Baseball as a Metaphor for Life

I woke up this morning and had a mini-epiphany. I've been considering ways to incorporate more writing into my life. I've been thinking about blogging as a way to do so. Then I remembered that tomorrow is Opening Day for Major League Baseball. So, I thought, what about writing about baseball?

I grew up in Philadelphia and have been a lifelong Phillies fan (phan). Unless you have no interest in baseball and/or you live under a rock, you'll know that the Phillies have been very good for past 5-6 years. This year they have constructed a starting rotation that could be one for the ages -- Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels, and Joe Blanton (the requisite fifth starter in the rotation). The press has dubbed these first four "R2C2," a moniker that my sons find hilarious.

So, here's what I'm thinking. This could be a historic year for Phillies baseball. It would be a blast to chronicle the 2011 season as it unfolds. I'll use this blog to do so. To make it even more interesting, however, I won't just write about baseball games. I'll do that on occasion, but I thought I'd try to do something more interesting here: I want to use baseball as a metaphor for life. I want to tie baseball into what is going on in my life and in the world more generally. For example, what lessons can be learned from the events that unfold for the Phillies in this 2011 season? What else is happening in my own life that relates to the long-running drama that is a baseball season? What am I reading about elsewhere that ties in to the tale of this 2011 season? What am I experiencing as a Little League dad and, this season, Little League manager that connects to what transpires in MLB this year?

I'm not sure where this journey will take me, but isn't that the fun thing about these sorts of adventures? In a baseball game, you never know what might happen next -- a strikeout, a double play, an infield fly, a home run, or, sometimes, absolutely nothing. Can't you say the same thing about life? So, that's what I'm here to do this season, look for connections between baseball and life. Can baseball be a good metaphor for life? What lessons can I learn by thinking about this timeless game in these new ways? Let's see what happens.

Play ball...