Editor's Notes:
*I like how blogs can be worked on anywhere- I've worked on this in three different locations because my laptop crashed*
*Sometimes baseball can have sexual connotations. I can not over emphasize that this has nothing to do with sexual concepts*
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Patience is a virtue I am still learning- I won't sugarcoat it. I am pretty terrible at waiting for something that might not come. I guess I'm pretty empirical in this sense; I like to know what's what- the entire story.

That's probably why baseball is one of my favorite sports; I value those who can see a 95mph fastball high, thinking that it's at the letters (perfect for a homerun), and they can hold up on their swing, multiple times if they have to. Professionals can wait on those throws that they know will eventually come and foul off the ones that aren't worth their time. It's pretty amazing to square up a round bat on a round ball and drive it out of the infield for hits (not everyone can have Honus Wagner speed).

Putting it differently, the goal is to run up the other starter pitcher's pitch count enough so they can be taken out of the game as soon as possible, that's why they're starters- they're more efficient at getting balls and strikes and can go for much longer outings on the mound. Big league pitchers have gnasty stuff; fastballs from high nineties, sliders mid eighties, and curveballs that just drop right off the table. A player who is batting must know their strengths and take what's given to them. If the pitcher knows the batter's strengths they may try and pitch around or use different pitches to change the speed at which his eyes are moving to locate the balls and adjust; this is an understood method of play for pitchers at any level- to change speed and location of pitches. The better the player, the higher the average, the more pitches he can handle. An average player may have one or two pitches that he looks for in certain counts (1 ball: 2 strikes, 3 balls: 0 strikes, etc...), so they must be patient and wait for the pitcher to make a mistake or throw the batter the pitch that they're looking for.

MLB: The Show is one of my favorite video games for this reason. Each time I play, I feel like I'm getting a little bit of practice in seeing what's given to me, reacting, and in that split second deciding whether to swing or not. Often times I just want to swing the bat at anything- the game can get monotonous (in real life or especially in video game form), but you have to maintian composure and pick your pitches to do well.

It's all part of the game.

And no, I'm not completely cured of my impatience when it comes to certain things; and yes, there's no amount of video game playing or sport watching that can mold me otherwise.
Sometimes though when you're put into a situation, there's no count to try and guess your pitch, there can still be fans behind the plate distracting you, you don't have any other choice but to wait and react when you finally get that belt-buckle-middle-away-Regan-era-fastball-chance of a pitch, and maybe, just maybe, you'll hit it out of the park. Granted, I have the same likelihood that I'll get the same pitch and hit it straight for an out- you never know- my batting average isn't the best.

Babe Ruth's "Shot Heard Round the World"