cut-fastball, or the “cutter.”

“You know what’s coming, but you know what’s coming in horror movies too. It still gets you,” says former Kansas City Royals first baseman, Mike Sweeney.

And he does it under pressure. How?

Focus. The right mindset. Nothing bothers him.

“My mental approach is simple: Get three outs. As quick as possible. If I can throw three, four pitches, the better it is. I don’t care how I get you out. As long as I get you out. The quicker, the better. And that’s the only thing I have on my mind.”

Rivera is nearly 40 years old and his stats are better now, towards the end of his career.

He takes it seriously because he knows one day he won’t be able to stand on that mound of dirt surrounded by the Merion Bluegrass. He doesn’t go out and party. He believes in taking care of himself.

“I have bad games, but my confidence doesn’t change. Right after the game I will ask, ‘What happened?’ I go through the game. After that, it doesn’t hurt me at all,” says the Yankee closer.

In September, when Rivera blew his first save since April 24, he walked out of the clubhouse enjoying a chocolate ice cream cone.

Win as if you expect it and lose as if you enjoy it.

“I don’t want to second-guess myself when I retire. I want to know that I did everything that I could possibly do for my teammates to give us a chance win. If it didn’t happen, I don’t want it to be because I didn’t give it my best.”

Be like Mo today…


Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #652 STROKES OF GENIUS…

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Jon Wertheim has been a full-time member of the Sports Illustrated staff since September 1997. He is one of the magazine’s most versatile writers, as he covers a broad range of topics including tennis, the NBA, sports business and social issues. Wertheim’s work has been included in The Best American Sports Writing anthology and he has written several books, including “Blood in the Cage,” “Venus Envy,” and “Strokes of Genius,” which is currently on Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Strokes-Genius-Federer-Greatest-Played/dp/0547232802).

I spoke with Jon yesterday and asked him the following questions…

ET: What, in your opinion are the three keys to success in writing?

JW: 1) Passion for the subject. Whether it’s a piece of fiction or a report from a school board meeting, it’s so much easier to write when you care about the topic. 2) Reporting. When you go nuts on the reporting, the pieces tend to write themselves. 3) Practice. Sounds trite, but like any skill, it only gets better with rehearsing.

ET: How long did it take for you to become successful?

JW: I don’t really look at myself as successful. There are pieces I wrote in high school that I’m still proud of; there are pieces I’ve written in the past year I’m embarrassed by. It’s a source of both exhilaration and frustration but every time you write, you start every time with a blank screen. You’re only as successful as your last piece of work.

ET: Do you think anyone can become a writer?

JW: I do think anyone can become a writer. It’s such a passion-driven pursuit that attitude and discipline mean more than level of education for instance. It helps if you enjoy reading. It helps if you have the discipline to see a piece through. It helps if you can type better than I can. But, especially, in this digital age, there are really few barriers to entry.

ET: What is your favorite aspect of your job?

JW: My favorite aspect of the job is telling compelling stories that, yes, are usually sports-related, but hit on deeper themes. Sports are such powerful tools to understand the culture: politics, sex, race, economics, etc.

ET: How does writing help you in other areas of life?

JW: Good question. The discipline writing demands carries over from everything to time on the treadmill to diet. It’s been a way to meet people from all over and travel the world. It’s given me the flexibility to work from home and see plenty of my wife and kids. But mostly it’s a source of enjoyment. Little puts me in a better mood than feeling as though I’ve had a strong writing session.

I have studied experts in all different fields, ie, sports, music, writing, painting, business and academics, and it is amazing to me how similar they all are. The above interview proves that point. Like Mr. Wertheim says, you need to have passion for what you do and you practice. Then, you can do anything.


Thanks for reading and thank you, Jon Wertheim.