The A.R.T. of a Champ - “Teamwork”
Proverbs 27:17 (MSG) “You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another.”
One night I was pitching with a short lead in the late stages of a game at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. The first batter got on base on a 3-2 pitch that I thought should have been called strike three.
I got the next batter to hit an easy two-hop ground ball to our second baseman, Joe Morgan. It should have been a double play, but Morgan dropped it and then dropped it again while trying to recover. So now there were runners at first and second with no outs when I thought there should be two outs and nobody on base. I got the next batter to hit the same ground ball and Joe booted it again. Now I had the bases loaded with nobody out when I should have been back in the dugout with a 1-2-3 inning. I was hopping mad. And then when I saw Joe walking to the mound, I got even madder. When he got there, he said, "Larry, I'm sure glad you're pitching tonight because you're the one guy who can get us out of this mess.”
I will never forget those words - especially the word "us." That simple sentence completely transformed my thinking. Instead of being mad at him and just about ready to throw in the towel, I got pumped up. It was such a great compliment to think that he was depending on me to save the team from the situation that he created. I knew he was right, but I don't think many players would have had the nerve to come in and say something like that under the circumstances.
Joe went back to his position and I took a deep breath. Now it was my turn to prove him right. I'd pitched out of bases loaded, no outs situations of my own making before. Why couldn't I do it now? Well, I did. I got the next three hitters out and the Padres scored one run but we still had the lead and ended up winning the game.
One of your jobs as a teammate is to help overcome another player's mistakes. For example, with a man on third and one out, almost anything the batter hits will score the run. But sometimes he hits a pop-up or strikes out. That's when the next hitter can save the day by getting a hit.
This isn't just about baseball. It also applies to any team you're on. It could be in a family setting, at school, at church or on the job. We're all in this together. There is no better feeling than saving the day for a family member or a friend. And when you think about how it makes them feel, it's even better. From that day forward, when a teammate made an error, I made a pledge to get him off the hook. That's what being a good teammate is all about.
-Larry Dierker