Last Sunday Jacoby Ellsbury, the young centerfielder for the Boston Red Sox, took a long lead off of third base against Yankee's veteran Andy Pettite and made a mad dash for home (minute 1:06, streaking blur from the left). And he pulled it off. It was a bold move, almost ludicrously bold, given that the bases were loaded and sometimes-spectacular-always-effortless JD Drew was at bat. It was bold. It was risky. But it wasn't stupid (even if he had been caught). It was a calculated risk given the context, taken by a talented and prepared individual with the support of his organization. In short, Jacboy acted like an entrepreneur. He read the market, took a big risk, stumbled along the way, but slid in for the run.
- The Sox scouting report calls out the fact that Pettite often pitches from the wind-up with men on base. And Jacoby was looking for it. The Sox also give Jacoby the permanent green light. They trust him to make the right decision.
- Since Pettite was indeed pitching from the wind-up it meant his delivery would be a few fractions of a second slower than if he were pitching from the stretch.
- The Yankees were playing Drew to pull the ball. Instead of minding Ellsbury and the hot corner, thirdbaseman Berroa was yards away, giving the basestealer precious room to roam.
- Oh. And Jacoby is fast. Damn fast. Fast enough to turn preparation into success. Fast enough to run through a stumble. Fast enough to execute given the context and his preparation.
I'm not one of those people that equates baseball to life and vice versa (though I am guilty of tearing up when Billy Chapel gets his perfecto), but still I think there are commercial and life lessons to be learned from Ellsbury's theft. If you're prepared and talented you can minimize what seems like overwhelming risk. If your team trusts you, you can do amazing things. Sam Allis has a great piece in today's Globe about how Ellsbury 90 foot jaunt reminds us that risk taking is critical in life, even in scary times. Allis also notes that,
...Ellsbury is a rarity among base runners, whom we learn are a conservative lot. Most are like the rest of us, "risk averse" or "loss averse," depending on your preference. In 2007, a man named Ross Roley published a paper called "Runners' Reluctance." What he found was a deep commitment among runners to play it safe.
Who among us will not be 'like the rest of us' this year and more like young, entrepreneurial Jacoby? Who will read their situation correctly and sprint for home? I, for one, am going to try and think more like a basestealer this week.
