PROJECT 20-20SPOO

PROJECT 20-20
INNING BY INNING

FEOM T-BALL TO THE PROFESSIONALS, BASEBALL TEAMS ACROSS THE WORLD STRIVE

FOR PERFECTION AN INNING AT A TIME.

IT'S A SIMPLE, TIMELESS APPROACH: GET THREE OUTS BEFORE YOUR OPPONENT CAN
 DAMAGE YOU BY SCORING ONE OR MORE RUNS.

PITCHERS AND THEIR DEFENSES FOCUS ON A SINGLE NUMBER,  OVER AND OVER: ZERO.

HITTERS AND THEIR OFFENSES FOCUS ON NUMBERS LARGER THAN ZERO.

BOTH TEAMS BATTLE TO BE "ZERO HEROES."

WE TOE THE PITCHERS' MOUND TO GIVE US A LEG UP ON HOLDING THE HITTING TEAM TO ZERO BASERUNNERS, WHICH WILL LEAD TO ZERO RUNS.

WE DIG IN HARD AT THE PLATE TO GET ON BASE, AND TRY TO BREAK AWAY FROM
ZERO. GET ON BASE AND YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO SCORE SOME RUNS - AND LEAVE THE FIELD AS THE WINNER.

WHAT'S GREATER THAN A ZERO IN BASEBALL? FOR HITTERS, IT'S EVERY OTHER NUMBER.

FOR PITCHERS AND FIELDERS, ONLY A ZERO WILL DO.

THE ODDS CERTAINLY SEEM STACKED AGAINST ZERO.

LITTLE ONE. TINY TWO. TWERPY THREE - ALL BIGGER, BADDER AND BETTER THAN POOR ZERO.

BUT HOLD NO PITY FOR THE NUMBER ZERO,, BECAUSE OUTSIDE OF BASEBALL, GOING BEYOND ZERO CAN BE GOOD.

LET'S START WITH THE NEXT NUMBER UP: ONE.

ONE, AS IN HOW MANY DISEASES HAVE BEEN ERADICATED? ONE.

ONE DISEASE HAS BEEN SOLVED:  SMALLPOX.

ONE.

TWO, THREE AND FOUR ARE THE NEXT NUMBERS ON THE LIST.

A BASEBALL FAN CAN ASSOCIATE THOSE NUMBERS WITH ANYTHING INVOLVED IN THE GAME, LIKELY THINKING OF RUNS, HITS AND ERRORS.

A NEW YORK YANKEES FAN, OR FOR THAT MATTER A BOSTON RED SOX SUPPORTER, CAN TAKE THOSE NUMBERS A STEP FURTHER.

TWO - DEREK JETER

THREE - BABE RUTH

FOUR - LOU GEHRIG

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT DEREK JETER? WE CAN PICTURE THE MODERN SHORTSTOP, WHO DEFENSIVELY CAN KEEP ZEROES ON THE SCOREBOARD, WHILE SMASHING THEM WITH LARGER NUMBERS OFFENSIVELY.

THREE? THE BABE. THE BAMBINO. THE SPINDLY-LEGGED, BARREL-CHESTED MAN WHO CHEWED UP ZEROES AS THE FORMER ALL-TIME MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL HOME RUN LEADER.

THEN THERE'S FOUR. LOU GEHRIG. THE IRON HORSE. THE SPEECH.

THE DISEASE THAT'S NAMED AFTER HIM, AN INSIDIOUS DIAGNOSIS, OFTEN LEADING TO DEATH WITHIN FOUR OR FIVE YEARS.

AMYTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS - GEHRIG WAS DIAGNOSED WITH ALS JUNE 19, 1938. IT WAS HIS 36TH BIRTHDAY. TOUGH NEWS FOR THE MAN WHO WAS KNOWN AS "THE IRON HORSE" FOR HIS DURABILITY AND DIED LESS THAN THREE YEARS AFTER HIS DIAGNOSIS.

FOUR.

THE NUMBER OF RUNS A GRAND-SLAM HOME RUN SCORES. GEHRIG STILL HOLDS THE MAJOR LEAGUE RECORD FOR MOST CAREER GRAND SLAMS.

FOUR.

THE NUMBER OF MY FAVORITE BASEBALL PLAYER WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, PAUL MOLITOR.

FOUR.

THE NUMBER I FINALLY TALKED MY TEAMMATE AT FARRAGUT TO TRADING ME OUR SENIOR YEAR IN 1982. IT WASN'T A NUMBER TO BE TAKEN LIGHTLY - HE'D WORN IT SINCE MAKING THE VARSITY AS A FRESHMAN. WE WON THE ADMIRALS' FIRST BASEBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP THAT YEAR - HE SET A SINGLE-SEASON STATE RECORD FOR SAVES (14) AND IS THE CAREER RECORD-KEEPER IN THAT CATEGORY AS WELL (TBCA.ORG).

THE JERSEY EXCHANGE WORKED OUT WELL, AND EVEN TODAY "FOUR" CARRIES SIGNIFICANCE AT FARRAGUT.

FOUR.

THE NUMBER OF CONSECUTIVE STATE TITLES THE ADMIRALS HAVE WON (2008-11).






SPONSOR DEFINITIONS:

WORLD SERIES CHAMPION

HALL-OF-FAME

PERFECT GAME

NO-HITTER

GRAND SLAM