By Bill Hollis

Baseball is a game of patterns and nuances, among many other things. In The Game: One Man, Nine Innings, A Love Affair with Baseball, Robert Benson uses these two characteristics of the game to relate the sport to life and spiritual experiences, his own and those we all share. Each chapter corresponds to an inning of the baseball game he is watching, and he weaves in and out of the present, citing events and past games he has enjoyed.

It turns out we can learn a lot from watching the Great American Pastime. Among the topics compared are the patterns of batting practice, the discipline of making routine plays (doing little things well), keeping score as a form of accountability, and striking out.

I found myself identifying with the author’s adventures -- in and out of the ballpark. Even if you’re not a baseball fan, you can enjoy the universal “lessons learned” that are brought out. If you already follow the game, you may also appreciate the statistics and references to great games and players. Either way, you’ll learn something new about baseball and yourself in this short read that puts it all in perspective.