Great Expectations
by Barry Spilchuk
Pete Rose, the famous baseball player, and I have never met,
but he taught me something so valuable that it changed my life.
Pete was being interviewed in spring training the year he was
about to break Ty Cobb's all time hits record. One reporter
blurted out, "Pete, you only need 78 hits to break the record.
How many at-bats do you think you'll need to get the 78 hits?"
Without hesitation, Pete just stared at the reporter and very
matter-of-factly said, "78." The reporter yelled back, "Ah, come
on Pete, you don't expect to get 78 hits in 78 at-bats do you?"
Mr. Rose calmly shared his philosophy with the throngs of
reporters who were anxiously awaiting his reply to this seemingly
boastful claim. "Every time I step up to the plate, I expect to
get a hit! If I don't expect to get a hit, I have no right to
step in the batter's box in the first place!" "If I go up hoping
to get a hit," he continued, "then I probably don't have a prayer
to get a hit. It is a positive expectation that has gotten me all
of the hits in the first place." |
