Great Expectations – The Good, Bad, Disappointing in Sports this Week

The Success Trail looks at the power of expectations.

Weighty Expectations - Success from Failure – The Good

If I didn’t make the big leagues, I don’t believe anyone would have called me a “bust.” In fact, I think the only one who expected me to make it, at least all my life up until professional baseball, was me. I had no outside expectations to live up to; thus, no pressure except my own.

Expectations, not to mention potential, are tough to live up to. They weigh us down to the point of wanting to quit something we love. Such is the case of former number one MLB pick, Mark Appel. Mark was one of only three number one picks never to make the major leagues, but that number is now back to two. After leaving the game and being considered one of the biggest busts in major league draft history, Mark Appel was called to the big leagues this week and had a successful major league debut.

I can’t imagine what it was like for him to be standing on a big-league mound after nine years of being considered a huge disappointment. The expectations of the baseball world were on him from a young age, which multiplied upon being drafted number one. After stepping away from the sport for a while, Appel returned and battled his way back to the major leagues. Bravo, Mark! I’m sure he lost a ton of weight that day, and I do not mean on the scale.

There is a message in his story, especially for sports parents and coaches – no matter how talented an athlete, keep expectations reasonable. Success is not that easy or a guarantee for anyone. No person should have to live their life with others thinking and being told they were a bust. As coaches and parents, we should help athletes keep their self-expectations basic and reinforce that achieving more than what they wanted is a bonus.

Misplaced Expectations - Failure after Success – The Bad

I am a big golf fan. I enjoy watching the final rounds each weekend. I believe my fascination with the sport comes from observing performance under pressure. It’s a contest where the athlete in front of millions must perform with total silence, knowing all will judge them a choker if they do not perform up to expectations. I wonder what that would be like? Perhaps I could perform with noise and movement like almost all other sports, with the distraction of noise and movement relieving some of the pressure.  But to perform with quiet and stillness, I can only imagine I would be frozen, or shaking so bad, that the results would not be good.

Having said that, I get to the LIV tour where many already millionaires have jumped for even more money. It’s the American Way, I suppose, so it’s not surprising. There is much to digest there, and time will shake out the situation. I believe I would take the high road and turn away from the “Saudi blood money,” but it’s difficult to know for sure without being in the position.  I like and believe in what Rory McElroy said, something to the effect of whenever he had done something just for the money, he regretted it later on. I agree and believe many will regret the move, but who knows, that’s my opinion.

What does bother me is players who have jumped complaining about how rgrueling the PGA tour was for them. They mentioned the demands of playing many weeks a year. Aw! I won’t say golfers are not great athletes, as they are, but the toll of walking around for a few hours and swinging a club a few times for four days in a row is not my idea of a demanding sport. Sure, they work very hard, play many weeks a year, and are away from home quite a bit, but complaining about those while making a wealthy living is not what the “Average Joe” wants to hear.

Try playing 162 games over six months with virtually no days off, as I experienced in the MLB. Throw in another month or so of spring training and an offseason of daily workouts, and now that can be exhausting. I cannot even imagine the toll of playing even more physically taxing sports like those of the NBA, NFL, and NHL. Those athletes can talk about grueling, and I concur. I don’t want to hear about it from the golfers when most people have to work very hard, be away from family at times, and yet, they struggle to pay the bills.  

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 Reduced Expectations – Never Success - The Disappointing  

I read where the White Sox organization has apparently told its major league players not to hustle to first on routine ground balls in fear of pulling muscles. What? Are they not athletes? Not a good look, and all I can think of is the quote, “Remember the guy that gave up? Neither does anyone else.”  Yes, once mediocrity is acceptable, success rarely if ever follows. There’s a great chance they will be among the forgotten.