Baseball with Pete

Life and How to Live It Podcast with Dr. Rocco
Episode: Baseball with Pete — What the Game Teaches Us About Life
Host: Dr. Rocco | Guest: Pete

Episode Overview

In this episode, I am joined by my friend and co-host Pete for a conversation about one of the subjects closest to both of our hearts: baseball.

We recorded this episode in early March, just as spring training and the World Baseball Classic were underway, and we knew the episode would be released around Opening Day. So it felt like the perfect time to talk about the game we love.

But this conversation is not only for baseball fans. My hope is that even if you do not follow the sport, you will still hear something meaningful in the way baseball connects to family, memory, patience, resilience, community, and the way we live our lives.

Why Baseball Matters to Pete

Pete shares how baseball has been part of his life from his earliest memories. For him, the game is deeply connected to his father, to playing catch, collecting baseball cards, watching games, and learning to love the rhythm of the season.

One of the most moving parts of the conversation is when Pete talks about his last interaction with his father before he passed away. It was a text about baseball. That small moment says so much about how the game became part of their relationship.

Pete also reflects on passing that same love of baseball down to his own sons. His boys played the game through high school, and one even played into college. Pete did not try to overstep as a coach, but he was present as a father, supporter, and fan. What he shared with his dad, he was able to continue with his children.

My Own Baseball Story

I also share my own story of how baseball helped me feel more American.

My parents came to the United States from Italy in the early 1960s. I was born here, just outside the Bronx, but I grew up in a very Italian world. I did not really speak English until I was about seven years old, and I remember feeling like an outsider when I first went to school.

Baseball became one of the ways I began to feel connected. I learned the rules, the teams, the players, the history, and even the geography of the United States through baseball. Places like Milwaukee became real to me because of the teams and the games.

I also remember being taken to Opening Day at the newly renovated Yankee Stadium in 1976. I was around ten years old, and even though I was a Mets fan at the time, walking through the tunnel and seeing that enormous green field was unforgettable.

For me, baseball became part of the journey of becoming Italian American — still connected to my family’s roots, but also connected to this country.

The Life Lessons Baseball Teaches Us

One of the main reasons I wanted to have this conversation is because baseball teaches so many lessons about life.

The first is patience. Baseball is a slow game. A season has 162 games. One pitch does not decide everything. One loss does not end the season. Baseball reminds us that today is one day, and tomorrow is another day.

The second is perspective. In baseball, you learn not to overreact to one moment. You wait for the next pitch, the next inning, the next game. That is something we all need in life.

Baseball also teaches us to pay attention. When you really watch the game, you notice small things: where the fielders are standing, what the pitcher is doing, how the catcher reacts, and how the situation changes from pitch to pitch. That habit of paying attention matters in life too — in our work, our families, and our relationships.

Another lesson is the power of small improvements over time. A player does not become better all at once. He works on one detail, then another. The same is true for health, relationships, work, and personal growth. Small changes, repeated consistently, can become habits — and habits can change a life.

Baseball also teaches resilience. Even great hitters fail most of the time. If you succeed three times out of ten, you can be considered excellent. That is a powerful reminder that failure is not the end. We learn, adjust, and come back again.

I also love how baseball gives people a way to unplug. For Pete, and for me too, a ballpark can feel restorative. It gives us a break from the stress of daily life. Everyone needs something like that, whether it is baseball, walking, reading, painting, woodworking, or anything else that helps us breathe again.

Community, Role Players, and Tradition

Baseball also reminds us of the importance of community. From Little League fields to minor league parks to major league stadiums, people gather together around something shared. Pete and I talked about the special feeling of being at a ballpark, surrounded by people who are all there for the same reason.

Another beautiful lesson is that everyone has a part to play. Baseball has stars, but teams do not win with stars alone. They need the player who moves the runner over, makes the routine catch, gets the timely hit, or simply does his job every day. That is true in life as well. Families, organizations, and communities work best when everyone understands that their contribution matters.

We also talk about history, ritual, and tradition. Opening Day, the first pitch, the seventh-inning stretch, singing Take Me Out to the Ball Game — these rituals connect us to something bigger than ourselves. In our families, traditions do the same thing. As life changes, those little repeated moments often become the memories we treasure most.

Do Not Take Yourself Too Seriously

One of my favorite lessons from baseball is that we should not take ourselves too seriously. Baseball has mascots, funny races between innings, walk-up songs, practical jokes, and all kinds of goofy traditions. It is a serious game, but it also knows how to have fun.

That is a good reminder for life. We should care about what matters, but we should also leave room to laugh.

Baseball Movie Recommendations

Before we close, Pete and I talk about baseball movies.

Pete’s favorite is Field of Dreams, especially because of the father-son relationship and the unforgettable final scene of playing catch.

My pick is Bull Durham. I love how it captures the world of minor league baseball. It is funny, thoughtful, romantic, and filled with memorable lines. It also does not take itself too seriously, which fits perfectly with the spirit of this episode.

Closing Thought

Whether you love baseball or not, I hope this episode helps you think about life a little differently.

Baseball reminds me to be patient, pay attention, keep improving, stay resilient, value community, honor tradition, and remember to laugh.

And as always, remember: life is not a dress rehearsal.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Life and how to live.

SPEAKER_03 0:02

Do you sometimes feel like life is passing you by? How would you like to get more out of life? We explore all things life on this podcast. Welcome to Life and How to Live It Podcast with Dr. Rocco.

SPEAKER_01 0:17

Life and How to Live It. Dream, create, connect.

SPEAKER_03 0:26

Welcome to another episode of the Life and How to Live It podcast with me, Dr. Rocco. I'm joined today by my co-host Pete. How are you doing today, Pete?

SPEAKER_02 0:35

I am doing great, Rock. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_03 0:38

It is great to have you here today. We are talking about a subject today that is very precious to us. It's the subject of baseball.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 0:48

Yeah, baseball. So we are recording in uh early March. So spring training has started, the world baseball classic has started. By the time we release this episode, it'll be around opening day. So we thought it would be a very timely to discuss baseball at this time. Now, if you're a baseball fan, you're gonna love this episode. If you're not a baseball fan, which and I I suspect that many are not, if you're not, give it a listen anyway. We think that you will get maybe the baseball fever from us, you know, and realize the things that we love about this game and the and the life lessons that we've gotten from baseball. Now, what can we say about baseball that's not been said before? I mean, this this game is like 150 years old. It has inspired some of our best writers to write novels and short stories, baseball columns and essays, there's movies about baseball. You know, so you know, I don't think we have the eloquence really to say a lot that's different, but I think we can give our own perspective. And and I and I I'd like to tie it into life and how to live it. You know, what is there about baseball that teaches us about life and how to get the most out of life? So, Pete, tell us uh a little bit about what you love about this game.

SPEAKER_02 2:14

That was uh really well said, Rock, just to let you know. You know, it it's so funny because even when you you we had discussed that we were gonna do this, right? I still get goosebumps every you know spring, every as we get closer to opening day. Um I know jokingly I've said for many years I have uh two milestones I always hope to reach every year, Rock. If you remember one of them. Oh, I do. One of them is obviously baseball, and the second one is Hallmark holiday movie season. So that digs a little deeper into who I am.

SPEAKER_03 2:52

Oh, I know. I I'm with you with the baseball season, but not the Hallmark movies. I've lost you on that one. You lost me there. There goes our audience. That's great.

SPEAKER_02 3:01

But today is about baseball, not all the uh unique movies that have been there. Yeah, they all have a different plot, definitely. Yeah. Just the names have been changed. Um no, you know what? I mean, from my earliest memories, baseball has been such an important part of my life. You know, and you you don't think of it as a kid, you just think of it as, you know, we're gonna go play it. I was a huge baseball card collector, um, as you know, and I and I actually still am. And you still are. I still am. And real quickly, you know what really uh jumped at again was when I got married 35 years ago, and um my parents came up for the wedding. Uh my mom said, Do you want your old cards back? And she had saved them. And how many stories do you hear? Yeah, my mom threw them all the way. Well, my mom went and collected them all, and she brought them to my house. So uh that really jump started it again. So But uh one of my first memories with you, Rock, was uh you know, being in the in a grammar school parking lot looking at you know, making sure we got all the Yankees and I swear you were a Met fan for a brief period. Uh well we weren't gonna discuss that in this podcast, but Oh, I thought it was about my baseball memory. Sorry. Yes, it's about your memories. But you know what? You know what was great though? It was really and I looked back at it the other day. It was always the connection I had with my dad, you know, and I know a lot of people say that. I know a lot of people say that. And people of our generation, our dads, they were workers, right? They were always working, they were always providing, they were just, you know, amazing men that you know gave us such a you know a great basis of who we are. And for my dad, it didn't matter, you know, how long he worked, when he got home, whatever, he would always say, Hey, go grab your glove. And that was like, you know, the the moment of magic that I would have as a kid. And then we would just go outside and we'd be in the street, you know, and we would just throw. And my dad, you know, you always always thought of your dad as this, you know, older guy, you know, because you were so little. But he was a really good ball player and he knew the game and he loved the game. And that really cemented my initial love for baseball.

SPEAKER_03 5:23

Yeah, and that's like you said, that's a story that a lot of people share. You know, it's that connection with your your dad and that handing down of the love of of this game from father to son, father to daughter. You know, we don't want to give this impression that it's only only men are baseball fans, but that has been the story is is this handing of this game and playing catch being so special. I'll say, um, in you know, just to jump in here, I was playing catch with my son Nick a couple of years ago in the backyard, and the lady who lives next door who who doesn't talk to us so often, she got so excited and said that those were her greatest memories of her father was playing catch. So, you know, like you know, just to say that something magic about uh cat playing catch.

SPEAKER_02 6:17

Oh every every father's day, right? Even tonight, I don't want a gift, I don't need anything, but if one thing I'll buy it. I would love to just have a catch, you know. And real quick, I looked back and I'll remember my last conversation with my father was via text four years ago. And we were talking about it was the Yankees versus Tampa, and the Yankees were fighting for the wild card, I believe. And just going back and forth, and that was the last he was gone that that day. So it's something I will always remember and I'll always tie to baseball of just you know, it it it brought me who I am as a child, and it really, you know, set the tone in later adulthood of you know, life is fragile, but just the memories are all we have. I was lucky enough to, you know, um bring that love to my my boys. And they played straight through high school, they played travel, they played tournament, one played college, and it was you know, uh me reliving, you know, my youth through them. I was uh you know, an outside observer, you know, I I went to everything, I practiced everything, but I I never coached, you know. I always wanted them to get a a you know, a real lesson of baseball from someone who knew the game better than me. But it was a tie I will always have with them and and we continue what I had with my dad and will, if we're not together, we'll text. You know, did you see that? You you know, just like just like me, you and Tim do rock. So But yeah, no, uh forever it will be one of the most important things in my life is the game of baseball.

SPEAKER_03 7:50

Yeah, well that is that is beautiful, Pete. I did not know that your last interaction with your father before he passed was texting about baseball. Yeah, Yankees against Tampa. Wow. Yeah, yeah. That's amazing. That's amazing. You're still involved in in baseball, right? One of your jobs is to say something about that. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02 8:13

I just absolutely love it. It's gonna start again. Um I'm an usher at our our local minor league team. I have been forever, for years, for decades.

SPEAKER_03 8:24

Um, and it is it's it's who is who is your local team? Buffalo the Buffalo Bisons. Buffalo Bisons, which is a legit, there's a triple A team, right?

SPEAKER_02 8:34

Absolutely for the Toronto Blue Jays. Oh yeah, they're they're they're a standard bear, you know, minor league baseball. They are amazing. And you know, one of the things, and you know, when I go to work, usually it's after my day job, you know, and I get there and and I still get that and you you explain to me if you do also. I still get that feeling, even though I'm you know I'm going to work most of the time, as I walk through that bomb and see the manicured grass, see people practice, see you know, I just get these, you know, goosebumps, these like uh I'm home, you know, and I and every time and I'm like I'm tired, I'm done. And I'm like, no, that is my home away from home is the ball field.

SPEAKER_03 9:17

Yeah, yeah, I I I get that feeling too, you know, every time I walk into a park. I will talk about my own personal experience. And and that what you're saying about that feeling of seeing the field is part of that experience for me. But I'll go back to the beginning. Um, my my parents uh were immigrants from Italy. They came over in nine in the early 1960s, and I was born in this country um in uh Mount Vernon, New York, just outside the Bronx. And you know, I was born in this country, but I I was essentially an Italian, you know. Every everybody, all our relatives, uh friends, cousins, this and that, you know, everyone was uh from Italy basically, you know, except for like me, because I was the oldest of all the grandchildren. Okay, yeah. And so I didn't even speak English until I was about seven.

SPEAKER_02 10:14

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 10:15

And I remember going to school and you know, not speaking English, you know, and just feeling very out like an outsider, you know, like I I don't belong here. Who are these people? And you know, like you know, you're a kid, you learn the language fast, you know. I learned the language fast, but I always felt like like somehow other, you know, than my you know, your kids in the in my class. And little by little, you know, I started making friends, and uh I I s you know, I had these friends who really liked baseball. And I started to learn about baseball. And um, I was I was a sponge, you know. I yeah, I learned everything about baseball. I learned the rules, the history, like like like nuances that like an eight-year-old shouldn't really know, you know. I just loved the game. And um and and it it helped me to feel more American, you know, knowing this game, playing this game, being, you know, having this common thing with my American uh friends. Um, I even learned things like um American geography, you know. I learned I learned about these exotic places like Milwaukee, Kansas City.

SPEAKER_02 11:38

That's ever been said. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_03 11:40

I was like, oh, what is this Milwaukee? You know, and I like would look on a map and see where it was, and I learned about time zones, you know, how this country is so big, it's got all these time zones. And so for me, you know, baseball was kind of like an identity, you know, like becoming part of America. Um, we did have a uh, you know, all my family was from Italy, uh, but we did have a great uncle who also was from Italy, but he came in like the 20s or 30s, and his son was raised in Mount Vernon in the like say the 40s or the 50s, you know, and he had seen Joe DiMaggio and Babe Ruth, and like he had seen all these great players. Uh, and he was, I think he was impressed with how much I loved baseball. And so when I was 10 years old, the Yankees uh had an opening day, it was 1976, and it was opening day of the newly renovated Yankee Stadium. Now, this is at the point when I was a Mets fan, okay. So, yes, uh full disclosure. Um but I um yeah, I went, I walked through, you know, the whole experience. It was the best day of my life when I was 10, you know. Yeah, like going to like in the traffic to go to this stadium, walking in up to this the biggest thing you've ever seen, this Yankee Stadium, and then walking through that tunnel to see the field, I had never seen anything so green, so big, so beautiful, and so many people all in one place at one time. And like right then and there, not only was I an American and a baseball fan, but I was a Yankee fan. I was done with the Mets at that point and have never never turned back. Um, one thing I'd like to say about this experience that I talk about is I think baseball's been doing that um for for a very, very long time. If you think about the the baseball players of the late 1800s, you know, a lot of those guys were Irish and German immigrants, and and the playing of baseball was something that integrated them into being American. Uh in the early part of the uh 20th century, a lot of Italian Americans came in. Uh in the the mid-20th century, the you know, sadly, you know, long overdue, some of our greatest Americans, African Americans, sure, were allowed to finally play in Major League Baseball with Jackie Robinson, you know, being the first. And and so that was a way in which they, I don't, I don't want to say they became more American, but they got integrated more into this game, this right thing. And then we've got you go to the later part of the 20th century, you got the Latin players and Latin kids who are and now the Asian Americans, and and and so it seems like it baseball has been a uh like a component of of integrating us into becoming hyphenated Americans, you know, Italian American, Dominican American, what you name it. So that's that's great. Yeah, yeah. So so that is my story. And it really is well done, Rock. I love that. Yeah, well, thank you. I mean, I I think our you know, I didn't get it uh from my dad like you did. But the the ironic thing is I taught baseball to my mom and dad, and they became big fans of the Yankees in the mid-70s. We and like a couple of years, we watched like every game on TV as a family. So so it was a little bit like reverse, but you know, it still was a family connection.

SPEAKER_02 15:34

That's amazing, and what a great time to grow up being a Yankee and a baseball fan. Yeah, yeah, it was the late 70s.

SPEAKER_03 15:42

It was a great time, and uh so so you know, I wanted to turn this this this conversation back to like, you know, what is it, how does this tie in with life and how to live it? Like, what have we learned from baseball? You know, and in prep for this episode, I I just wrote out a list of things, you know, that's like here's the things that that that I've learned from baseball in no particular order. And I I'll start with patience. Yeah, you know, I think baseball teaches us patience, you know. The game is slow. This is one of the big knocks against baseball. It's slow, it's boring.

SPEAKER_02 16:20

You know, why does this game matter? There's still 160 more to go. Yeah, I think patience is is patience is a virtue. And and to be a baseball fan, but to to just enjoy the you know, our lives are are we're rushing everywhere, right? From this to this to this to the next. And baseball, it's just you have to practice patience. It is something where it's like, you know what? Today is one day we'll see some great plays. We might not see some great plays, but it's something that we take and say, okay, tomorrow's another day. Let's enjoy the next day. And and and baseball is great. And you are amazing at that. You always have been, Ron, because you know, as an aside, you know, uh, I would be the one, oh it's over. Okay, it's done. And you would always be Mr. Patience, and like this is one day, you know, tomorrow is another.

SPEAKER_03 17:13

It's a great life lesson. It really patience and and the way, you know, what you're saying is one that wasn't on my list initially was perspective. Right, yeah, put it all in perspective, you know. Yes. Uh one of the things about patience with baseball is like, you know, just the like waiting for like that pitch for the pitcher to throw that pitch. You're you're you're waiting, they throw the pitch. You're like you're expecting, okay, like something's gonna happen, and nothing happens. You know, it's like uh a ball, you know, it's a ball, it's a cult strike, whatever, swinging strike, foul ball. It's it could be so many things where zero happens, okay. And now you're like, okay, let's see what the next pitch has for us. You know, it's like that that's a little bit of patience too, right there.

SPEAKER_02 18:00

It's definitely patience because you're waiting for that next great thing, and it can happen if you have patience and you wait and you see not this one, not this one, not this one, but the next one, then you see this great moment that is what you were waiting for. So it's it's it's it is a great life lesson is to realize, you know, and that's like in real life too, right? Not something happens every day, but then when something that we've worked hard for and we are proud of, well, there you go.

SPEAKER_03 18:26

You know, yeah, patience is important. Exactly. Another lesson that I have learned from baseball is to pay attention, you know. It's like I think that paying attention is something we don't think about a lot in life. Like, you know, like you said, we're running, running from one thing to another to another, you know, and when you are a a a real baseball fan, you learn to pay attention to very small things.

unknown 18:52

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 18:53

Right? Like what do you think? Like what kind of small things do we pay attention to?

SPEAKER_02 18:58

Well, you know, from I I I'm gonna give a quick example of like when my boys were growing up and playing, if I can. Um I never I was the the parent who was talking to everybody. I didn't even know when games ended, or you know, because I just was there to enjoy them and to enjoy the sport. But the one thing I always told them is pay attention, you know what? Because when others are not, you know, just pay attention, pay attention how the outfielders throw, pay attention how the catchers throw. You know, it's the little nuances of the game that when we as fans are sitting there watching, you know, you could be watching a hundred things, you know, and they're all different and they're all little um nuances of the game, and that is so exciting, at least to me, you know.

SPEAKER_03 19:47

Yeah, and bringing that back to our lives, you know, if you train yourself to pay attention, you know, in baseball or whatever you do, but you know, that carries over into your life. And but you know, you if you pay attention to things that people say, things that people don't say, facial expressions, you know, body language, uh, pay attention to the weather, pay attention to a blade of grass. You know, it's like you can learn to pay attention to so many things that that enrich your life. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 20:21

You know, with everything from I love it, you know, facial expressions, moods, tone, you know, that's that's so important in your work life, in your family life, you know, and it's it's exactly how you know when you're really intense and watching a game, you get that also.

SPEAKER_03 20:37

Yeah, yeah. Another thing that I thought that I have learned from baseball is the power of small improvements carried out over a long period of time. Right? Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 20:50

You know, and and again, that that's so exact, which which I love because it could be at least, you know, like in in my life, you know, small improvements not only help you like in your work life, in my wellness life, you know, trying to live the best that I can, it's the small things that matter, you know, and and they add up. You can correct them if if you see that what you're doing is is not working best for you, but it's something that as you add them up, it makes you a whole and and a better person, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_03 21:30

Yeah, and so so it's this idea that you know you can make a small change, an incremental change, and if you're consistent with it over a long period of time. So in so in baseball, you know, that that kind of that focus, that like attention to detail, attention to your craft as a player. Um, if you do that over a period of time, you'll you'll get the results. Like I I remember uh in the movie Bullder. Crash Davis talks about one extra hit a week is the difference between being a 250 versus a 300 hitter. Right. And and that's it, you know, and and you you you may get that extra hit uh this week by luck, but over the course of a season, you're getting you if you're gonna consistently get that extra hit, it's because of the efforts that you have made, those small things, those small incremental changes. Same thing like you were saying with your wellness. You know, if you uh don't eat that piece of cake today, great, good for you. But if you don't eat that piece of cake consistently over the course of a year, right, you're gonna have huge changes in your health. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 22:49

That's exactly what I was I was thinking of, you know, making it a habit, you know, those small little changes, making it a habit. And once you have that habit, it's it's so much easier to be successful. So exactly, you know, and I and in in in in baseball, I look at something as simple as as footwork. You know, I look how how players are standing, how players are walking, you know, simple changes to that, you know, in baseball makes you a better ball player.

SPEAKER_03 23:15

Yeah, yeah. Another thing that that I have learned from baseball is resilience. You know, resilience is a term we hear a lot these days, especially like, you know, I'm in the world of coaching, sure. You know, in the world of medicine, you know, like you know, you see the resilience that people have, it's amazing. And and resilience it means the ability to kind of stay on your course regardless of what happens. Like, you know, you get knocked down, you get back up, if things don't work out, you know, it's like you just keep keep moving forward. Uh, and I think we learn that in from baseball, from playing baseball, from being a fan. Right? What do you think about that one?

SPEAKER_02 23:58

I think even even you mentioning, you know, a a movie quote, you know, the difference between a a 250 to a 300 batting average, you know, you you have to have this resilience knowing.

SPEAKER_03 24:10

I'm not another life lesson that I got from baseball is resilience, is that ability to kind of bounce back and and keep moving forward. You know, we hear a lot about resilience in um that world of coaching that I'm in, and uh I've seen the resilience of people, you know, in my medical career, how they're able to have so many different setbacks and keep pushing forward. And and uh so we can learn resilience in many different ways, but I think baseball definitely teaches us resilience. What do you think about that?

SPEAKER_02 24:44

I so agree, Rock. I mean, just just think about it, you know, a a a batter with a 70% fail rate, right? You could be going to the Hall of Fame, you know, and that's right. Seriously, it is it is a game of high failure, you know, and and you know what you learn from your mistakes as a player, as a person, and and what you do with those mistakes and how you become a better player, a better person is a true sign of resilience. And and what is better than baseball to show that you're not gonna get hit every single time. Even the the superstars are not going to, right? But what do we learn from that? Resilience. Keep working on it, keep practicing, you know, and and and to me, you know, even as a fan, I can't even imagine as a player, you know, uh, the pressure management of playing the game, right? And and we have that, you know, maybe not every day in our lives, but it is prevalent. And how do we work through that? We work through that through resilience. And baseball is a great example of of how to handle pressure at the at the highest stage or the lowest stage, you know. So baseball is resilience.

SPEAKER_03 26:04

Yeah, how to how to handle pressure, how to handle disappointment, loss, you know, and and remember they can come back and fight another day, you know. Exactly. There's always tomorrow, there's always next season, there's always the next at bat. Yep. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 26:22

You know, there's a couple other things that I always think about, you know, with baseball. For me, and I I I would think you also, and I think uh most people, it is an escape for me. It is it it is something that I use as as being a fan of the sport, the game. I use it as my escape from every day, you know. It is it is another world for me. It is something that I look so forward to, and it is something that I so to enjoy saying, you know, it's not everyday life. It's not worrying about, like I said before, finances, work, health, whatever. It's just to me a complete reduction of stress to say, yes, oh gosh, yeah, we get stressed when our team is playing, you know, and and things might not be going right. But it is baseball, you know, it is something that we can just take and say, like you said, you know, tomorrow's another day. We saw some great things happen. We saw some things that someone has to work on, but it's just a escape from day-to-day for me. I just absolutely need that, you know, from you know, our lives.

SPEAKER_03 27:33

Yeah, yeah. So we learn uh the the value of like unplugging a little bit from your life, from the stresses of you know, thinking about your finances, your job, your you know, the problems you're having with your kids or whatever. You just like unplug. And and that, you know, the life lesson there is that we need to unplug. It doesn't have to be baseball, it could be taking a walk, it could be fishing, it could be, you know, woodworking, whatever you like. But it's we need that. Yes, we do. Everyone needs that.

SPEAKER_02 28:08

And one can I add one more thing? Yes, please, please do. Um, you know, to me, baseball means a really strong sense of community, you know, and it starts with you know, little league and and and going out there for the Little League parades and and and seeing all the the youth playing all the way up to you know the major minor leagues, major leagues, and you go and you're sitting there or you're you know, like we will be texting, you know, with a group of like-minded people who are just so happy to be in their community rooting for their team. Um one of my favorite examples of that, Rockin', you were you were involved um sitting in the bleachers of Wrigley Field, you know, not a we're not a Cubs fan, but I felt like a Chicago Cub fan at that time, and I did not want that feeling to end, you know, because everyone was coming from work, coming from wherever they had to to gather together for three hours to root for one cause, which was their team. And again, yes, other sports are like that, but just being in the spring, the summer, being outside and watching that in baseball is magical.

SPEAKER_03 29:27

Yeah, yeah. Other sports are like that for sure. There's there's they all have that sense of community, but baseball is special because it's every day, yeah. It's every day, you know. So you have that that that community is developed, um, you know, gradually with a lot of uh a lot of pain. Yes, yes, you know, there's a lot of they can commiserate, yes, yeah, yeah. Um very, very true. Yeah, I agree with that. Uh uh, you know, we've talked before about the importance of community and connectedness and all of that. So that that ties right in with the life and how to live it concept, right? Um 100%. You know, one thing that I want to say about baseball that I've learned is how every person plays their part, you know, in on a team, right? Um, of course, there are superstars and and you know, people who are better than others at the game, but it unlike a sport like say basketball, where if you have one or two superstars, your team is going to be really good. So true. In baseball, you need every person pulling like you know, their weight and contributing. And you know, maybe you're not uh the home run hitter, but you're the person who gets the timely hit, or you're the person that you know gets that ground ball that moves a person, you know, runner forward. You know, it's like the you cannot and you can't hide in baseball. Everyone has their part. You have to go and bat by yourself. That's great. You have to so true, you have to catch that fly ball that's coming to you by yourself. You can't just say, like, once again, basketball, not to knock on basketball, but you can't just pass the ball to someone else and and have them take care of business for you. You know, you have to catch the ball, hit the ball, you know, and and over the course of a season, you know, those are the teams that win, the ones that have the contributions from everybody. And that is a life lesson about your workplace, et cetera, et cetera.

SPEAKER_02 31:42

100%. You know, you you do your part and your team will succeed. Doesn't matter if it's baseball, work, life, whatever. And you know what? Just an aside with that, Rock, there was no one better than you for rooting for those people who were not the superstars, but who did their jobs and made the teams better. I mean, you've always been that way, which is is always exciting.

SPEAKER_03 32:06

I've always loved those players, yeah. You know, and I I want to put a shout out to Brett Gardner right now, you know. He was my favorite Yankee during that era, and and he wasn't the biggest star. He wasn't the biggest guy, but he was a solid contributor every day. Yeah, he was what we call a gamer. Yep. Yeah, and those are the those are the people that I admire in life too, is people who are just they have they it's not that they don't have talent, but Brett Gardner had incredible talent, but it's he wasn't the biggest guy, and he wasn't the the guy who's the team's gonna ride on his back. But without him, I don't know, they haven't done anything special, in my opinion, since he's been gone. I agree with you.

SPEAKER_02 32:53

And and I mean that's a great way to show that you know it's not just about baseball, you know, it's the people like that in in your life that make the difference, you know, and and yeah, well said, Rock.

SPEAKER_03 33:05

Yeah, and uh so another thing is the uh baseball uh teaches us to appreciate history, ritual, and tradition, right? It's the there's a lot of history, obviously. And um, but all of those little rituals, like like stuff, could start naming them, Pete, you know, throwing out the first pitch, like whatever.

SPEAKER_02 33:29

Oh my gosh, just just you know, to me, first of all, opening day is is the greatest ritual. I've always said this really should be a holiday. I liked it better when it was one day and everyone played, you know, but I get it. But from there to, like you said, from the the first pitch to you know one of the things that I've always loved. And during the postseason, when and also the all-star game, when they announce all the players and they come and line up and you have the cheese to root for that player who might have such a small little role, but you get to see them and you get to root for them, and that's one of my favorite rituals. I know it's it's small, but I love that.

SPEAKER_03 34:11

Yeah, and there are a lot of them. There are, you know, there's the seventh inning stretch and singing Take Me Out to the Ball Game, and you know, the way that they rub the every baseball with mud before the game, you know, there's so many and it's gotta be certain mud, certain mud from New Jersey of all places.

SPEAKER_02 34:32

I know, right? I mean, so so true, you know, and and everything dragging the field in between what inning, you know, and and and stuff like that. And you know, put together that is a game, but uh to me it's just those small little things that a lot of people probably miss some of those small little things, but yeah.

SPEAKER_03 34:51

Yeah, yeah, and and so you know, bringing it back to life, you know, it's like you know, we should appreciate like our history, our you know, our our traditions uh as our uh you know, our country, our family, little rituals, little things that you do every day that just kind of like make make that day special and make it connected to every other day.

SPEAKER_02 35:14

Oh, that's great, Rock. You know what? Because I know as I get older and the family gets older, and we don't have those same traditions that we always had, you know, when we were younger or our family was younger, and those are the things you miss. You don't, you know, I don't always remember all the the the great new things we're doing, I just remember, you know, especially come like holiday time and be like, oh, remember when we did this, remember when we did this. Well, times do change. So whenever you can hold on to some of those rituals, which you know, baseball does a great job of that. It's so important, so special.

SPEAKER_03 35:48

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And uh the last thing on my list was something that I think is really important, it you know, could be the most important, is to not take ourselves too seriously, you know. I think you know, we're talking about, oh, you know, you need to have consistent effort over the full season and to but you know, baseball is the goofiest sport, you know, it doesn't take itself too seriously, you know, it honors tradition, but one of the traditions is the goofiness, it's like having uh, you know, the the Bratwurst race in, you know, around the outfield, like the president's race. Yeah. Um the Philly fanatic, you know. That's that's funny. That's you know, it's not it's you don't say the the history and tradition of players playing practical jokes on each other. Right. Right, right.

SPEAKER_02 36:44

Or or the rally monkey, or the the different songs teams play the seventh inning, you know, it's like it again, all those things combined just make it so that you know it's it's it's fun. You can't, like you said, take it serious because again, we said it's a game of failure, you know, so you just can't take and like everything is the end of the world. No, you know what? Have some fun with it, enjoy it, learn from it, and move on.

SPEAKER_03 37:14

And that and that's a life lesson, you know. It's like we certainly is we should take our lives seriously, but we should also not, you know, we can't take ourselves too seriously, right? You know, it's like just do your best and and and just laugh. Laugh when things don't go right, you know. Yes, yeah. Show yourself some grace. That's yeah, beautifully put. Beautifully put. So so Pete, I I you know, I mentioned earlier that there have been a lot of boom movies made about baseball. And um, you know, w what's your favorite baseball movie?

SPEAKER_02 37:49

I'd say all of them, but if I had to choose seriously, I just love them when they come out. Um if I had to choose, I would choose um Field of Dreams, obviously. Um for the well, first of all, it was you know, Kevin Costner and uh James R. Jones. It was just a a a great movie. Besides, you know, you cannot you don't have to be a baseball fan to love that movie, in my opinion. Um it was just so deep. It was just so like the sport, you know, you you you can get out of it what you put in. And I obviously have seen it hundreds of times. I see different things from it at different times. It's one of those movies, Rock, where you know, one of my sons will text and say, Feel dreams is on, and there might be eight minutes left, and I'll put it on. You know, it's one of those ones where you don't have to sit from the beginning and watch the whole thing. And then the final, you know, with the you know, uh finding out that it was his father and having one last catch. I think all of us would love to have one last catch.

SPEAKER_03 38:54

And um Yeah, I'm I am lit literally getting chills when you're saying that right now. Yeah. That that scene of you know the father and son having that one last catch and like repairing this relationship, you know. Yeah, it's beautiful, it's a tearjerker for sure.

SPEAKER_02 39:13

It really is. Because you know what, and it's been the theme of this podcast, you know, that's not only about baseball. You know, one last catch means so many things. One last conversation, one last holiday, one last meal, everything that we would like to know, especially if we don't know it's the last one. So it's very powerful for me.

SPEAKER_03 39:32

Yeah, that's beautiful, Pete. And I I think that if you asked most, if you did a survey of all baseball fans, that is probably their favorite movie. I agree. Yeah, you know, I always have I have to be a contrarian at all, always, you know. It's I I I I do like uh I do like, I do love uh Field of Dreams. It's incredible for all the reasons you you just stated so well. My favorite is actually Bull Durham. Um I love it. That movie to me is the essence of baseball, you know. It's it is uh once again Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins. So you got a great cast um in the late 80s when they were all like kind of in their prime as actors, and and the movie is about um it's about love, really. It's about loving baseball, it's about love uh love. They there's a love story in there. Um it has some of the best quotes that I can remember uh about about baseball, about life. Um and it uh it also doesn't take itself too seriously, you know. It's funny and silly, like some parts of it are silly, right? So so that so that would be my recommendation, you know, for folks if they want to see a baseball movie that's also a love story, that's also about quantum physics and philosophy and metaphysics and just a little bit about everything, minor league baseball, well that's what I try striving to like make the big time, you know.

SPEAKER_02 41:15

And just the the to me, it's the the community aspect of it. You know, these people absolutely love their team and their players, you know, it was so evident that was that was their lives, you know, and I love that.

SPEAKER_03 41:29

Yeah, yeah. So so so two great movies to check out. And uh, you know, I I think that's probably enough for this conversation about baseball today. I hope that we have made some converts out there. And if if we have not made new baseball fans, hopefully we have given people ideas about you know these lessons that we learned from baseball that they can apply to their daily life. So, Pete, uh let's say goodbye to the folks.

SPEAKER_02 41:59

Thanks everyone for joining us today. Really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_03 42:02

All right. Well, thank you, Pete, for this great conversation. And thank you all for listening. And until next time, so long. That's all for today's show. Thanks for listening to the Life and How to Live It podcast with Dr. Rocco. If you enjoyed today's show, please subscribe and leave a review. See my show notes to find out more about the show, and remember life is not a dress rehearsal. Until next time.