In late September of 2014, someone, somewhere stumbled across an interesting statistic: Jon Lester had gone all of 2014 without attempting a pick-off throw to first base. Finding the exact source has become like trying to identify the origins of the Universe: Nobody knows, and so we assume it's always been there as a basic fundamental truth, discovered as we all simultaneously came online. That feeling was enhanced as this entire story, start to finish, blew up in front of our eyes in the span of about 12 hours.
September 30, 2014: Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs wrote this article. The curious case of Jon Lester has been discovered. Theories abound.
That very night, this happened....
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The Kansas City Royals ran wild on Jon Lester and the A's in the AL Wild Card Game. The Royals stole seven bases in an improbable 9-8 comeback victory. Now, to be fair, much of this happened with Lester already removed from the game. However, with the A's leading 7-3 in the Bottom of the 8th, seemingly on their way to the Divisional Round, Lester allowed two singles and two subsequent stolen bases. He then walked the next batter and was promptly removed from the game before that runner, too, had the opportunity to take second base. In the most important inning of Lester's season, the Royals paid little regard to the threat of Lester's pick-off move, challenging him to throw over to first, and Lester never did. It wasn't just that they stole the bases. It was the relative ease with which they stole the bases. Lester left the game after 7.1 innings, with the A's leading 7-4, but responsible for the two runners left on base, both of whom ultimately scored. This was no longer speculation. This was now a problem.
Side note: This game was very much where the Royals were born. It's fun to imagine there's somewhere an alternate universe where Jon Lester could throw to first, the Royals lost this game, and never became *the Royals* who would go on to make back-to-back World Series appearances, including winning the Title in 2015.
I've long held a certain interest in psychology, but never in the way of academic studies. I'm sure I have theories that have long been accepted and even more that have long been disproved. The trade-off being: my organic interest in psychology hasn't been restrained and directed solely towards disciplines where it's uses can be monetized, having all of the life sucked out of the subject. There's no real value to my thought other than an attempt to further my own understanding. I could see an argument both for and against my investment, as a waste of time or an example of purity. It probably depends on who you'd ask.
Much of my interest is in the mind's ability to create an illusory reality that's more tolerable than a more objective reality. This is why I frequent the electronic pages of Answers in Genesis, antagonizing the site's patrons. While, yes, it is amusing to me, I'm usually not trying to be directly antagonistic. The questioning and discussion often turns immediately confrontational because there's no greater perceived aggression than challenging one's sole reason for existing. It's not just fascinating to me that people choose to believe these things, but rather that they're fully capable of convincing themselves of this reality they've created. To me, it doesn't seem like this should be possible, because, for me, I'm not convinced that it is possible. I tried....I tried like hell. Growing up in a religious family, even as a skeptic, it seemed easier to believe than not to believe, and let people down. The story was comforting and gave life a purpose. There were social rewards, positive feedback, for following the correct path. I stuck with it into my early 20s, almost defiant in my rejection of what I suspected to be true. As the evidence mounted against my position, however, I found myself no longer able to keep up the illusion. I was forced to anxiously leave the promised security of religion behind for the never-ending expanse of uncertainty. Of course, this is not just to pick on religion. There's a variety of ways people create these useful delusions to circumvent terrifying conclusions about the foolishness of life.
I've been asked: which baseball player would you most like to have a beer with? The answer is: none of them. To me, they're far less interesting than people analyzing their on-field performance. I have no way of relating to their experience, and they have no way of relating to mine. There seems to be some correlation between the psychology of a successful athlete and the psychology of any ordinary person you might encounter. The greatest difference may be an inflated sense of one's abilities. High-level sports is such that, if you think you might not be able, you're not going to be able. Other attributes I'd apply to most athletes would be: simple-minded, positive, upbeat, gregarious, and optimistic. In many ways, these traits are all analogous. Skepticism, self-consciousness, and doubt are a death sentence for most athletes.
This 2015 Jon Lester pick-off attempt is not the pick-off attempt of a confident and optimistic athlete....
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In every day life, as in sports, simple-minded optimism is an advantage. In this regard, a more well-reasoned approach, devoid of illusion, may actually be a deficiency. So many things I witness other people attempt and achieve seem to me inconceivable. I've seen people pass me by in life, with legitimate careers, who'd require my tutoring if asked to pass a basic exam on the very subject of their profession. I've witnessed men I've regarded as having few, if any, redeeming qualities have the gall the approach women many times their attractive and intellectual superior, and succeed. Many of these successes are attributable to the individual being blissfully unaware of their own absurdity. If the veil of their illusory reality were pulled back, I'd have to imagine these individuals drifting into an abulic state, with the mind refusing action. Whereas, I'm all too aware of my numerous shortcomings. In many ways, I'm envious. I'd much rather be an optimist than a pessimist, even if it meant sacrificing the few mental attributes in which I take some pride. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be a choice. The demand now becomes finding my own path to happiness and satisfaction without the benefit of incognizance.
Sports are often an escape from life's problems. I know I've explained my love of baseball as providing a harmonization of the experience (emotional conclusions from watching a game/illusory reality) with the immutable evidence of what's real (the statistics/objective reality). There's a comfort in the physical evidence provided, through the statistics, that's not available in life. In short, there's a sense of control in baseball because you can make sense of the data. In life, there's almost 100% uncertainty. Comedian Doug Stanhope has said he enjoys sports as a distraction from his hatred of himself and dissatisfaction with all of the World. Baseball Prospectus writer Ben Lindbergh has often remarked that baseball, and our attention to the game, is a distraction from our mortality. All of these remarks present sports as a treatment for life's hopeless uncertainty. As an escape from the humiliation caused by the knowledge of our limitations and looming expirations.
When Jon Lester signed with the Cubs, there was some joking about his problem throwing to first base, but most people, including myself, assumed an off-season to work on it would be enough to solve the problem. It wasn't....
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Initially, there was frustration from the fans, a cursed franchise having spent $150 million on a player that can't throw the ball to first base. As the team's performance improved, Jon Lester's case of the yips became another amusing quirk of a lovable team. To me, though, it was more than any of that. It was a reminder of the uncertainty, the insecurities, and the conflict of the human condition in a place where it didn't belong. A pitcher, who's job is to throw pitches sharply and accurately to home plate more efficiently than 99.999% of the population, and does that job admirably, should not be worse than the hot dog vendor at lobbing a ball to first base. It doesn't make sense. It doesn't fit. For some reason, when Jon Lester looks at first base, the veil of his illusory reality is lifted and he feels the weight all the world's uncertainty, and washes over him the crippling doubt. It's an unwelcome reminder of the frailty of the human mind, and the mortality we're all trying to escape.
Then something beautiful happened....
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Last week, asshole Brandon Barnes laid down a bunt, bringing Lester face-to-face with the one undeniable truth: We're all fucked. Jon wound up, and in the face of all of life's inconstancy, he uncorked one of the worst throws I've ever seen on a baseball field..... but against all the odds, against his own deficiencies, he got the desired the result. He found his path through uncertainty. Within the distraction from our mortality, and whatever dissatisfaction or anxiety exists in our lives, we were given this example of Jon Lester making the best of his own limitations to find his way around his individual source of torment. It's clearly different, but for him, it's an effective path to a satisfactory result, to happiness, without the benefit of incognizance. Like I said, beautiful.
