Why Playing Baseball Makes You a Better Person

By Jennifer Davies, Special to MSBL

Baseball is quite a popular sport, with about 15.64 million people in the United States taking part. We all know how beneficial playing baseball can be for us physically, but what about long-term benefits in regards to daily life away from the dugout? You’d be surprised to know just how much playing baseball can factor in when it comes to bettering ourselves and our lives. The core values of a baseball player, such as teamwork, time management, and responsibility, can be beneficial as they often develop into everyday life.

Responsibility, On and Off the Field

It makes sense that baseball teaches responsibility; you have to get to practice on time, remember to bring your uniform and equipment, and perform well. As a baseball player, you have responsibilities on and off the field, and being a part of the team is a major one. With the many responsibilities that you have on the field, it’s no surprise that they can carry into your day to day routine as well.

A baseball player’s routine is chock full of responsibility–one of them being time management. An athlete must embrace their responsibilities, as they have so many. Getting to practice on time because the whole team depends on you is necessary, so it’s only natural that this responsibility will more than likely develop into good time management skills. Time management is highly important in day to day life, as it’s a good habit to arrive on time to work, class, and meetings. Other responsibilities such as working well with the team and pulling weight leads to good camaraderie in a job setting. This is because in the working force, it’s important to get along well and be kind, courteous, and respectful to your peers, and baseball teaches just that as it’s highly focused on teamwork and getting along to achieve productivity.

Self-improvement Through Sport

Self-improvement is something that we all strive for, and baseball can play a major part in that. That being said, there are many ways that baseball players can self-improve in life just through playing the sport. Setting and meeting goals are something that happens in any sport, and in life. In baseball, players work towards goals such as keeping in shape, not striking out, pitching with precision and showing up on time to practice.

Self-improvement can sometimes be difficult, but baseball players are focused on it all the time. Because athletes are constantly trying to better themselves to perform their best, it’s not hard to imagine they’d be doing the same off the field. Learning from their mistakes is important and oftentimes necessary in the baseball world, but it works for life off the field as well. From jobs to social situations, we all make mistakes whether you’re an athlete or not. The important thing is to learn from them and try again, and baseball players are often taught that by their coaches. Not giving up is another asset to playing the game, and is a great personality trait to have throughout life as well, especially when things don’t turn out as expected.

The game of baseball can teach its players many things, and not just how to play the game. A baseball player learns core values and skills throughout their time playing the sport that will last a lifetime, from time management to setting and achieving their goals.