On June 18th, I went to my little brother’s baseball game as I always did. Cory was 12 years old at the time and had been playing baseball for a couple of years. When I saw that he was warming up to be next at bat, I de－cided to head over to the dugout¹ to give him a few pointers. But when I got there, I simply said, “I love you.”
　　 In return, he asked, “Does this mean you want me to hit a home run?”
　　 I smiled and said, “Do your best.”
　　 As he walked up to the plate², there was a certain aura³ about him. He looked so confident and so sure about what he was going to do. One swing was all he took and, wouldn’t you know, he hit his first home run! He ran around those bases with such pride—his eyes sparkled and his face was lit up. But what touched my heart the most was when he walked back over to the dugout. He looked over at me with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen and said, “I love you too, Ter.”
　　 I don’t remember if his team won or lost that game. On that special summer day in June, it simply didn’t matter.
　　
　　6月18号， 我像往常一样去参加弟弟的棒球比赛。科里那时12岁并且已经打了好几年的棒球了。当我看见他正为击球热身时， 我决定上前给他点建议。 但是当我走到那里时，我只是说：“我爱你。”
　　 他反过来问：“ 这意味着你希望我打出一个全垒打吗？”
　　 我笑着说：“ 尽力吧。”
　　 当他向本垒板走去时，他周围有种特定的光环。他看起来对他将要做的事是那么自信和确定。你知道吗，他只击了一球就打出了他的第一个全垒打！他自豪地绕着那些垒跑着———他的眼睛闪着光芒，他的脸上容光焕发。但最令我感动的是当他回到休息地时，他带着我从来没有见过的笑容看着我说：“我也爱你，特尔。”
　　 我不记得他那一队是否赢得了那场比赛。在6月的那个特殊的夏日，那是无关紧要的。
　　
　　 天马 摘译自 Aspiring to Greatness