Covering Home: Lessons on the Art of Fathering from the Game of Baseball

Willie Mays said that good players can play with their bodies, but great players play with their hearts and minds as well. The same is true for fathering. In Covering Home, author Jack Petrash combines a love for children with his love for the game of baseball to give fathers, or fathers-to-be, a new perspective on raising children.
The Baltimore Orioles had a unique outfielder once named Ken Singleton, and he had an unusual habit: whenever he stepped up to bat, he would reach down and pick up three pebbles. These pebbles were a reminder that each time he batted he was entitled to three good pitches. This act heightened his awareness, and increased his patience and discipline as a hitter.

I think fathers need a similar ritual. We should stop before our front door when we are about to make the transition to our children’s world and imagine that we are about to pick up three stones. At this moment we should remind ourselves that we are going to spend these three hours with the most important people in the world.
—from Covering Home . . .
Quotes on the hardcover edition:
"Will immediately become the kind of book passed on from friend to friend, from father to father, and from father to son or daughter. . . . There are many more detailed books on fatherhood that are essential for a dad’s -library, but none so precious as this small wonder."—Publishers Weekly
"Petrash delivers more than just tips about patience and preparation, timing and tolerance. Like a veteran manager, he hands out inspiration and discipline in equal measures, and shows us how we can be more than we ever imagined."—Utne Reader