By Glenn Dromgoole

(This is the second of three excerpts from the book Parables from the Diamond that I co-authored with Phil Christopher, published in 2009 and now out of print.)

A simple ground ball to first base is bobbled and the winning run scores. A surefire double play is botched by a bad toss from the shortstop. An infield popup falls in because the catcher fails to call off the third baseman. A grounder back to the pitcher is thrown over the first baseman’s head, igniting a two-out rally. An easy fly ball is lost in the lights and two runners score.

In baseball there are no routine plays. At least there shouldn’t be. When we start to take things for granted is when we get in trouble. Every play has to be approached with a sense of purpose.

So it is in our lives outside baseball. 

No matter how many heart surgeries a doctor and his team have performed, it can never become routine; a human being’s life depends on it. 

It may be the thirtieth year that a teacher has tried to teach her students the difference between an adjective and an adverb, but to these particular students, it is still a difficult concept to grasp. 

A preacher may have preached on the parable of the prodigal son a dozen times, but in the congregation that day may be a young man or woman – or a mother or father – to whom the story could never be more relevant. 

A sputtering motor may seem like nothing to the experienced mechanic; to the woman driving home from work late at night, it could mean everything. 

There is no such thing as a routine play. It should be a guiding principle in whatever we do.

Glenn Dromgoole is the author of 35 books. He and his wife, Carol, own Texas Star Trading Company.