The Yankee Clipper - By Aaron Eppard
Recently I was reviewing some of my notes from when Ron Blue was a guest speaker at one of my classes while at Liberty. I noted several times, ‘enough begins with now.’ This was in reference to Ron talking about the process of determining “how much is enough?”, and then determining “what you have is enough because it’s what you’ve got.” Besides these notes, I had written ‘The Yankee Clipper.’
This consideration of what we have is enough, because it’s what we have, reminded me of Joe DiMaggio’s story. Joe DiMaggio, to this day, still holds the record for most consecutive games with a hit (56). He is also one of the greatest to ever play the game of baseball, and even better a New York Yankee. What is even more incredible about DiMaggio’s record is that long before he set the record, he wasn’t even allowed to play the game of baseball.
DiMaggio grew up in California, his father was a fisherman, and did not hold strong affection for baseball as it took productivity away from their family’s business. Thus, DiMaggio’s father would not allow him to play baseball, not even after they had finished their work for the day. However, DiMaggio’s affection for the game outweighed his father’s angst, and Joltin’ Joe would see to it that he would not be limited.
Joe DiMaggio taught himself how to hit by creating a baseball bat from a broken oar from one of his father’s fishing boats. DiMaggio would have to hide the fact that he was practicing baseball from his father, so he practiced his swing late at night with a couple of rocks and would hit them into the dock.
This story shows an incredible contrast of development from hitting rocks with a boat oar to then setting historic records, nevertheless, it shows the potential of when we no longer make excuses but make use of what we have.
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