We All Make Mistakes

I was listening to a podcast recently that featured a former major league umpire, Rich Garcia. Garcia is a 25-year veteran of the big leagues, retired as a crew chief, had twelve assignments in the playoffs and was on the field for two perfect games.

And yet, he is probably best remembered for a mistake he made in the 1996 playoffs:

Photo courtesy of ESPN.com

As you can clearly see from this photo, the young man in the black shirt is reaching over the wall and interfering with the ability of the Orioles' outfielder to catch the ball. It's classic fan interference. Garcia, working the right field line, called this a home run and the Yankees went on to eliminate the Orioles from the playoffs.

Immediately after the game, Garcia's supervisor approached him and gave him the news that the call was wrong. Garcia was crushed and spent his offseason lamenting the call. He couldn't wait to get back on the field for Spring Training, specifically with the Orioles. He wanted to prove to them that he still had the skills needed to be a high-quality major league umpire.

In Spring Training, he got his wish - he worked an Orioles game. While jogging out onto the field, Brady Anderson, one of the Orioles outfielders at the time, joined him and asked how his winter was. "Awful," Garcia replied. Anderson stopped, "Why?" he asked.

As Garcia shared how badly he felt about the call, Anderson put his arm around him and gently told him to stop. "Richie," Anderson said, "The Yankees were a better team. We've forgotten about it and you should too. It's over - it's time for you to let it go."

We all make mistakes, every single one of us. Perhaps not on a national stage, in front of millions of fans, but we all make mistakes. I've often said that I make plenty of mistakes in the morning getting my own children ready to go to school. Chances are pretty good that I'm going to make mistakes when entrusted with more than 600 of other people's children.

The lesson here is that even the one who makes the mistake must be able to let it go. In a high-stakes environment, like the major league baseball playoffs, mistakes can cost a team a chance to move on. In a high-stakes environment, like a PK - 8 school, mistakes can cost us a relationship with a student who may need a second chance, or perhaps a third, or even a fourth...

As adults, we need to model how to keep mistakes in perspective as Brady Anderson did. We need to embrace the ones that others make and move on from our own.

We need to put our arm around others and let them know it's OK. No matter what the stakes are. 

Photo courtesy of www.mrsruberrysblog.blogspot.com