Once again, I’m writing about life lessons as viewed through baseball statistics. Must be something in the air—like the smell of peanuts, and popcorn, and Cracker Jacks.

Since 1947, today has been hailed as “Babe Ruth Day,” celebrating the Babe’s many achievements in his field (pun intended). For instance, did you know he was the first player to hit 60 home runs in a single season? Or that his career home runs totaled 714, now still the third all-time home run hitter, right behind Barry Bonds and Hank Aaron?

Maybe you did. But did you know that he was also a strikeout king? That’s right, the Bambino struck out 1330 times in his career, for a strike out average of 24% of his outs. Imagine how he felt, striking out almost twice as many times as hit home runs!

But the Babe’s career strike outs don’t even make the top 10 list these days. These days, Reggie Jackson’s 2597 takes the top spot. That’s right, Mr. October is currently the all-time strike out king.

The point I’m finally coming to here is something like: If you don’t step up to the plate and break a few eggs, you’ll never have an omelet.

Yep, I’ve mixed my metaphors, but I bet the message comes through loud and clear.