I was working in Tampa last week, visiting a dear friend and successful founder (same guy). Naturally, we chose to meet at the Yankee game. Double bonus- I got to see my hometown Pirates play.

Two things struck me as worth mentioning (the score was not one of them).

It’s amazing to me how much Hope there is at the beginning. Spring training is a great example of that. Pitchers and catchers report in mid-March, fully expecting to make the team and to make a difference. Teams are there a week or two later, and scrimmages and spring games begin shortly after- probably too shortly thereafter. The weather is great, players smile and joke around. Veterans grab gloves and hats for rookies stranded at second and run them out to start the next inning. Fans come for batting practice, shag fly balls, get autographs, and talk about bright prospects… one pitcher (Steven Brault) was previously a rock star who started late because he was… a rock star! Everyone is fully aware that when teams go north, the sh*t gets real, but for now, the beginning, it’s all blue skies.

Yup, I also like the Hope in early days of start ups, for many of the same reasons.

Baseball is also a game of incredible nuances. I think it’s why many people think it’s boring or don’t understand it, or both. Why is the batter setting up deep in the box? What’s the catcher calling for, shaded outside and framing his glove low? Why is the pitcher not winding up with no men on? Why is the outfield shading to right, and why is the shortstop sliding toward second base when the pitch is thrown if there’s no-one on first? To the naked eye, this is just a pitch about to be thrown. To a trained eye, this is a deep count in pitchers favor, batter expecting heat and catcher probably calling for offspeed and certainly outside, with the defense expecting a late defensive swing with any hot going to opposite field.

There are easily the same or more nuances in startups; they are hard to pick up, to hear, to see, if you’re a rookie. Vets tend to guess better, but certainly no one hits like Dimaggio did.