This is what is known as the Tetragrammaton–the name of our Creator and Heavenly Father. It is often transliterated into English as Yahweh. It is displayed here in three forms. The first two are Phoenician (Paleo-Hebrew) script; the other is the Modern Hebrew script.
Ponder Scripture Newsletter
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Newsletter #48
Setting Lofty, Yet Realistic, Goals
By Larry Acheson
06/16/2025
n June 2025, I gave a PowerPoint presentation titled “Our Goals,” in which I addressed the importance of setting and achieving goals, most notably how we should commit to lifelong service to Yahweh and His son, Yeshua the Messiah. In life, we all fail at various goals, but that doesn't mean we give up. For me, personally, weight-loss goals come to mind. I'm still working on that one. Instead of giving up on our spiritual goals, we, like the Apostle Paul, need to forget those failures and press on toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of Elohim in the Messiah Yeshua (Philippians 3:13-14). I also mentioned how we should always set realistic goals. I got the idea for my presentation after stumbling across an article published in a magazine over 85 years ago.
I
The article was author
ed by Hall of Famer, baseball great Joe DiMaggio, who played for the New York Yankees. Joe was before my time, having retired from baseball five years before I was born. As a child growing up, I think the first time I ever heard his name was in the Simon & Garfunkel song, “Mrs. Robinson,” where they crooned, “Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio, a nation turns its lonely eyes to you—ooh, ooh ooh?” My dad told me Joe DiMaggio, affectionately known as “the Yankee Clipper,” was one of the greatest baseball players of all time, but then he made sure to tell me about his personal favorite, Stan “the man” Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals. It was right around that time that a gray-haired Joe DiMaggio started appearing in Mr. Coffee commercials. Those commercials served as my introduction to Joe DiMaggio.
Joe wrote an article titled “I Crash the Majors” that appeared in the May 1, 1937 issue of Liberty magazine. Liberty magazine, at that time, was in its heyday, the basic equivalent to today's Time magazine or Newsweek. It ceased publication in 1950, but I digress. I read Joe's article, which, according to the title, was dictated to a writer named Emerson L. Spencer.
[1] I was fascinated by Joe's personal, “down-home” style of writing. He wrote the article at the start of only his second year with the Yankees, so he had only just completed his rookie season.As I read the article, I couldn't help but place myself inside Joe's mind as he traced his route to professional baseball from his youth, having
been raised near a crab-fishing wharf in San Francisco, California, then advancing to a minor league club, the San Francisco Seals. His promotion to the major leagues was obviously one of the highlights of his life, and his rookie season was another, as he not only had a whopping .323 batting average, but he set the rookie record for most home runs in a season (29), a record that stood until rookie Aaron Judge hit 52 in 2017.
But in his article, Joe didn't boast about those statistics. In fact, he focused on one of his “lowlights” when, during the 1936 All-Star game, he misplayed a ball in the outfield, which allowed the runner to make it to third base. To add insult to injury, later in the game he grounded into a double-play with the bases loaded. Instead of going from goat to hero, he found himself going from bad to worse, punctuated by loud boos from the spec-tators. Yes, he knew he was a gifted player, but he primarily focused on the counsels he had been given by such greats as Lou Gehrig, Lefty O'Doul and Ty Cobb. In his article, DiMaggio freely shared the advice they offered, plus he shared tips on how to successfully risk taking an extra base. I thought, “Hey, Joe, you've only played one season of professional baseball and you're giving away all your secrets to success?!”
The natural consequence to giving away all your secrets is that both aspiring and fellow baseball players will read your tips, put them into practice, and proceed to statistically surpass you. “It's only 1937, Joe, and you've just given away your secrets to success! Opposing pitchers are going to 'have your number,' so to speak, and your career is going to fade into the sunset. No one will remember you!”
But now, nearly 90 years later, we can look back and see that's not what happened. Joe DiMaggio is currently tied for 33rd place in terms of all-time career batting statistics.
[2] That's not bad, especially considering the fact that he's ranked #4 in terms of career batting average leaders for the Yankees. The only Yankees who had better career averages are Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Earle Combs.[3]
Joe DiMaggio’s Amazing, Yet Realistic, Goal
I have saved the best part of DiMaggio's “I Crash the Majors” article for last. It includes a little-known anecdote so rare, that, as of this writing, is not even mentioned in any of the Joe DiMaggio biographies or documentaries I've watched. It's a piece of trivia so fascinating that I thought I would
first share it with our Dallas-area TV networks sports announcers. I'm not a big sports fan, but I do make a habit of watching the 10:00 PM news and sports reports, just to catch up on what’s going on. I found the Yankee Clipper’s anecdote so fascinating that I felt certain any sports anchor would find a way to include it in one of their sports reports. Here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the sports reports primarily consist of the latest Dallas Cowboys updates, including what I consider the most dull, uninteresting minutia about some of the players. Am I the only one out there who doesn't care about player bios when it comes to sports news? And why is golf considered a sport?
I reached out to my three favorite TV stations in April 2025. As of June, none had responded, so I decided on a whim to try channel 5 in New York City, as well as our local channel 5 station here in the Dallas area. My specific question was, “I recently came across a very interesting and apparently little-known statistic about Joe DiMaggio. Would you be interested in learning what it is? I thought it would make for an interesting piece of sports trivia.”
I’m getting the feeling that no one is interested because so far, I’ve received no responses. If your interest is piqued, read on!
In that May 1, 1937 issue of Liberty magazine, Joe DiMaggio, with 12 more seasons ahead of him, stated that he wouldn't be satisfied until he hit .380 or better. In 1939, he accomplished that goal when he finished the year with a .381 batting average. But that's not all. In the same paragraph, DiMaggio added that he also wanted to average .325 each year. When his career ended, his batting average was exactly .325. Here’s what he wrote on page two of the article:
As I enter my second big-league season I feel that I won't be satisfied until I hit .380 or better. What's more, I'd like to play fifteen years in the major leagues, hitting .325 or better in each of them. If that sounds fatheaded, it'll have to be that way, I guess.[4]
For those who are not familiar with baseball and batting averages, .325 is a terrific batting average. Achieving it essentially means getting a hit once out of every three at-bats. Stating that you want to have a career .325 batting average is a lofty goal—aiming high. So when Joe DiMaggio's 13-year career with the New York Yankees ended, what was his career batting average? Exactly .325. So twelve years prior to his final appearance as a New York Yankee, Joe DiMaggio stated that he hoped to bat .325 every year. Well, maybe he didn't bat .325 each and every year, but when all was said and done, .325 ended up being his career batting average. Can you imagine the odds of a baseball player setting a precise goal for his batting average, and then, over a period of 12 years, achieving it “on the nose”? I say this especially in terms of achieving such a highly respectable goal.
For some perspective, try to consider the odds of any young man who enjoys playing baseball making it to the major leagues in the first place. The odds are very slim. According to chasingmlbdreams.com, only one in every 200 high school baseball players will be drafted by a major league baseball team into the minor leagues.
Approximately 1 in every 200 high school baseball players or .05% will be drafted by a major league team into the minor leagues. Only 5.6% of high school players advance on to college to play at some level of college baseball. Those who make it through college have a better chance to be drafted as 10.5% of college players get drafted or signed as a free agent by one of the teams in major league baseball.[5]
That means 89.5% of college players won’t make it.
My point is, if your goal as a high school baseball player is to one day play in the major leagues, I’m sorry to report the odds are against you. But can you imagine, if you should defy the odds and make it to the major leagues, then setting a goal of batting .325 every year, and then, 15 years later, hitting the bullseye? That's what Joe DiMaggio did.
When I presented Joe DiMaggio’s amazing feat to my audience, I detected little, if any, reaction, both during and afterwards. I don’t think it’s because they were stunned. I’m guessing it was due to a combination of factors, such as none of them being baseball fans. It's also possible they weren't able to process the tremendous odds against not only having the power and consistency to hit at such a high level for 13 years, but also of setting such a high level as his goal—and then achieving that exact batting average. Adding to the intrigue of DiMaggio’s feat is the apparent fact that achieving his incredible goal went unnoticed for over 70 years (1951 – 2025).
For those who are unable to process the magnitude of Joe DiMaggio’s tremendous feat, I decided to ask Google’s AI (Artificial Intelligence) the following question: “What are the odds of a major league baseball player setting a career goal of batting .325 for his 13-year career, and then achieving that exact batting average 12 years later?” Here is AI’s answer:
I didn’t highlight the “Statistical variation” bullet point because it’s true that Joe DiMaggio didn’t achieve the .325 batting average each and every year of his 13-year career. In fact, he never batted .325 in any year of his major league career, although he came very close in 1938 (.324). Nevertheless, when all was said and done, his final tally was .325. As AI puts it, accomplishing his feat was “incredibly improbable" and "a statistical anomaly."
Displayed below are Joe DiMaggio’s career stats, as found on Baseball-Reference.com:
Joe DiMaggio’s Career Statistics
Joe DiMaggio also listed a goal of playing for 15 years. He would have achieved that goal, too, if it hadn't been for World War 2. Joe enlisted in the Army and served for three years, so his career only lasted 13 total years.
Although the fact that Joe DiMaggio achieved his lofty goal is truly amazing, it's also noteworthy that his goals were realistic. After his first All-Star season, he was able to step back and successfully evaluate what he was capable of doing, then boldly share it with the world. Very few
individuals, if anyone, will ever come close to setting, achieving and “hitting the nail on the head” with such a lofty sports goal 12 years in advance, but nevertheless, each of us is capable of setting realistic goals for ourselves. It would be a colossal mistake for the average baseball player to expect to finish his career with a .325 batting average, but for someone possessing Joe DiMaggio’s skills, it was realistically attainable. As it was with Joe’s goals, achieving our realistic goals won’t be easy. Joe was known as a workhorse who always put forth his best efforts, even when it didn’t really affect the game’s outcome. When someone once asked why he hustled on plays that had little effect on a game’s outcome or on his team’s standing, Joe replied, “Because there’s always some kid who may be seeing me for the first time. I owe him my best.”
For those who, like me, call on the name Yahweh, we need to be workhorses in the faith. We owe Him our best. Like Joe DiMaggio’s goals, ours also need to be realistic, yet challenging. I personally want to study, learn and put into practice those commandments as found in Torah. It’s not easy, especially in a world where the majority believes the commandments were “done away.” Many of the commandments pertain to services performed by the Levitical priesthood, including animal sacrifices. Since I’m persuaded the Levitical priesthood has been replaced by Yeshua the Messiah, a high priest after the order of Melchizedek,[6] and since I'm obviously not a priest, those particular laws do not apply to me. However, the laws that applied to the common people in Old Times are achievable for those who set them as their goals in these modern times. Obeying them is not exactly easy to do, especially in a world now rooted in rebellion to Yahweh’s Torah, yet to those who see and appreciate the blessings of obedience, they’re not a burden, they're a delight.
There are so many Bible verses that are dear to my heart, but when it comes to setting a lofty, yet attainable, goal, one that I find especially relevant is Deuteronomy 10:12-13:
12 And now, Israel, what does Yahweh thy Elohim require of thee, but to fear Yahweh thy Elohim, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve Yahweh thy Elohim with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
13 To keep the commandments of Yahweh, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy blessing?
I cannot think of a better way to enjoy a relationship with Yahweh than by walking in His ways and keeping His commandments. Isn't that how we show Him we love Him? I want to serve Yahweh and achieve the ultimate goal: being found worthy to be with Him and His Son in the Kingdom. I hope you're there with me.This article is also available as a PDF file.
[1] Emerson L. Spencer was himself a star athlete, a sprinter who won a gold medal in the 4 × 400 m relay at the 1928 Summer Olympics, breaking the world record in the process.
[2] Cf., MLB Career Batting Leaders, ESPN.com. Accessed June 12, 2025.
[3] Source: Baseball Almanac, Inc., “New York Yankees All-Time Batting Average Leaders,” Copyright 1999-2025.
[4] Cf., Liberty Magazine, New York, NY, “I Crash the Majors,” by Joe DiMaggio, as told to Emerson L. Spencer, May 1, 1937, p. 40. Liberty, a weekly magazine, ceased publication in 1950.
[5] Source: Chasing the Dream.com, “About Chasing MLB Dreams,” by Scott Sypien, retrieved 06/15/2025.
[6] Cf., Hebrews 6:20.
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