I thought of Rod Carew when I reached 3,000 followers on Twitter over the weekend.
During my sports writing years, Carew successfully chased down the 3,000 hit mark. But he was known as a singles hitter and perceived by many as one who couldn’t reach base when it mattered most.
In fact, Carew heard the talk and grew to despise it.
In the locker room, he once said to an overweight journalist, “Why don’t you mix in a salad every now and then?”
The writer’s retort? “Why don’t you mix an RBI (runs batted in) in every now and then.”
The two had to be separated and the story became part of Carew’s history.
This brings me back to the 3,000-follower mark. Of course, it’s easier to get 3,000 followers than 3,000 big league hits.
The question I ask myself is whether I’m a singles hitter like Carew, one who builds up the numbers but never does anything that matters.
Anyone who knows me will understand when I say that isn’t for me to judge. You will never hear me say, “Now here’s a great idea.” My goal is to throw out something smart and for someone to see it as valuable.
So am I bringing value on Twitter (and in this blog)? Have any of my more than 10,000 tweets been anything beyond singles? Were most of them outs?
Again, that’s not for me to judge.
I do believe that tweeting is an endeavor worth the time and effort. I try to bring context to the link and offer my view on the implications of the product introduced or of the statistic cited.
And I hate the term followers. We are in a community, in this together and, just by our presence and participation on Twitter, we’re indeed all leaders.
Will I swing and miss on more than my share of the next 10,000 tweets? Absolutely.
Will I mix in a salad tweet or one that tells you what I had for lunch? It’s not going to happen. I promise you value in exchange for your eyes and for your time.
And I thank you more than you know for being part of my world.
