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silveradept[This is part of a series exploring the Baseball Tarot.]
The Suit of Mitts is the suit of the Heart and Spirit, associated that way because of all the tools on the baseball field, Mitts are the receptive ones. They hold Balls, touch Bases and interfere with Bats. In fact, they're the only equipment that can contain an entire suit within themselves.
Mitts also come with different varieties to suit their intended purpose - the first base mitt has some extra length and width so as to catch less well-thrown balls in the stretch to make outs. The catcher's mitt has a significant amount of extra padding to compensate for having to collect regular offerings at high speeds. Each person's glove is unique to their hand and their playing style.
The domain of the Coach of Mitts is fielding, a staple of defensive power. Fielding is the power to be able to get a glove on a batted ball in a hurry and deliver that ball to the right place to collect outs and prevent runs from scoring. Considering, however, there are nine distinct positions on the field that each have different responsibilities, the fielding coach has to be able to understand every place and how it interacts worth all of the other places, and give both individual and group instruction on how to do the necessary parts of the defense. And how to support each other - one of the things you don't see unless a fielder mistimes a dive or takes a bad path to the ball is that there are other fielders also covering the same area the ball is at or going to. The catcher, for example, has to hustle themselves down on a ground ball to back up first base in case the throw is off-target, so as to prevent the batter from taking an extra base on the throw. Outfielders regularly back each other up so that one drive didn't get extra bases because the player missed their dive. The shortstop and second base have to learn which of them will be the one to go out and be the cutoff person for throws coming in from the outfield and which will cover the base for any plays that might happen there, and whether that assignment changes based in which part of the field the ball is headed out to. (It usually does.) Players need to know their coverage assignments on balls hit to their side of the field, the other side of the field, steal attempts, pickoffs, and all the other things that might involve the application of mitts (often with balls inside them, or transitioning through them).
All of this requires a group working in concert to learn and support each other. One must have a team to be able to field effectively, even if the personnel on that team shift around through trades and injury. If you cannot work well with others and know when to pass off the ball to someone else, you will not go very far at all. These are matters of heart and spirit because even if your head knows what to do, if your heart isn't in it, you can't give it full effort. If you aren't fully present in the moment of a game, with your spirit fully attuned to the field, you will be too slow, think too long, or deliver the ball too late. Things off the field can distract, things that happened earlier in the game can interfere, and then you are no longer present, and the team's power is not quite all there.
Communication is also a prerequisite to good fielding. Chatter is communication. The Signs are communication. Even rhubarb is communication, albeit not very productive or positive communication between teams. There is an established process for appealing to the umpires about the rules, and rules that govern that communication so that nobody gets thrown out for asking questions. A field that is silent is a field that cannot do its job.
The Coach of Mitts is the coach of receptivity, protection, and communication, all of which are needed to effectively build and maintain a team. Being able to work and talk with each other and stick up for each other when the time comes is the way to create a group of players that will be able to reach their full potentials. The Coach's positive aspects are in team-building and communication. The negative aspects of the card are in selfishness and praising the individual above the team, because that sows discord in the team's dynamics. If dysfunction is your goal, don't do what the fielding coach tells you to do. Just don't be surprised when you end up being responsible for the error that costs the team a run of two, or the game.
The Suit of Mitts is the suit of the Heart and Spirit, associated that way because of all the tools on the baseball field, Mitts are the receptive ones. They hold Balls, touch Bases and interfere with Bats. In fact, they're the only equipment that can contain an entire suit within themselves.
Mitts also come with different varieties to suit their intended purpose - the first base mitt has some extra length and width so as to catch less well-thrown balls in the stretch to make outs. The catcher's mitt has a significant amount of extra padding to compensate for having to collect regular offerings at high speeds. Each person's glove is unique to their hand and their playing style.
The domain of the Coach of Mitts is fielding, a staple of defensive power. Fielding is the power to be able to get a glove on a batted ball in a hurry and deliver that ball to the right place to collect outs and prevent runs from scoring. Considering, however, there are nine distinct positions on the field that each have different responsibilities, the fielding coach has to be able to understand every place and how it interacts worth all of the other places, and give both individual and group instruction on how to do the necessary parts of the defense. And how to support each other - one of the things you don't see unless a fielder mistimes a dive or takes a bad path to the ball is that there are other fielders also covering the same area the ball is at or going to. The catcher, for example, has to hustle themselves down on a ground ball to back up first base in case the throw is off-target, so as to prevent the batter from taking an extra base on the throw. Outfielders regularly back each other up so that one drive didn't get extra bases because the player missed their dive. The shortstop and second base have to learn which of them will be the one to go out and be the cutoff person for throws coming in from the outfield and which will cover the base for any plays that might happen there, and whether that assignment changes based in which part of the field the ball is headed out to. (It usually does.) Players need to know their coverage assignments on balls hit to their side of the field, the other side of the field, steal attempts, pickoffs, and all the other things that might involve the application of mitts (often with balls inside them, or transitioning through them).
All of this requires a group working in concert to learn and support each other. One must have a team to be able to field effectively, even if the personnel on that team shift around through trades and injury. If you cannot work well with others and know when to pass off the ball to someone else, you will not go very far at all. These are matters of heart and spirit because even if your head knows what to do, if your heart isn't in it, you can't give it full effort. If you aren't fully present in the moment of a game, with your spirit fully attuned to the field, you will be too slow, think too long, or deliver the ball too late. Things off the field can distract, things that happened earlier in the game can interfere, and then you are no longer present, and the team's power is not quite all there.
Communication is also a prerequisite to good fielding. Chatter is communication. The Signs are communication. Even rhubarb is communication, albeit not very productive or positive communication between teams. There is an established process for appealing to the umpires about the rules, and rules that govern that communication so that nobody gets thrown out for asking questions. A field that is silent is a field that cannot do its job.
The Coach of Mitts is the coach of receptivity, protection, and communication, all of which are needed to effectively build and maintain a team. Being able to work and talk with each other and stick up for each other when the time comes is the way to create a group of players that will be able to reach their full potentials. The Coach's positive aspects are in team-building and communication. The negative aspects of the card are in selfishness and praising the individual above the team, because that sows discord in the team's dynamics. If dysfunction is your goal, don't do what the fielding coach tells you to do. Just don't be surprised when you end up being responsible for the error that costs the team a run of two, or the game.
