Dodge Suprun

Taking chances always seems to have a negative connotation, but I think smart chances are just that – smart. I hope I’ve taken good chances whether it is in baseball or starting a nonprofit.

First, when you take calculated chances you can stand out and show your confidence. This can be on the field or off, but is essential in baseball where the other team needs to know you will take some risks to score a run.

Second, taking chances is how we find great opportunities which is what I want to write about today.

Years ago – I was 8 at the time – my dad took me to Atlanta, Georgia for Baltimore Orioles Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr.’s Coaching Clinic. I doubt the staff were excited to see a kid there decked out in his custom Orioles jersey, but I did help coach my little brothers’ team. Okay, I probably mostly just said a lot of things I didn’t really understand and try to be encouraging, but they had me stand out there.

It sounds weird looking back, but I learned a lot about how we break down plays and hitting, defense, and pitching. Even if I was throwing as what Billy Ripken called a “wrong arm.” At the end of the event Mr. Ripken Jr gave me an autographed mini home plate that he and his brother had signed as a door prize that no one else claimed.

It meant a lot to me, but it meant more when at the end of the day someone asked if he could get a picture with Mr. Ripken Jr. and he said he would stay and sign autographs and take photos, but first he wanted to get a picture done with me.

I remember Billy Ripken referring to his older brother as Captain Sunshine that day, but if my dad didn’t take a chance I would have never met Cal Ripen Jr. (that day).

Taking Chances On Field And Off

Fast forward a decade and we are still taking chances. I think the idea of taking chances has worn off on me or maybe it is genetic.

My dad is a college and high school baseball umpire. He has gotten me into doing it also if only to better learn the game and there are definitely things umpires are looking at that players do not. It doesn’t make us or them better, but this has been a good chance to take. I’ve learned more about the game and how to better follow the rules.

Umpiring also gave me the opportunity to work in Austin at Cal Ripken Jr’s baseball tournament. I said yes as soon as I knew he would be there.

I knew the chance to see him again was remote, but it is another chance to be around the game and for a baseball family I admire. He and Nolan Ryan held a Q&A session one night and while we tried to find a way close enough to the field to see Mr. Ripken it didn’t happen.

What did happen is I took another chance. As we were leaving, we drove past a back gate and there he was with Mr. Ryan. I called out to him and asked if he would take another picture with me ten years later.

He didn’t say yes right away, but instead asked why I waited ten years.

He may be right and I need to take more chances and ask if he wants to spend some time with a great group of guys we will have on the Upper West Side of New York City. Hopefully I won’t get in trouble with coach inviting an Oriole to Yankee country.