“Just Keep Fouling It Off”: What Baseball Teaches Us About Staying in the Game
It ain’t over 'til it’s over. – Yogi Berra
Much of what the late, great Yankee catcher said (or didn’t say) tends to be hilariously contradictory and yet true at the same time. But It ain’t over 'til it’s over is 100% true in baseball, just as it is in coaching.
Indulge me as we go back in time…
The date is October 25, 1986: Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. The New York Mets are hosting the Boston Red Sox at Shea Stadium, and as usual, the Mets are behind. The Red Sox are attempting to break the 68-year-old Curse of the Bambino, and the Mets are not going down without a fight. The Mets have fought back with heart-thumping tenacity all through the playoffs, barely defeating the Astros in the NLCS, and are 2 runs down in the bottom of the 10th inning tonight against Boston.
The first two batters fail to reach first base, so they are down to one out from going home as the MLB’s second-place team. For just a moment, the Mets’ scoreboard actually reads Congratulations Boston Red Sox, 1986 World Champions, and the faithful fans seem to believe it with resigned silence. It does not look good for “the other” New York baseball team.
All of a sudden, Gary Carter singles to left field for the Mets, and a puff of life is breathed into the Mets’ dugout. Next up is Kevin Mitchell, who singles to center. The announcers, Vin Scully and Joe Garagiola, change their tone from a Red Sox celebration to the impossible scene unfolding before them. But the Mets are still two runs down with two outs. The next batter is third baseman Ray Knight, who hits an RBI single, scoring Gary Carter.
The gap is closed to one.
Up to the plate steps Mookie Wilson. Not known as a particularly clutch hitter, the announcers start to retreat once again toward a likely Red Sox victory, but Mookie is scrappy with a wild swing that seems to chase anything close to the plate. He quickly has two strikes on him, and it looks like the dark Boston curse is about to be lifted right there in Queens. But Mookie does what we coaches do. He hangs in there and keeps swinging. In dramatic fashion, as he’s only one strike away from losing, he fouls off six pitches. Not getting the pitch he really wants, he stays in the box and refuses to break under the pressure of thousands of screaming fans and millions like me watching on television. On one wild pitch, he tumbles to the ground but makes room for Mitchell to score the tying run. Finally, after 9 pitches, he puts one into play. It’s the weakest little ground ball you’ve ever seen right at the infamous Bill Buckner playing first base. The slow roller hugs the dirt and goes completely under Buckner’s glove and into right field, just as Ray Knight grabs his helmet in joyous disbelief—and the amazing Mets win again.
Shea Stadium erupts with 57,908 screaming fans that could likely be heard all the way to Fenway. Thankfully, Shea has no roof, as it would have surely flown off—but the Mets still had another game to go. Winning Game 6 merely evened the series at 3–3. But of course, the inertia was too strong, and they did close the deal the following night, securing their World Series victory AND perpetuating the curse.
What does this have to do with business coaching?
Everything.
Our Fundamental of the Week is CONTINUOUSLY SEEK TO IMPROVE THE IMPACT WE MAKE. I’ve had—and currently do have—clients that resist. What are they resisting? On the surface, it looks like they’re resisting me and the coaching, but that’s not it. They are resisting something much bigger than that.
We humans have all built our lives around strategies that seem to work—strategies based on beliefs that are founded on results from actions that are derived from earlier beliefs and earlier strategies and earlier beliefs… etc.
All these are deeply layered ingredients of who we are at an identity level. What people are resisting is the deconstruction of that whole assembly. It feels like a real threat to our lives.
You see, people often seek coaching because they are stuck. And they’re stuck because all these strategies that used to work are no longer working. And here I come as their coach, challenging all they know to be true, and it doesn’t always land as a good idea—so they resist.
“No, I’ve already tried that.”
“That won’t work.”
“You don’t know my team.”
“You don’t know my boss.”
“If I say that, I’ll look weak.”
“If I say that, I’ll look like a jerk.”
It goes on and on.
But we coaches do not give up. It’s not in our DNA. Oh… we’ll give up on some things, for sure. I gave up on trying to fix my electric recliner immediately after it quit working. I’ll give up on vacuuming my apartment if I can find any excuse on the planet. I’ll give up on a workout, on growing sprouts indoors, cleaning my windows… etc.
But those of us who were born as coaches do not give up on our clients.
The term I recently learned from my brilliant client is:
“Just keep fouling it off.”
Just like Mookie, that’s what we do. It roughly equates to “Just keep trying”, “Just keep swimming”... In baseball, they can’t ever get you out if you keep hitting foul balls.
(The MLB record, by the way, is 16 foul balls in a single at-bat by former Longhorn, Brandon Belt.)
When one idea with a client doesn’t work, we come up with another, then another, and another … until it lands and they get what they need. We just keep fouling it off, and eventually we put it in play.
And yes, when my client gets it and it works, and I see their transformation, it does feel like winning the World Series.
It’s been said that life is short, and maybe it is.
But maybe it’s just long enough for you and me to do the work we’re here to do.
And if at first you don’t succeed, just keep fouling it off.
~ Brett
Fundamental of the Week #26: CONTINUOUSLY SEEK TO IMPROVE THE IMPACT WE MAKE
Always seek a breakthrough approach. Our job is to improve the lives and work of the people around us. This path takes planning, diligence, and thoughtfulness.
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