A Second Chance

They say baseball is a game of inches. They say baseball is a game of forgiveness. They say baseball is a game of redemption. Growing up, I really thought baseball was really a game of clichés. Never has it been more apparent about baseball being a game of forgiveness than in the New York Mets 5-3 victory over the Houston Astros yesterday.

Imagine having a terrible series against the team that traded you away. Imagine playing in an extra inning game and going hitless in your first six at bats. Imagine finishing the game with only one hit in seven at bats. Imagine all this and still being considered the hero of the game.

I personally do not know that I would consider Carlos Beltran the hero of the game but many Met fans did. Certainly, the fact is he was largely responsible for the Mets victory. In the entire series, Beltran had looked bad. Still in the 14th inning of the game, Beltran made a beautiful catch to prevent the Astros from winning the ballgame. Still, at the plate he looked bad but when he came up in the 17th inning, with runners on base, he finally came through and got a hit, a hit that drove in the game winning run.

Baseball is a game of forgiveness. Baseball is a game of redemption. There is actually a lesson in there I can use, to remember to give people a second chance. When you give people a second chance, the payoff can be quite rewarding and quite enjoyable. Hopefully, however, the Mets won't need many second chances and will be able to just dominate their opponents and show they are the best team in the National League.