In the brick-lined inner sanctum of Camden Yards, magic was made Thursday night. The magician’s hat descended after an unexpected sleight of hand by catcher Caleb Joseph.
Joseph is a recent addition who competed for backup catcher in spring training. He was sent to the minors but got his big break when Wieters hit the disabled list. Joseph was catching for Matusz, deadly against left-handers but currently facing right-hander Jose Reyes.
Picture this four-second trick.
Second 6: Reyes takes a full swing and tops the ball.
Second 7: It hugs the foul line as it bounces towards first base with Reyes running in tandem. Joseph pops out from behind home plate. Instead of running in a straight line to the ball (the natural path) he darts left towards the infield to get a proper angle on the ball and gain momentum to field it cleanly. Halfway through second seven, Joseph, expertly positioned for momentum, has to make the decision to field the ball or leave it. The instinctive response for a catcher in this position is to let the ball roll foul. Joseph doesn’t do that. He bypasses that inclination and fields it cleanly.
Now, there’s a first base rule that avid fans and Caleb Joseph alike are singularly focused on in the space between seconds 7 and 8. This rule is known as interference. Forty-five feet into the run towards first base, the single white line splits in two, and if there’s an infield, first base line play the runner has to stay between the two lines or the catcher can hit the runner for an out. Usually, hitting a player running to a base doesn’t incur an out. But in this case if his foot touches the infield he could obstruct the natural path of the ball and interfere with the defensive ability to throw it.
Second 8: Reyes lands at the split. He’s forty-five feet into the run and has reached a definitive boundary: the baseline. This is the two, white lines he must live within until his foot lands on first base. Since Joseph has the right angle on the ball, it won’t take long to throw. But as Joseph scoops up the ball barehanded, Reyes passes that boundary and his right foot lands on the infield white line. This means that Reyes’ left foot HAS to touch down in the infield. Joseph anticipates the implications of Reyes’ right foot placement in a millisecond. In that flash, he has to weigh four trajectory choices: 1. The natural choice: Go further inside, to the left, and throw to the first baseman 2. The long route: Go out to the right and throw to the first baseman, who is poorly positioned on the opposite side of the bag. 3. The prayer: A lob toss over the runner’s head to first base. They don’t practice lob tosses in training, so the potential for error is high. 4. The Baseline Rule: The least instinctive option. Hit the runner with the ball before he lands on first base. The players’ jersey numbers are stamped in the middle of their backs. The steadiest part of a player, while he’s running, is his back. It’s also the widest part. This creates the perfect target for a defensive bulls-eye.
Second 9: Joseph opts for the Baseline Rule. He flicks the ball and hits Reyes squarely in the back—squarely on the number 7. The number seven is often used to symbolize perfection, completion, and fulfillment. There was a sleight of hand Thursday. That bulls-eye on 7 brought a sense of fulfillment, but not for Reyes. Reyes had been duped.
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Reyes and Joseph both made split-second decisions. The details of those decisions look like minutia: a quarter-inch foot placement, a 15 degree wrist flick, but they symbolize the difference between magic and mediocrity.
Humans are said to be creatures of habit. Our everyday decisions can become robotic and patterned. I wonder how often those decisions affect the broader outcomes in our lives. Those patterned, habitual responses make the difference between success and failure.
The decision to hit the snooze button for an extra 15 minutes may leave you tired and rushed, affecting your productivity for the rest of the day. The decision to watch TV instead of studying for the exam may leave you anxious and defeated, and ill-prepared when the exam time comes. The decision to yell at your spouse rather than biting your tongue may mean hours of escalating arguments. The decision to work late and miss your daughter’s soccer game may mean her getting the message that she’s not all that important.
Our productivity and relationships would benefit from baseball’s lessons. To be aware of routine decisions and how they impact our lives is to be aware of how we shape the world around us moment by moment.
How do we create this awareness? Close your eyes and play through a video of your own. Observe a video of your typical day from beginning to end. Pay attention to the routine decisions you normally take for granted. I wonder how many decisions you make in a given four-second period that you aren’t even aware of. Now, consider how those decisions impact your life. What would happen if you chose to change even one of them? What would happen if you were aware of those decisions, moment by moment, and chose the options that honored the people you love and the goals that matter?
The great thing about baseball is that it levels the playing field. No matter how many gold gloves a guy has or what his batting average is, in any given play the backup catcher can don his magician’s hat and trick the all-star into an out. Our little decisions do matter. They level the playing field. And if they level the playing field, then it’s up to you to decide whether you’ll choose magic or mediocrity.