2021-15 Over The Plate

Springtime brings many things. A few of those things are baseball and softball. One of the most sought after and watch positions in softball and baseball is that of the pitcher. For the pitcher to strike out the opponent the ball needs to be thrown just right in a space that is only four feet wide by 6 feet long and varies by the height of the batter.  Have you ever watched a game where the pitcher was on fire and had complete control of every pitch? Have you ever watched a baseball game or a softball game that had a wild pitcher who was completely out of control?

Control is so important whether you are the pitcher in a ball game or whether you are considering self-control, self-discipline. You may have the speed of a cannonball and all kinds of curves, but this speed and curves without control won’t be much good. And we might add that control of temper, of appetite, of tongue, of brawn and brain are even more important.

Grantland Rice in his fine poem, “Over the Plate,” tells the story so very, very well:

It counts not what you may have, my friend,
When the story is told at the game’s far end;
The greatest brawn and the greatest brain
The world has known may be yours in vain.
The man with control is the one who mounts,
And it’s how you use what you’ve got that counts.
Have you got the bead? Are you aiming straight?
How much of your effort goes over the plate?

We encourage you to continue to do your best to do your duty to God your country and to yourself as you strive to live each point of the scout law.