By: Logan Koch

There is a lot to be learned from the humbling game of baseball. Everyone gets different things from baseball but for me I have pinned five of the best things I got out of baseball. I encourage everyone to do the same, let baseball teach and mold you into a better person. There’s a lot to learn from it!

1. Baseball can provide lifelong friends and brothers

Baseball has helped me make life-long friends, teammates, coaches and has taken me all over the globe. It has provided me advisors who have helped shape the kind of person I have become and has given me opportunities to get to meet guys I would not have had the chance to know. I have met some of my best friends through baseball which I am thankful for.

2. Helps shape time management skills

Playing baseball at a high level can be very time-consuming. It can be difficult to get in individual workouts, team practices and games with schoolwork and other social activities. If you don’t have good time management skills it will add much unneeded stress. If you practice good time skills this helps ensure not stressing about it and you can make sure you get work done ahead of time, you will perform better. Time management skills are a very important life skill to have as well, once you get in the real-world people will depend on you.

3. Teaches a work ethic

Not only has it provided me a work ethic in baseball but in other aspects of life as well. Short term you develop as a player and get better every opportunity you get. A good piece of advice I received about baseball was to “get the most out of it” and without a work ethic you will not get the most out of your ability and skill.  Having a work ethic is a great skill to develop because it is a skill that can be applied in the real world every day.

4. Baseball teaches how to deal with all kinds of different people

You are not going to love every teammate, coach or assistant you are around. There will always be a teammate or coach who is more difficult to get along with. Looking back at my career this is something I wish I would’ve done better. You must learn to deal with those people in a professional manner. It does not mean you hang around them off the field, but it also doesn’t mean avoiding them. It helps you with communication, you cannot avoid a teammate or coach forever. You see them every single day. Put your best foot forward and try. Use professionalism and make sure you put effort in. Need everyone pulling in the same direction if you want to be a successful team.

5. It provided me with a different perspective

Playing college baseball, you are put together on a team with all kinds of people from different backgrounds and cultures. You learn so much about different places whether it is another state or another country. It has helped me develop a love for other cultures and has made me want to know about other people’s lifestyles. There are so many different “brands” of baseball, if you open your eyes and see how other people approach the game differently than you, you will benefit in your own game from it. Don’t think your way of doing something is the only way to do it. Learn and pick things up from everyone around you and watch it benefit you in the long run.