Penn State Fayette Baseball

We can measure everything with radar guns and analytics, but none of these can measure guts and nuts.

11/15🤔’s from Cape Cod 🍁🦞 A few reminders for me….. “Not everything that matters can be measured and not everything that can be measured matters. “Everyone believes that their beliefs are the right ones…that is why they are called beliefs not truths.” “Do everything you can to be your best when your best is needed.

Be where your feet are. 100% of the time. Today's the only one we're promised.

This is a passage from my book, "Hurdle-isms" _ Hurdle-ism 5: You Become Great by Being Good for a Long Time Everyone wants to be great; however, most people don't have any idea how to make that happen. Being great is hard, especially if greatness is your only end goal. I'm all in favor of having goals and striving for greatness. It's honorable, in fact. I'm a big fan of having people on my team who want to achieve greatness! The challenge is in how you plan to arrive at greatness. In my life, I've encountered all shapes and sizes of people who are striving for greatness in many different walks of life. Obviously, I've seen this more in baseball than in any other industry. We dream of it as kids. We play games in the backyard and on sandlots all across the nation. We re-create playoffs and World Series games as we put ourselves into the positions of Hall of Famers, most valuable players, and All-Stars. I believe it was Muhammad Ali who said, “If your dreams don't scare you, they're not big enough.” I thought I was great until I got into professional baseball. I was always the best player on my teams. I was a big fish in a small pond, and then in pro ball I became a small fish in a big pond. I've seen so many players chase greatness and rarely has the chase ended well when their focus has been on becoming great as soon as possible, mine included. I never became great. My journey became more of an obstacle course. I was very successful early in my career. When I reached the Major Leagues, it was the first time that being great became the actual focus point. Earlier I just worked hard in practice so I could play in the game. Now after a few good games, I would try to hit the “high-occupancy vehicle lane” and shoot into greatness. I'd try a little harder: I'd try to hit the ball a little farther, throw it a little farther, and so on. But by doing it that way, I soon lost the traction I had when I was “just” being good. I was too focused on trying to be great and not on being consistently good, day after day. I didn't realize the error of my ways until my playing time was reduced greatly and I was playing off the bench more than starting. Shoot, being good for one day in the big leagues is hard. Being good for a week is harder. Being good for a month is really good, and being good for a year is a tremendous accomplishment. So, I started to focus on being good just for today. If I was, check. Enjoy the day. When tomorrow arrives, be good again … for that day. Stack the good days. Good days can turn into good weeks, which can turn into good months, which can turn into good years! My good friend Todd Helton, who is in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, would be the first to tell you his goal was to be good today and let the rest of it take care of itself. You become great by being good for a long time. This belief is true in everyday life as well. You don't become a great parent, a great mom, a great dad, a great brother, a great sister, or a great friend overnight. You won't be a great employee or a great boss in a week. It will take you longer than a month to become a great mentor, leader, coach, or teacher. A good consistent year of day-to-day solid, consistent performance will put you in a position to be trusted, to be listened to, and to make a difference and impact others on the journey. Be “good” today so you can become great tomorrow.

I'm excited to share this news: I'll be sharing stories and lessons from my new book, "Hurdle-isms" on October 26th at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh. Whether you bleed black and gold or just love a great baseball story, the book talk will offer a behind-the-scenes look into my experiences on and off the field. I'll also be signing copies of the book for attendees, and it will be available for purchase at the event. Admission is $10 for non-members and free for members Tap the link in my bio if you want to buy tickets. October 26th can't get here fast enough! Make a difference today, Love Clint