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Hitting a Baseball and the Other "Hardest" Things

Ministry has its own list
Let us not become weary of doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
—Galatians 6:9

USA Today ran an article once about the 10 hardest things to do in sports.

#2 was to drive a race car at megaspeeds and not die. At the Indy 500, they go more than 220 mph.

#3 was to pole vault over 15 feet.

#4 was hitting a golf ball long and straight, which strikes me as ridiculous. The golf ball is just sitting there. A child should be able to hit a golf ball.

But the #1 hardest achievement in athletics, according to the survey, is hitting a baseball.

When we moved to the Bay area, Ned Colletti—then a VP with the Giants—asked me to lead a chapel service. He also asked if I'd like to take batting practice. He said John Yandle, who threw batting practice for Barry Bonds, would throw me some pitches. John was a couple years older than I was and never actually pitched in the majors, so it was not like facing a young major leaguer in his prime; but it was a ...

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