Was on set at MLB Network with our favorite Daily Hustle advocate Brian Kenny and Hall of Fame’r John Smoltz when I saw a tweet pop up from the “GOAT Jersey’s” account…
The old picture posted was that of St. Louis Cardinals player Ted Simmons from sometime in the 70’s… Attached were Simmons credentials which included 8 All Star games and 8 seasons in which Simmons hit over .300…
Pretty impressive numbers for a former catcher that prompted me to ask BK if good ole Ted Simmons has a legitimate Hall of Fame case…
BK’s eyes lit up as he waxed poetic about the buried treasure otherwise known as Teddy “Pretty Good” Ballgame.
Smoltz then chimed in and said he had an opportunity to listen to Ted give a fantastic speech back in the day that resonated with both him and Greg Maddox. According to Smoltz, it went something like this…
“If you got it, you got it…
If you got it, THROW it…
And keep throwing it!!!!”
What was the former All Star back stop’s point?
No matter who the opposing batter is, it is VITAL that we stick to our strengths.
For instance, if you are a fastball pitcher and it’s 3 balls and 2 strikes with the bases loaded and everyone in the world, including the batter, knows you are going to throw a fastball for a strike, JUST THROW IT…
Mariano Rivera is the best example of “if you got it throw it” in the history of Major League Baseball…
Ironically, in the day and age where everyone has 9 pitches, the dude that threw only ONE pitch just got selected as the first unanimous first ballot Hall of Fame’r…
For 2 decades, Mariano chucked a cut fastball and didn’t give two fucks who happened to be hitting or what the situation was…
Put simply, he had it and he f*ing threw it.
So often, we work our entire lives to put ourselves into a position where we “got it” but then for whatever reason we get scared to “throw it.”
As we constantly repeat here in the Daily Hustle, we get out what we put in. Through a relentless work ethic, we do everything in our power to maximize our potential… So long as this is the case, our efforts will give us the confidence to throw our BEST pitch…
And if it just so happens to get WHACKED…
F*CK IT. 🖕
The game of baseball and the game of life aren’t supposed to be easy…
At least we threw the shit out of that bitch.
-EB