--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Understand that we were a crowd of…" description: "\"“Understand that we were a crowd of rational people. We knew that a home run cannot be produced at will; the right pitch must be perfectly met and luck..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d8/john-updike-396_baseball_understand-that-we-were-a-crowd-of-ratio_2153727.jpg" --- # Understand that we were a crowd of rational people. We… ![“Understand that we were a crowd of rational people. We knew that a home run cannot be produced at will; the right pitch must be perfectly met and luck must ride with the ball. Three innings before, we had seen a brave effort fail. The air was soggy; the season was exhausted. Nevertheless, there…” quote by John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d8/john-updike-396_baseball_understand-that-we-were-a-crowd-of-ratio_2153727.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d8/john-updike-396_baseball_understand-that-we-were-a-crowd-of-ratio_2153727.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d8/john-updike-396_baseball_understand-that-we-were-a-crowd-of-ratio_2153727.jpg) > ““Understand that we were a crowd of rational people. We knew that a home run cannot be produced at will; the right pitch must be perfectly met and luck must ride with the ball. Three innings before, we had seen a brave effort fail. The air was soggy; the season was exhausted. Nevertheless, there will always lurk, around a corner in a pocket of our knowledge of the odds, an indefensible hope, and this was one of the times, which you now and then find in sports, when a density of expectation hangs in the air and plucks an event out of the future.”” [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success depends on timing, skill, and chance; hope emerges when odds align despite prior failures. **In simple terms:** Luck, skill, and timing matter. Key Takeaway Recognize and seize rare opportunities. Themes hope chance timing expectation sports Mood anticipatory reflective Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - team sports - investment decisions - creative projects - personal goals Key Concepts probability psychology resilience Questions to Reflect On - How do you prepare for unlikely success? - When do you trust intuition over data? A Different Perspective Even with preparation, outcomes remain uncertain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ball Innings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ball-innings-4539383/) [Baseball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baseball/) [Crowd Rational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crowd-rational-4539384/) [Home run](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home-run/) [Innings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innings/) [Odds Indefensible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/odds-indefensible-4539382/) ## Related quotes > [My father - until the day that my dad died - didn't know how many points you scored in a touchdown. He could say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-lindelof/my-father-until-the-day-that-my-dad-died-didn-t-know-how-many-points/) [Damon Lindelof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-lindelof/) > [When you give your team five innings, you don't really feel good about five innings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-scherzer/when-you-give-your-team-five-innings-you-don-t-really-feel-good-about/) [Max Scherzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-scherzer/) > [Here’s the thing about baseball-it’s not the individual sport I thought it was. Turns out I was wrong about that. Yeah, the batter is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-lyga/here-s-the-thing-about-baseball-it-s-not-the-individual-sport-i/) [Barry Lyga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-lyga/) > [“It was like the baseball gods were showing off just for him, in honor of his first day of big league baseball. And surely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-elliot/it-was-like-the-baseball-gods-were-showing-off-just-for-him-in-honor/) [Tucker Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-elliot/) > [When you're in the middle of a pennant race, you can't go up there thinking about home runs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-sosa/when-you-re-in-the-middle-of-a-pennant-race-you-can-t-go-up-there/) [Sammy Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-sosa/) > [I don't really look at stats or whatever. You see them on the big screen. But other than that, I don't pay too much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-bellinger/i-don-t-really-look-at-stats-or-whatever-you-see-them-on-the-big/) [Cody Bellinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-bellinger/) > [Every Strike is one step closer to a Home Run](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babe-ruth/every-strike-is-one-step-closer-to-a-home-run/) [Babe Ruth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babe-ruth/) > [The home run became glorified with Babe Ruth. Starting with him, batters have been thinking in terms of how far they could hit the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rogers-hornsby/the-home-run-became-glorified-with-babe-ruth-starting-with-him/) [Rogers Hornsby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rogers-hornsby/) > [I kept believing that, if I got my innings in, it would come. I just kept believing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-hamels/i-kept-believing-that-if-i-got-my-innings-in-it-would-come-i-just/) [Cole Hamels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-hamels/) > [“Hurry up!” everyone in the room seemed to shriek at the same time. It didn’t matter to us that all over Pittsburgh, in every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-beard/hurry-up-everyone-in-the-room-seemed-to-shriek-at-the-same-time-it/) [Philip Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-beard/) > [After you score 300 runs in one innings, you begin to feel that every innings should be close to this one. Of course, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virender-sehwag/after-you-score-300-runs-in-one-innings-you-begin-to-feel-that-every/) [Virender Sehwag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virender-sehwag/) > [Every player needs that one or two innings to get the confidence in whatever format to realise that he's good enough to be successful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-l-rahul/every-player-needs-that-one-or-two-innings-to-get-the-confidence-in/) [K. L. Rahul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-l-rahul/) > [I remember getting hit in the ribs when I was on about eight or nine in my first game, and everyone rushed over, quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-root/i-remember-getting-hit-in-the-ribs-when-i-was-on-about-eight-or-nine/) [Joe Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-root/) > [To be able to play baseball for those nine innings in front of a major league crowd is a special privilege.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-teixeira/to-be-able-to-play-baseball-for-those-nine-innings-in-front-of-a/) [Mark Teixeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-teixeira/) > [My job is to be ready, to be ready to pitch, however that is, however many innings that is, I need to be ready…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aroldis-chapman/my-job-is-to-be-ready-to-be-ready-to-pitch-however-that-is-however/) [Aroldis Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aroldis-chapman/) ## More by John Updike > [Life is a roller coaster, you have your ups and downs unless you fall off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/life-is-a-roller-coaster-you-have-your-ups-and-downs-unless-you-fall/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I assume my stance, and take back the club, low, slowly; at the top, my eyes fog over, and my joints dip and swirl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-assume-my-stance-and-take-back-the-club-low-slowly-at-the-top-my/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The New England spirit does not seek solutions in a crowd; raw light and solitariness are less dreaded than welcomed as enhancers of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-new-england-spirit-does-not-seek-solutions-in-a-crowd-raw-light/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I imagine most of that stuff on the information highway is roadkill anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-imagine-most-of-that-stuff-on-the-information-highway-is-roadkill/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Families, doing everything for each other out of imagined obligation and always getting in each other's way, what a tangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/families-doing-everything-for-each-other-out-of-imagined-obligation/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The fucking world is running out of gas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-fucking-world-is-running-out-of-gas/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The theme of old age doesn't seem to fascinate Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-theme-of-old-age-doesn-t-seem-to-fascinate-hollywood/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The mind cannot fall asleep as long as it watches itself. Only when the mind moves unwatched and becomes absorbed in images that tug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-mind-cannot-fall-asleep-as-long-as-it-watches-itself-only-when/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“it was somehow wonderful of her to be, in every detail, herself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/it-was-somehow-wonderful-of-her-to-be-in-every-detail-herself/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [In fiction, imaginary people become realer to us than any named celebrity glimpsed in a series of rumored events, whose causes and subtler ramifications…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/in-fiction-imaginary-people-become-realer-to-us-than-any-named/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Her hair had been going gray as long as he could remember; she bundled it behind in a bun held with hairpins that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/her-hair-had-been-going-gray-as-long-as-he-could-remember-she-bundled/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Possession diminishes perception of value, immediately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/possession-diminishes-perception-of-value-immediately/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I can't bear to finish things, beyond a certain point they get heavy. There's something so dead about a finished painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-can-t-bear-to-finish-things-beyond-a-certain-point-they-get-heavy/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Some people find fall depressing, others hate spring. I've always been a spring person myself. All that growth, you can feel Nature groaning, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/some-people-find-fall-depressing-others-hate-spring-i-ve-always-been/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) [Explore all 592 John Updike quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## More Baseball quotes > [I'd always have grease in at least two places, in case the umpires would ask me to wipe one off. 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Spring training is a time to think about being young again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-banks/spring-training-means-flowers-people-coming-outdoors-sunshine/) [Ernie Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-banks/) > [Pitchers pitch differently. Hitters, hardly anyone has the same stance. That's just how it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-zimmerman/pitchers-pitch-differently-hitters-hardly-anyone-has-the-same-stance/) [Ryan Zimmerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-zimmerman/) > [Five World Series rings, 3000-plus hits, the fame, the fortune and playing for the second most historic franchise in baseball... These are just some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mookie-betts/five-world-series-rings-3000-plus-hits-the-fame-the-fortune-and/) [Mookie Betts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mookie-betts/) > [I don't want the electronic strike zone. I like the element of sometimes pitches don't get called. Guys don't receive it well or whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-schwarber/i-don-t-want-the-electronic-strike-zone-i-like-the-element-of/) [Kyle Schwarber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-schwarber/) > [I sang the National Anthem at Dodger Stadium - at a baseball game - which was crazy; there was, like, 60,000 people there, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-devine/i-sang-the-national-anthem-at-dodger-stadium-at-a-baseball-game-which/) [Adam DeVine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-devine/) > [If I was going to make one rule change, I would bring the DH to the National League.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-brett/if-i-was-going-to-make-one-rule-change-i-would-bring-the-dh-to-the/) [George Brett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-brett/) > [In all honesty, once you become a professional, number one, you're no longer a fan. I don't root for the Dodgers, really. I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vin-scully/in-all-honesty-once-you-become-a-professional-number-one-you-re-no/) [Vin Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vin-scully/) > [I'll tell you what's helped me my entire life. I look at baseball as a game. It's something where people can go out, enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-caray/i-ll-tell-you-what-s-helped-me-my-entire-life-i-look-at-baseball-as-a/) [Harry Caray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-caray/) > [When I step into the batters box. The fans, the noise, the cheers, they all disappear. For that moment, the world is just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft-shelley/when-i-step-into-the-batters-box-the-fans-the-noise-the-cheers-they/) [Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft-shelley/) > [What we should have done is kept the same team that played in the '95 World Series. 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