Albert Einstein defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.” We have all been guilty at some point, trapped in the web of the norm. Insanity occurs in the mind and change brings challenge, but what happens when you go against what others think or do? When you challenge the way it has always been done? The war of the mind then begins to consume your thoughts with negativity. What will other’s think of me? What if I fail? What if I am wrong? What if? What if? It is easy to get comfortable and allow the conventional thinking of yesterday to cloud the possibilities of tomorrow. But what happens when you dare to break the barriers of ordinary language? “When numbers acquire the significance of language,
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He had everything the conventional mind was looking for. His appearance, attitude and skill to the natural eye, showed promise. But what wasn’t seen on the outward, projected itself inwardly and Billy was emotionally plagued by fear. Billy held himself back from being what he could be because of his mind. He was his own worst enemy, expecting perfection and overthinking his every move. If Billy wasn’t being watched, he couldn’t fail. He became a great hitter because he was in a situation where it didn’t matter, so in his mind he couldn’t fail. But when faced with a situation that all eyes were on him, Billy began to overthink. Fear of failure crippled Billy’s success and his career. (Pg. 48, …show more content…
The teams that had the higher budgets spent more on player’s salaries and lost more games. It was as though the more money that was spent on players, the less they scored. (Pg. 270, Moneyball) Despite the success the A’s had with producing star athletes with a low budget, their success seemed to go un-noticed. The decisions Billy Bean and Paul Podesta made were fought by tradition. Veteran players couldn’t understand the concept of not stealing bases. Most of them had built their careers on stealing bases and manufacturing runs, and now they were forbidden to do what scored runs. “The playoffs were about getting runs…about street creed, not science” (pg. 268, Moneyball) The approach of the A’s was seen as flawed and made no sense. It went against the game and how the game was designed to be played. How could you not steal bases? The game was about getting more runs, and to get more runs, you steal bases. The A’s were focused on walks and homeruns. They were criticized and accused of sitting back, waiting for homeruns to happen. They didn’t use speed and they did not manufacture runs. Despite the criticism the A’s had won 162 games and made it to the playoffs under Billy’s direction and by not stealing bases. The A’s made it to the playoffs, but because they didn’t win the playoff’s their efforts were criticized and seen as weak. The success didn’t happen
He had everything the conventional mind was looking for. His appearance, attitude and skill to the natural eye, showed promise. But what wasn’t seen on the outward, projected itself inwardly and Billy was emotionally plagued by fear. Billy held himself back from being what he could be because of his mind. He was his own worst enemy, expecting perfection and overthinking his every move. If Billy wasn’t being watched, he couldn’t fail. He became a great hitter because he was in a situation where it didn’t matter, so in his mind he couldn’t fail. But when faced with a situation that all eyes were on him, Billy began to overthink. Fear of failure crippled Billy’s success and his career. (Pg. 48, …show more content…
The teams that had the higher budgets spent more on player’s salaries and lost more games. It was as though the more money that was spent on players, the less they scored. (Pg. 270, Moneyball) Despite the success the A’s had with producing star athletes with a low budget, their success seemed to go un-noticed. The decisions Billy Bean and Paul Podesta made were fought by tradition. Veteran players couldn’t understand the concept of not stealing bases. Most of them had built their careers on stealing bases and manufacturing runs, and now they were forbidden to do what scored runs. “The playoffs were about getting runs…about street creed, not science” (pg. 268, Moneyball) The approach of the A’s was seen as flawed and made no sense. It went against the game and how the game was designed to be played. How could you not steal bases? The game was about getting more runs, and to get more runs, you steal bases. The A’s were focused on walks and homeruns. They were criticized and accused of sitting back, waiting for homeruns to happen. They didn’t use speed and they did not manufacture runs. Despite the criticism the A’s had won 162 games and made it to the playoffs under Billy’s direction and by not stealing bases. The A’s made it to the playoffs, but because they didn’t win the playoff’s their efforts were criticized and seen as weak. The success didn’t happen