Perfection (One Sixty-Two: Day 37)

Writer’s note: One Sixty-Two is a season-long series of blog posts connecting baseball’s major-league players to life’s universal themes. Just as there are 162 games in a season, so there will be 162 posts in this series. Let’s play some ball.

Day Thirty-Seven: Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies

In a typical day of teaching, there are so many things that go well. Take one day this past week, for instance. My ninth-period freshmen were electric in their enthusiasm over Othello. One of my seventh-period seniors delivered a 30-minute presentation on sign-language, teaching her classmates more than they’d ever learned about the topic. An eighth-period basic skills student was reading a book I’d leant him and proclaimed it one of the best things he’d ever read. During second period, a sophomore was crafting a thorough outline for a literary essay.

It was a good day. But not perfect. My fifth-period freshmen were struggling to focus, and I could have helped them find more energy for their schoolwork. As the bell rang, I sat and thought of some steps I might have taken to help them write more. Being a perfectionist, I found it difficult to think about the things that had gone well that day; instead, I found myself focusing on the flaws.

It’s rare that a day at work is perfect; I learned long ago that there are bumps to nearly every day. Some of us are better than others at accepting those passing clouds, and focusing instead on the sunshine. But we still strive for ways to make tomorrow even better, and to bring ourselves ever closer to that elusive perfect day.

And then, on those very rare occasions, absolutely everything falls into place. The students are all on their game. A kid who’s been struggling finally gets it. The student who’s been holding back on participating slowly inches her hand into the air. A colleague stops in to collaborate on a lesson plan. The principal pops in and says thanks for all your work.

Tonight in Miami, the Phillies’ Roy Halladay had one of those days. Halladay faced 27 Florida Marlins batters, and he retired all 27. Everything fell into place, and the Phillies’ ace claimed the 20th perfect game in baseball history. He struck out 11 batters, and thoroughly dominated the Marlins’ lineup.

Halladay is a tremendous pitcher, and he’ll probably find himself delivering a Hall of Fame speech someday. But the odds are slim that he’ll ever have a day quite like this one. There are no flaws for him to look back on tonight. For once, the man’s day at work was truly perfect.