The Right Baseball

Coco Crisp, after dropping an easy fly ball, was once quoted as saying, "The ball didn't do its job. I did my job. The ball didn't do its job."

Here I thought it was the first baseman making game saving plays or the pitcher making all the right pitches. But it was really just the ball doing its job.

I don't know if Coco was serious or not but he might have a point. Maybe it was the baseball. Perhaps there are a few baseballs that are flawed, that are not wound as tight as others or where the seams are slightly higher than the others. These variances could be the difference between a baseball clearing the fence by a few feet or finishing at the warning track, or a curve ball breaking more.

Should baseballs be expected to be the same? All bats are not the same. All gloves are not same. Baseball parks vary from city to city. The Metrodome was criticized for affecting the outcome of games with baseballs getting lost in the roof. But nothing is said when a baseball gets lost in the sun or the wind converts a routine fly ball into a homerun in an outdoor stadium.     

Baseballs should be, and are, rewarded for their accomplishments. Record setting baseballs sit in trophy cases and bring huge sums at auctions and on eBay. Some have even earned a spot in Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame.

This all makes me feel better about my failed dream of becoming a major league baseball player. It wasn't that I didn't have the skills or the talent to play in the big leagues.

It's just that I didn't have the balls.