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I was fortunate to play two years of college baseball at Pepperdine University and play for someone who had a big influence on me, Andy Lopez.  When I was being recruited to Division I college baseball he came to my home, met with my mom and me and said the words that convinced me to commit to Pepperdine, “We’re going to win a National Championship and we think you can help us.  Interested?”

That may not be an exact quote, but no other college coach said that to me in the recruiting process.  It was all I needed to hear and around two years after that conversation we celebrated winning the 1992 National Championship on the field at Rosenblatt Stadium, Omaha, Nebraska and I was the winning pitcher in the championship game.

At Pepperdine, we had two team rules:  Be on time.  Do things right.

“Be on time” is easy to understand.  ”Do things right” is straightforward and simple instructions as well.  I also assumed if you didn’t know how to do something right, it was your responsibility to find out how to do it right.

Those two rules are at the heart of The Way of Baseball.  When reading this blog and visiting my site, and any other dealings with me or my business, these rules are at the heart of it.

Additionally, some other words to describe how one should go about your business on the Way of Baseball or anything else that is called a “Way”:

1. Practice – not working to get better although that’s important, but as dictionary.com defines – to exercise or pursue as a profession, art, or occupation.  The practice of being a baseball player.
2. Professionalism – the standing, practice, or methods of a professional, as distinguished from an amateur.  You don’t need to have a contract or get paid to be professional at what you do.
3. A Way – inspiration for the title The Way of Baseball from Chinese character Dao – Dao (also written tao) means ‘the way’, the path to be trodden, on a cosmic level it signifies the principle which creates and guides the universe.
4. The 5 pieces of integrated training – on the Way of Baseball, one trains baseball skills, physical training, the mental game, sound nutrition and vision.  These areas will be explored here.
5. Competition – one of the best moments in baseball is shaking hands with your team mates on the field after a win.  If you don’t want to be competitive, stop reading, close the browser and don’t come back to this blog anymore.
6. Fun – in the practice of being a baseball player, you can find fun and enjoyment in everything you are doing.  It may not make sense to young players now, but believe me, there will be a time where you will think about how much you’d rather be doing the worst task in baseball than being out of baseball.  Have fun and enjoy all of it.

There’s more to come, but let’s start with this.  I hope you connect with it and these words bring value to you.  See you soon.