Most major league baseball fans don't know the answer to this question…
Who holds the record for most number of outs made in a major league career?
But first, dear reader, if you were following along yesterday, you'd certainly know the answer to another question: Who holds the all-time record for hits in a career?
Easy. Pete Rose.
Yet, before Rose set the record for career hits, he already set the record for most number of outs made in a career.
"Rose" is appropriate trivia for Mother's Day, I guess.
In these pages, we've also talked about Babe Ruth and parts of his story a number of times. Ruth was, at one point, the greatest home run hitter of all time. Records fall.
Early in the 1974 season, Hank Aaron broke Ruth's record and in the summer of 2007, Barry Bonds broke Aaron's record.
Even though sports records inevitably fall, some are still stunning and would appear to last for eternity. Cy Young's 511 career pitching wins? In the age of pitch counts and the deGromization of pitching staffs, Cy's record looks fairly untouchable.
Back to Ruth… during his career, the Sultan of Swat hit more home runs than some entire franchises did. That record may also never be approached. But, with all of Ruth's success, it came with a downside.
For a decades, the Bambino also held the record for most career strikeouts.
What's the lesson?
You're not judged by the number of times you fail. You are judged by the number of times you succeed.
In other words, how many times you succeed is directly related to the number of times you fail, so keep on going. Forward momentum.
As always,
Brian
P.S. — Ruth is currently 148th on the all-time strikeout list! The windmill approach to hitting has taken over.
In today's game, strikeouts aren't even all that shameful for a hitter, which is yet another indication of how shameful the game has become.
Reggie Jackson, another Hall of Famer, now holds the career record for fanning and has now for over 4 decades. No slouch himself, Reggie also won 5 World Series and slugged 563 career home runs.
For what it's worth, Reggie's swings and misses were often as spectacular as his mammoth home runs.
P.P.S.— We're getting to work later this spring with our online “mastermind.”
Our first cohort consists of writers and other content generators who are concerned with success. Failure is not something we worry about.
Serious people with important messages.
The program will grow from there. Other fields and other missions.
Want to know if you fit in?
If you have something to say and don’t know how to say it or if you need help figuring out how to say it better, we might be a good fit.
If you're not afraid of "making a few outs" and you only want to concern yourself with success in your field…
Get on the list and let’s figure out if we are the right group for you.
