10/16/2026
One Pitch at a Time: What Jake Bauers Can Teach Us About Starting Over
Two years ago, Jake Bauers was ready to walk away from baseball. After more than a decade of professional baseball, bouncing between organizations, struggling at the plate, and questioning whether he belonged in the major leagues, the Milwaukee Brewers first baseman had reached his breaking point. He was exhausted, discouraged, and seriously considering retirement.
His wife, Lauren, was pregnant with their second child, and the family needed health insurance. So Bauers decided to give baseball one more chance. What happened next is one of the most remarkable stories of the 2026 baseball season.
At 31 years old, Bauers led the Brewers with 26 home runs and 86 RBIs. This week, he helped Milwaukee sweep the Los Angeles Dodgers to reach its first World Series since 1982, earning National League Championship Series MVP honors along the way.
But the most interesting part of Bauers’ story isn’t what changed in his statistics. It’s what changed between his ears.
For years, Bauers had been consumed by his failures. He obsessed over his swing, replayed mistakes, and allowed the pressure of his performance to follow him home. Baseball had become something he could never escape, even when he wasn’t playing.
Eventually, he discovered something that sounds almost too simple to be transformative. He stopped obsessing over outcomes and started concentrating on what was immediately in front of him.
As Bauers explained, “I started caring about competing. I started caring about being in the moment and getting out of my own way.”
That shift changed everything.
In Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, Bauers faced Dodgers ace Blake Snell in a critical seventh-inning at-bat. He battled through 11 pitches before launching a two-run home run that gave Milwaukee the lead. He wasn’t thinking about the last decade of disappointments or what might happen if he failed. He was simply competing, one pitch at a time.
There is a powerful lesson here for anyone navigating divorce or another difficult season of life.
At Robertson + Easterling, we regularly encounter people who are overwhelmed by the past and terrified of the future. They replay conversations, second-guess decisions, worry about their children, and imagine every possible outcome. Sometimes the mental and emotional weight of those thoughts becomes more exhausting than the circumstances themselves.
The past deserves our attention because there are lessons to learn. The future deserves thoughtful planning because our decisions have consequences. But neither is where we actually live. The only place we can exercise meaningful control is the present moment.
This doesn’t mean ignoring the realities of divorce or pretending that difficult circumstances don’t exist. It means recognizing the difference between what we can influence and what we cannot. We cannot change yesterday’s argument, control another person’s behavior, or guarantee tomorrow’s outcome. We can, however, decide how we respond today.
We can choose patience over retaliation, preparation over panic, and thoughtful action over emotional reaction. We can show up for our children, listen to wise counsel, and make decisions consistent with the life we want to build.
Bauers didn’t transform his career by trying harder to control every result. He found freedom by releasing his obsession with results and becoming fully engaged in the moment.
The same principle applies far beyond baseball. Sometimes the greatest obstacle to moving forward is the pressure we place on ourselves to figure everything out at once.
At Robertson + Easterling, we believe successful transitions begin with a clear understanding of what matters most. Divorce requires strategy, preparation, and a willingness to make difficult decisions. But it also requires perspective. You don’t have to resolve every uncertainty today. You simply have to take the next meaningful step.
Jake Bauers’ story reminds us that a difficult chapter doesn’t have to define the rest of our lives. Sometimes a new beginning isn’t found in changing our circumstances. It’s found in changing the way we approach them.
And sometimes, the best way to build a better future is to stop worrying about the final score and focus on the next pitch.
