A Quick Note On Sisyphus

Here’s a tweet from yesterday that I have been thinking about:

That would be Texas Rangers manager Jeff Banister, of course, and he’s not the first baseball leader to share his love for the myth of Sisyphus. Which feels a bit weird, given that it’s not exactly an inspiring don’t give up tale in which the hero is ultimately rewarded for his efforts. It’s kind of the opposite, actually!

There is no reward—no metaphorical championship or playoff berth or high draft pick—waiting for Sisyphus once he’s pushed the boulder up the mountain. There’s only the requirement that he push the boulder up the mountain again. Perseverance gets him nowhere; winning is not just out of reach, it does not exist at all.

Maybe the inspiration here is actually meant to be more along the lines of everything is absurd, remember that the playoffs are statistically a crapshoot and there’s no such thing as a pitching prospect, which seems rather depressing, but one must imagine baseball men happy.