SHOOTING FOR THE STARS: IN BASEBALL, IN LIFE

(Answering the phone) Me: “Hello?”

My 3 year old: “Hey Dad.”

Me: “Hey Buddy.”

My 3 year old: “I went pee on the potty.”

Me: “Congratulations pal!”

There’s something to be said about achievements in life.  Not everyone in life thrives for achievement, in fact, many people live their life to accomplish “just enough.”  I see it differently;  We all watch baseball on a regular basis right? We watch the Yankees and we know what it takes to win.  Each night someone does something special on that team and some of those special things are milestones, or achievements that they can talk about as they get older in life.  It really doesn’t matter how small these achievements are to some, if you personally believe in that goal and you hit it, it’s yours and no one can take it away from you!   No one should ever hold you back.  

Look at Derek Jeter. He could have stopped when his contract was up and everyone in the New York Sports media practically ripped him for hitting .270. He could have retired right then, after all, he achieved enough…  But he didn’t.  He believed in himself and kept going.  Look at my 3 year old. My wife said he wanted to tell me, so she set up the phone for him to call me.  He was proud to “pee in the potty” and he needed to tell me all about it.  Meanwhile, he didn’t stop trying, despite, not making it to the toilet so many times before.  He had a goal and he went for it.  He accomplished something “big”, a milestone, an achievement and no one can take that away from him.

I was thinking about BYB recently and how many blogs helped us understand the way things worked in the Internet world when we began with no audience, and I was grateful they even let me into their "club."  Then, over time you guys found us and now you know who we are.  Believe me though, there were plenty that told me that BYB was “stupid” too.  They told us our site looked “ugly”, that we didn’t add anything.   Sure, it hurts, but I realized something right then and there; I knew what they were all full of crap.  Sure, we were different, but that was it.  Do we try to overrule everyone with Yankees blogs?  Hell no.  Why would we? First off, some of these Yankee blogs out there are the “Godfather” of Yankee blogs and their the reason for us even thinking about getting started. Plus, who has time for ripping on other blogs? Not us. Secondly, we just want to chat it up with the readers at BYB and try to bring you interesting stories and make you laugh alittle. We’re not trying to re-invent the wheel here.   The good news is, you guys got it.  You like us, you know our word isn’t law…because, we don’t.  We’re just having fun and who would have thought that from September 2010 until right now, we’re climbing to almost 1 million clicks on Bleeding Yankee Blue.  That’s not only amazing, it’s magnificent.  In the end, it’s an achievement and something I will never forget as long as I live.

So why am I tell you this? Well, it’s funny, I got to thinking about life recently and how people try to put others down because they think they can or because they don’t believe in this person or that person. Some don’t believe in you because it wouldn’t benefit  themselves.  Some won’t publicly highlight your achievements because they may be jealous. In all those cases… remember this;  The message is clear, it doesn’t matter.  You need to be good to you. Never give up on yourself...ever.  Do you! If you do, you will achieve everything you want to achieve in life, or at least come damn close.  Life isn’t a free ride, you need to push to the top and anyone that gets in your way, well, you just need to tell them to step aside, especially if you’re passionate about it…and you should be.  That goes for the Yankees, current and  past, the USA Olympians who continue to wow me every night and even my 3 year old son.  Don’t take “No” for an answer...instead, shoot for the stars. 

No one will tell you that more than a guy like Jorge Posada. Don't forget, he was considered the awkward one, the slow runner, the "OK" catcher. And in the end, he became a beloved athlete, a Yankee for life and a great catcher and teammate, not because he thought he could, but because he knew he could.  Bottom line, in the end you count and your feelings count and anything you want to achieve, you can.  Don't believe me? Just ask my 3 year old son. 

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