GBalance101 on Apr 13, 2014 wrote:

I didn't really find find Pirate101 through a tragedy. I originally played Wizard101, and still do. So when I found out about this, I had to play. And here I am. But here's mine.

I'm on a baseball team, the Mets. Not the official Mets. Today we had a game. I had incredible luck last year in a game. One man rally. But today, I had terrible luck. We had a great start, leading 4-0. Then bad things happened. By then, one of our star players had quit (after two games!) and we were missing two players. The other team had a HUGE homer, and they started racking up points. Not to mention, I always got third out with bases loaded. My teammates were mocking me. We were doing so bad, I felt depressed. I even got kicked. And most of the time, I was stuck in the outfield where literally NOTHING happens. All the glory went to the other players, even though the parents cheered me on. Finally, it was over. The milkshake I got was wasn't even a shake! It was ice cream! And I had too suffered through the whole thing, and it was terrible. And this is the only sport I play and am semi-good at. I made the Opening Day mistake, and I let the pitcher strike me out. It was so obvious I had to hit.

Baseball-English:
Homer: A hit where all players score a run, increasing their scoring by four points.
Outfield: Left, center, and right fields. More important on MLB.
MLB: Major League Baseball
Opening Day Mistake: On strike three, if the ball get past the catcher, you can run. I didn't. Easy out if you don't.
Hit: The bat connects with the ball.
Strike out: The batter gets three strikes, either: Three strike pitches, Three swings and misses, or Two foul balls and one of the other.

Hey there, GBalance.

Thanks for sharing your story and baseball adventures (or perhaps misadventures). I am a big-time Hardball fan and played up to my first couple years in High School, then I switched to football and track. I also have been a coach for my oldest son's T-ball and baseball teams since he started playing- I love the game (and all sports for that matter).

Even though it is not a tragedy that brought you to P101 (which it most certainly does not have to be to enjoy it and share with us), I do agree that enduring through a bad milkshake can be pretty devastating, especially when you are craving one.

Don' beat yourself up over baseball mistakes. If you think about it, even the best Hall of Fame hitters were only successful hitting about 30-37% of the time. That's a looooot of outs and strikeouts, even for the greats of the game. That's what I always remind the kids that I coach- even the pros swing and miss or miss a ball when fielding. It's not what 'mistake' you made, it's what you learned from that so-called mistake and how you prepare to improve upon it. With baseball, especially hitting, you can't get down if you get out or strike out- it's a huge part of the game. The average player only gets around 27-28 hits for every 100 At Bats, so the outs and strike outs are going to happen- you can count on that. And if you look at the big Home Run hitters throughout history and today, a lot of them have strike out numbers that are just as eye-popping as the HR numbers.

To me the most important concepts of baseball are: to give maximum effort and hustle (in game or at practice)- it can turn an average player or even less than average player into a great ball player that everyone respects and all coaches want on their team; study the game and always know what your job is, and be moving, on every play and every pitch; the well known, keep your eye on the ball (fielding and hitting); and by all means have fun and make it enjoyable and as well, don't let mistakes get you down. But those are just my opinions and thoughts on it.

I am glad that you found P101, no matter how you came to enjoy it. Playing this great game can be a great escape from even a minor baseball 'blunder' (which everyone makes- daily) and is a fantastic way to lift the spirits, no matter what is going on in life. It is also a great way to recover after the disappointment of a bad milkshake, just as you said!

By the way, are you still playing baseball? If so, good luck with it and keep your head up and spirits high!
Well, thanks again for sharing how you came to enjoy this amazing game.