The most meaningful of all team games is baseball! After coaching baseball for over 50 years, I have come to believe it is the game that most closely parallels everyday life. The lessons learned by playing and coaching baseball apply directly to successful living. Fans, too, can benefit by observing how players react in learning situations.

所有团队竞技项目中最有意义的是棒球！教了50多年的球之后，我坚信这项运动是最与生活密切相关的。从玩棒球和教棒球中学到的东西都可以被直接运用于如何成功地生活。球迷们可以受益于观察到球员们练习棒球的时候做出的反应，从而影响到自己在任何领域学习的时候，应该有怎样积极的反应。

Table 1.1 illustrates eight life lessons inherent in playing and coaching baseball.

Life Lesson

人生感悟

Example in baseball

棒球中的例子

Handling failure

掌控失败

Striking out 三振

Making an error 失误

Walking a batter 打者上垒

Losing a game 本场比赛失败

Handling fear

战胜恐惧

Fear of being hit 不敢击球

Fear of choking 恐惧压力

Fear of making an error 害怕犯错

Handling frustration

面对挫折

Being retire on a well-hit line drive

打了一颗强劲的平飞球还是出局

Making a good pitch and having it hit”9 miles”

投了一颗好球，但是被击出很远

Teammate committing an error

队友失误

Handing embarrassment

缓解尴尬局面

Striking out with the bases loaded

满垒的残垒

Getting picked off

一直被牵制

Allowing the winning run to score on an error

因为守备失误而让对方得分

Handling loneliness

茕茕孑立,形影相吊

Infielder with only 2 ground balls in the game

这场比赛内野手只遇到两个滚地球

Outfielder with no chances during the game

正常比赛外野手都没机会表现

Long intervals between appearances or innings

选手的每个打席都间隔好长时间

Handling slumps

曾经沧海难为水,除却巫山不是云

Hitting slump with falling batting average

打击率进入低潮期

Fielding slump

防守低潮期

Consecutive losses or high ERA

面对连续失分或者高自责分率

Not playing several games in a row

无法持续上场比赛

Adjusting to change

随机应变，调整状态

Adjusting to strengths and weaknesses of opponent

根据对手的优势和弱点作出调整

Adjust to changing weather conditions

适应天气变化

Adjusting to a new relief pitcher or to a pinch hitter

适应新的救援投手或者代打

Controlling emotions

控制情绪，宠辱不惊

Over excitement

过于兴奋（时学会控制）

Challenging authority or the umpires

挑战裁判

Passiveness or indifference

（学会调整）被动或冷漠情绪

Allowing game situation to affect attitude

比赛形势影响到态度

Anger at bed call

（控制）面对黑哨时的愤怒

All these situations occur many times during a baseball game or a season. The playing field id a laboratory for testing and refining the qualities that predict and make up a well-rounded life experience. By playing baseball you learn maturity, honest, loyalty, adaptation, compassion, self-esteem, respect for authority, teamwork, sacrifice, humility, patience, striving for excellence, and more.

所有这些情况时常会发生在某场比赛或者某个赛季。赛场就像一个实验室一样给每个人测试和精炼品质，从而为未来做好准备并掌握生命的真理。通过打棒球，你可以变得稳健，诚实，忠诚，适应能力强，有同情心，自尊心，尊重权威，团队合作，牺牲，谦逊，耐心，卓越，还有很多很多难得的品质。

I see great relevance and meaning in how baseball’s home plate relates to the eight life lessons learned in baseball. It seems to me that fear, player must confront them squarely. In little league, Pony League, Colt League, high school, college, minor leagues, and major leagues, home plate is always the same size—17 inches wide. This constancy parallels life. It tells us that whether you are a kid, a teenager, a young adult, and adult, or over the hill, certain rules, standards, and expected conduct remain the same.

在玩棒球的家庭中充分体现了在棒球中学到的八个生活经验，家庭与棒球二者有密切的联系和重大的意义。首先，在我看来玩棒球的人必然经常面对焦虑感或者。无论在儿童联盟，高校联盟还是大小联盟，本垒板都是17英寸宽，这就像恒常不变的生活。这启示我们无论你是小孩，青年还是成人，无论你在哪，规则和标准都是既定的，事情的行进方式也都是一样的。

As coaches, we must keep in mind the importance of the influence we exert. From my experience, I fell that what a person becomes is due to influence. We are influenced by what we see, what we hear, and leading young people. Remember, you and I are working to make them not only better ballplayers but also, and more important, better people. How many of our ballplayers will make it to the big leagues? Or even be drafted? The Bible says,” many are called, but few chosen.’ We must remember that we are preparing ballplayers for successful everyday living, not merely the next level of baseball.

作为教练，我们必须牢记我们的行为对球员的影响力。以我的经验来看，成为什么样的人，很大程度上归咎于周边的影响。我们被看到的听到的一切所影响，所以请带好你的球员。记住，你我是为了让他们成为更好的球员而工作，更重要的是，让他们成为更好的人。又多少球员会在大联盟？哪怕只是被征召。这本书说：“ 许多人都在职业球员的备选名单，但是极少的被选中。” 我们一定要记得，我们是随时准备活好每一天的人，不仅仅是打好棒球的球员。

Perhaps the most cherished quality coaches can provide their players is trust in one another. If we surround ourselves with ballplayers we can trust, it stands to reason they will trust the coach and trust one another. Long ago I broke down the work trust in the following way: T stands for thankful. Ballplayers should be thankful they are able to play and are on the team. The player who whines and complains would not measure up to the quality of trust. R stands for reliable. We rely on the ballplayer to make the ballclub look good on the field, on the campus, in theroom, in the community.U stands for understanding. The players should understand how playing the game of baseball relates to everyday living. The players should understand your philosophy and the fundamentals of baseball, and then relate those principles to everyday living. S stands for sincere. The player is sincere applying what you are teaching on and off the field and making a sincere effort to be thankful and reliable. T stands for truthful. Players are true to the ballclub and true to themselves.

最厉害的教练是与球员彼此信任的。如果我们亲手带的球员都是我们信任的，按道理来说他们也会信任教练，就是这样的彼此信任。我拆开trust这个单词的，每一个字母有如下含义：T代表感激（thankful），球员应当感谢他们能够打球，能够待在球队，抱怨对信任的建立没有任何用处；R代表可靠（reliable），无论在球场，课堂还是社区，我们依靠球员来让球队蒸蒸日上；U代表理解（understand），球员应当将如何打球看待为生活的一个部分，S代表真诚（sincere），在球场上球员要真诚对待教练的教学，做最大的努力来吸收教练教的内容；T代表真实（truthful），球员们忠于球队，忠于自我。

When your team has trust on your side you have a winner. A winner need not have the best natural ability to enter the select circle of other winner. The entrance to that circle is trust!

当你的球队与你建立相互信任的关系圈时，那么恭喜你，你们球队将会胜利。这个胜利的重任不是交给天赋异禀的人，也不是其他光鲜亮丽的赢家，胜利的入口就是信任。

Although it’s a generalization, through my career I found that baseball players fit into one of four categories:

虽然这是一个概论，但是我职业生涯中的经历告诉我，棒球运动员的类型来来回回都包含在下面四大类中：

l The athlete has outstanding natural ability, but you don’t know when the player will perform. It might be today, tomorrow, or next week.

天赋异禀，表现突出的天才型棒球运动员，但是你不知道他何时爆发。可能今天，可能明天，可能下个星期。

l The competitor competes only for himself and isn’t concerned about the team.

仅仅是为他自己而努力，竞争，不在乎整支队伍。

l The winner will always be ready and will inspire his teammates to bear down and be ready to play on game day. The winner will urge the competitor to compete for the team, not only for himself. Furthermore, the winner does everything in his power to make the team look good on and off the field. Winners are mentally tough, motivate others, have intense desire, and are resilient and humble. If you have an athlete who is a winner, you have a blue-chip ballplayer. Be on the lookout for winners on your campus and put them in your lineup right away. They may not be the best runners, hitters, throwers, or fielders in your club, but I assure you that they will create more victories than the great athletes.

优胜球员是随时准备好的，并且会鼓励队友准备参加比赛。优胜球员渴望为球队竞争，不仅仅为了自己。进一步来看，他们做的努力是为了让球队场内外都发展得更好，优胜球员是精神上坚韧，行动上鼓励他人，对目标渴望，有弹性并且谦逊。如果你的球队有人是这样的，那么你们球队有了一支潜力股，请好好挖掘这样的人，并且把他纳入你的行列。他们也许不是最快的跑者，强棒，强投或者稳固的守备。但是我敢保证，他们创造的伟大比优秀的运动员多得多，球队需要这样的优胜球员。

l The donkey is the ballplayer who just doesn’t seem to fit. Many can be taught the principles of trust, faith, honesty, loyalty, teamwork, patience, and so on. In time, they will become valuable members of the team. But regretfully, a few will remain screwballs and wind up in Donkeyville—the point of no return. this is the player who doubts that marijuana and other recreational drugs will be detrimental and so becomes a user. The player soon descends to become a donkey(stubborn, stupid, slow, shady) and ends up in Donkeyville instead of the dugout. Let’s do all we can to help our players avoid becoming donkeys!

失败的球员是这样的：其实可以教给他们很多准则，关于信任，信仰诚实，忠诚，团队合作，耐心等等。如果及时教他们，可能会成为球队珍贵的成员。但遗憾的是，一些失败球员依然走上了不归路，一去不返。经常食用大麻和其他让人上瘾的毒品，很快变成一头“驴”（固执，愚笨，迟缓，阴暗）最终成为一副躯壳。让我们一起尽力防止球员堕落成失败球员吧！

Over 46 years of coaching, my love for the game has grown steadily deeper. Now that I’m no longer on the field every day, I can step back and measure what is truly great about baseball—the wonderful carryover to everyday living from learning, playing, and coaching the game. For example, the principles of faith and trust learned through teamwork,cooperation, and group support on the field represent the solid ground on which to build a husband, a father, a business associate, a community leader, a friend. The principles provide stability and a foundation for later life.

超过46年的执教中，我对游戏的爱已经逐渐深入。现在我不再每天都待在球场了，我回顾并且衡量到底什么棒球的伟大之处在哪里——是学习，打球以及教球日复一日的伟大积累。例如，建立了一个关于信任与信念的人生原则。通过团队协作，合作，踏踏实实做一个丈夫，一个父亲，一个商业伙伴，社区领导，朋友的坚实的基础。这些原则提供稳定和为以后的生活打下基础。

Over the years I’ve collected some slogans and lists that I call” bulletin board material.” They summarize the principles we learn in baseball that we can apply to everyday life. The pinups in his chapter show a few of these.

多年来，我已经收集了一些口号，并列出了我称之为“公告素材”。总结了我们在棒球学习，我们可以应用到日常生活的原则。在pinups的篇章中会显示其中的一些。

Finally, I would like to leave you with words to live by and words to avoid.

一些要践行的和一些要避免的。

l Five most important words:” Surround yourself with good people.”

五个最重要的词：“ 近朱者赤”

l Four most important words:” Take care of yourself.”

四个最重要的词：“ 照顾自己“

l Three most important words:” Class, character, concern.”

三个最重要的词：“集体，特性，关爱”

l Two most important words:” Thank you.”

两个最重要的词：“感恩”

l Single most important word:” we.”

一个最重要的词：“我们”

l Two worst words:” I quit.”

两个最糟糕的词：“我退出”

l Three worsts words:” I don’t care.”

三个最糟糕的词：“我不在乎”

l Four worsts words:” everybody is doing that.”

l 四个最糟糕的词：“大家都这样做（借口）”

l Five worst words:” Let somebody else do it.”

五个最糟糕的词：“让别人去做吧（偷懒）”

Influence :“ As the family loses its influence in its children’s upbringing, so does our nation lose control of its destiny.”

影响力的重要性：“就像家庭失去对儿女的影响力，国家和民族会失去对其命运的控制权。”

The teacher and the coach are part of the family!

老师和教练是家庭教育的一部分！

Let’s spend a minute more with the five most important words—surround yourself with good people. Beginning with God Almighty id what I have found to be the best policy for life.” Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight.’ (Proverbs 3:5-6) One of the main reasons some people excel is that they surround themselves with good people. Meanwhile, people who consistently get into trouble surround themselves with bad people (donkeys). If we apply the five most important words to our coaching, the rest will take care of ourselves, we will treat people with courtesy and respect, we will show good character (character does count!), we will be concerned with others, we will not quit, and so on.

让我们花一分钟时间细想最重要的五个词——近朱者赤。圣经中的这句话对这句话有很好的阐述：“相信上帝，用你所有的心，不要仅依靠你自己的理解。在所有方面都承认他，他必指引你的路。”（箴言3:5-6）成为优秀的人的其中一个主要的原因是周围都是优秀的人；同样的，近墨者黑。当我们教球的时候，运用这五个词，我们将以礼貌和尊重的对待的人，我们将显示良好的性格（性格像一位贵族），我们会关心别人，我们不会放弃，等等。

You will notice I did not say ”I” is the worst word.Rather it is the least important word. We must take care of ourselves but let us not become an “I-tis” person—I, me, mine, what’s in it for me.

你可能会注意到我不说“我”这个字。这是最不重要的一个词。团队运动最重要的是“我们”，这才是一个完整的整体。以后尽量说“我们”，避免说“我”以及“我”的所有格。

And don’t forget the two most important words—“Thank you.” When Christ healed the 10 lepers (Luke 17:11--188) only one came back and said.” Thank you, Lord.” Don’t be one of the nine!

不要忘记最重要的两个词——感恩。当救世主医治麻风时（卢克17:11—188）只有一个回来说，“谢谢你，上帝。”