The Winner Who, In His Career, Never Won A Game

“about the only problem with success is that it does not teach you how to deal with failure.” tommy lasorda.

starting off, tommy lasorda, knew about dealing with failure. as a major league pitcher, he never won a game. not one. his did, however, lose a few. his major league playing career was unremarkable. yet, he is in the baseball hall of fame.

in the eyes of those who follow baseball, he was one its greatest winners. as a manager, he won a lot of games. his enthusiasm and love of the game, set him apart. this enthusiasm and love led to seven decades of employment with the los angeles dodgers.

he was a leader who motivated players to do the impossible.

tommy lasorda managed one of the most dramatic games in baseball history. it was the first game of the 1988 world series. the dodgers were behind in the game and down to their last out. kirk gibson, their star player who was unable to play due to severely injured feet, came up to bat. he hit a miraculous home run to win the game. he could barely walk around the bases for his home run.

the stadium erupted. tommy lasorda, an overweight, out of shape, middle-aged man, made a mad dash onto the field with amazing exuberance. tommy showed the world how an adult could, for a moment, recapture a little childish joy.

knowing failure to be a leader is part of moses’ story. as is told in the torah, upon witnessing a taskmaster oppress a slave, he murdered the taskmaster. this act was not received well when he confronted two quarrelling hebrews. at that point, he had failed in his attempt to be a leader. he was forced to flee egypt.

a large part of life is the ability to address adversity. a large part of life is the ability to get up from the ground when you have fallen down. as a parent, it is important to teach your children that they have the ability to fix their mistakes and get on the right path. coping with adversity makes one a stronger and more resilient person. it lays the foundation for making great leaders.

be well!!

if you would like to read more blog posts, click here