Fielding by Ear

Fielding by Ear

Some things can only be learned by doing.

When I played baseball as a kid, we had an expression: fildear de oído — fielding by ear.

After enough practice, you could recognize something about a hit just by the sound of the bat connecting with the ball.

You still had to look, of course. But that sound gave you a head start.

Combined with the game situation, it helped you anticipate where the ball might go, whether to run for it, or whether a teammate was better positioned to make the play.

Someone once asked me:

“Who taught you to do that?”

Nobody, really.

I learned by playing. By chasing hundreds of balls, missing many of them, and gradually understanding what I hadn’t noticed before.

And here’s something I’ve come to appreciate years later.

If my coach had benched me after my first few mistakes, I would never have learned to field by ear.

The bench might have prevented my next mistake. But it would also have prevented my next lesson.

Organizations often expect people to develop judgment, confidence, and autonomy.

But those qualities cannot be transferred through instructions alone.

They develop through practice, feedback, and opportunities to try again.

Sometimes, developing someone’s capabilities means accepting that they won’t get every play right.

And letting them stay on the field long enough to learn.