Baseball, Business, and Fatherhood: The Long Game

Friday, February 13th is opening day for my twins, and it’ll be the first time I get to watch
them take the field together in a college uniform. Saying I’m excited doesn’t really do it justice. Opening day has always felt like being a kid on Christmas morning, waking up way too early because you just can’t help it. That’s what this Friday feels like.

And honestly, no matter how they play, I’m already proud. They’ve battled through injuries, slumps, great games, bad games, all of it. Baseball has made them tougher, smarter, and more resilient. Watching that unfold as their dad has been one of the best parts of my life.

Where It All Started

I fell in love with baseball back in the late 80s. My parents weren’t big baseball people, so my introduction to the game came from summers in Lombard with my grandparents. I’d help them trim bushes or pull weeds, and WGN radio would always be on. Harry Caray’s voice basically lived in the background of those summers.

My favorite players were Mark Grace, Ryne Sandberg, and Greg Maddux. When we weren’t listening to the Cubs, we’d watch them on an old TV with a picture so fuzzy you sometimes couldn’t tell if the ball was in the dirt or the bleachers.

Back home, I’d sneak into my parents’ room to watch games they had no interest in. I vividly remember those Cubs and Giants matchups and Will Clark absolutely torching us in what I’m almost certain was the 1989 playoffs. As a Cubs‑obsessed kid, I hated Will Clark with a passion that made zero sense but felt very real.

What Baseball Teaches You Early

Baseball humbles you fast. I was an okay player growing up, but the game doesn’t care who you think you are. You can square a ball up perfectly and still get out. You can do everything right and walk back to the dugout empty‑handed.

Where else can you fail seven times out of ten and be considered elite?

Baseball teaches you patience, humility, and that you have to keep stepping back into the box no matter what happened last time. I didn’t realize it until much later, but those same lessons were shaping the way I’d eventually approach business.

Baseball and Business Work the Same Way

The older I get, the more I realize baseball and business follow the same rules. Different uniforms, same game.

The season is long. In baseball, you don’t panic after one bad game and you don’t crown yourself after one great one. Business works the same way. You win by stacking good days, not by living or dying on single moments.

Slumps happen. Every hitter goes cold. Every business does too. What matters is whether you adjust or whether you panic.

You need a whole roster. No team wins with one superstar. You need your leadoff guys, your grinders, your bullpen, your closer. In business, sales can’t win without operations, and operations can’t succeed without support. Everyone has a role.

You win when no one is watching. The work in the cages, the quiet reps, the early mornings and late nights. Same in business. Culture, preparation, and systems are built long before customers ever see the results.

And most of all, you’ve got to keep stepping up to the plate. You can’t hide in baseball. The game will find you. Business is the same way. Eventually you have to make decisions, own mistakes, and take swings.

From Striking Out to Scaling Up

My career didn’t start smoothly. In my twenties I started a landscaping business. Failed. Then a website and internet business. Failed. Then I tried flipping houses right before the housing market crashed. Failed again.

But every time, my family supported me and I kept stepping up to the plate.

It wasn’t until 2010, when I started Nationwide Appraisals, that things finally clicked. Looking back, all those early failures were basically my version of the minor leagues. Necessary development. Painful at times. But all part of getting better.

Coaching the Boys

Coaching the twins was one of the best experiences of my life, but I was hard on them. Really hard. Some people probably thought too hard. I wasn’t there to tell them how great they were. My job was to prepare them for a game that will punch you in the stomach more often than it will pat you on the back.

If they could handle my tough love, they could handle anything the sport threw at them. And they did. They pushed each other constantly. They pushed me too. They made each other better and made me a better father and business leader.

One of My Favorite Memories

When they were eleven, we had just won a league championship on a walk‑off hit. We were sitting in the parking lot and I said, “Boys, I know I don’t say it enough, but I’m really proud of you. You had a hell of a year. So what are your goals for next season?”

Ryan said, “Dad, I want to hit .400 and hit 15 home runs.”

I turned to Brayden. “What about you?”

He said, “I want to hit one more homer than Ryan.”

Perfect twin answer.

And the next season? Ryan hit 32. Brayden hit 37. Not that I was counting.

Full Circle

Now here we are, years later. They’re college athletes, wearing the same uniform again, standing next to each other on the field, just like when they were little. Only now they’re young men with grit, humility, work ethic, and a love for the game that has shaped all of us.

Baseball gave me my foundation. Business tested everything I learned. Fatherhood connected it all.

Friday is opening day. I’ll be in the stands with that same Christmas‑morning excitement, grateful for every moment. Whether they strike out or hit three home runs each doesn’t matter.

The real win happened a long time ago.

They kept stepping up to the plate.

And so did I.