It’s written to coaches, but the idea is that we’re all coaches.”

Rich Turilli, about his book, The Art of War and Baseball

It is a book about baseball, but not really about baseball.

Barrington resident Rich Turilli said his book, “The Art of War and Baseball,” shares plenty of tips about baseball, but also operates at a deeper level. 

“It’s written to coaches, but the idea is that we’re all coaches,” Turilli said. “We’re coaching every day and we’re all being coached. It’s kind of translating… using these words, but not really talking about baseball at all. We’re talking about life.”

Turilli said he was out on a baseball diamond coaching one of his son’s baseball teams when the idea for the book suddenly came to him.

“It was a recognition, sort of an epiphany, that the things that we’re teaching the kids aren’t really baseball skills. They are, but they’re much more than that,” he said. “…we’re teaching kids how to run hard through first. When they’re 40 years old, 50 years old, they’re not going to be actually running hard through first base. What are we teaching them? When you start something with intensity, that you finish with that same intensity or else you’ve got a bigger chance to fail. 

“It’s a better chance to succeed if you push it hard with intensity at the end of what you’re doing. Right? You don’t let up.”

Messages like that fill the pages of “The Art of War and Baseball.”

• Page 59. Number 40 — Always Dig. “In baseball we use the word dig as synonymous with hustle. Hustle is important because it is the simplest manifestation of enthusiasm, which is everything. Everyone has the capacity to hustle to the same degree. It is not speed, although increasing speed will result in one who hustles. It is instead a way in which one holds oneself in the act of movement. It is, in short, the honoring of movement. And who can distinguish movement from life?”

Turilli grew up in Coventry, graduated from Bishop Hendricken and then Boston University, and now works as a continuous improvement manager at Raytheon. He said it was about 10 years ago when he started to recognize his more reflective approach to life.

“Kids are starting to come along. You realize there are certain things I would like to be in the process of trying to formulate in my own mind so I can pass them on,” Turilli said. “To have a perspective, but to be confident enough to say I know my perspective is wrong. I’m just telling you this is where we’re going. You have to have this confidence to be vulnerable.”

Turilli said some of his book is also heavily introspective. 

“It’s not necessarily ways to pass things onto others. It’s more ways of looking at yourself,” he said.

Following the baseball theme, Turilli said every coach is someone who is trying to grow their understanding in three areas: 1. Their understanding of player skills so they know the skills the players need; 2. Their understanding of coaching skills; and 3. Their understanding of themself.

“This is what I figured out 10 years ago,” Turilli said. “A lot of times we focus on the other two. What are the player skills and what are the coaches’ skills. Those are the things I gotta know. We forget about self. Who am I? Who am I that is giving this person this information?”

• Page 48. Number 29 — Stay in the Box. “Our survival instincts exist to protect us; to keep us safe from harm. But they hinder our ability to perform maximally when unmet with courage. Be safe but courageous! Keep your feet firmly in the box and step towards your opponent. For stepping out before the pitch due to fear is submitting before the fight.”

Turilli said people may absorb completely different things while reading his book. 

“You may read it at the surface level the first time… then you read it again, maybe this is about me,” he said. 

“The first guy I gave it to was “Is this book about baseball? What is this about?’ He’s the one who sparked me to write the preface. This book is not just about baseball. The game. I’m not talking about a baseball game. You can use that in any situation you’re in. Everything’s a game. 

“You have to search within yourself to figure out what the hell I’m talking about.”

Turilli said he does most of his writing in the early morning hours — some mornings earlier than others. He said he thoroughly enjoys the creative process, and is still drafting additional meditations. 

“I’ve been continuing writing these, just because it’s fun for me,” he said. “One of the ones I wrote recently was called ‘The Field,’ and it’s really, the field is that common ground, that common place we all come together. This is why I wrote ‘The Art of War and Baseball,’ because baseball brings everyone down to a common ground so we can talk about some deep stuff without it pushing any agenda.”

Turilli said he enjoys the format he used in writing his book. He said he chose to include 90 meditations because that number shares some connections with baseball. 

“Ninety felt natural. Ninety is the length of the base path. Ninety is also the number of days in a season in a year,” he said. “We know each season, things change. Working through that process of change, I’m entering into a new season of life. In three months things are going to be different. You can read one each day. You could read all of them in an hour and a half.”

Turilli said he has considered creating a book with a meditation for each day of the year, although he knows it would require a concerted effort. 

“Yes, I would love to… but I don’t want to force it,” he said. “I would rather see how things go.”

“The Art of War and Baseball” can be found at Barrington Books and on Amazon.

• Page 28. Number 12 — It’s Just a Game. “Remind yourself often, I am playing a game. My role should be taken seriously, but my role is never me entirely. You know they say a madman isn’t just a beggar who thinks he’s a king, he’s also a king who thinks he’s a king. Don’t lose yourself in the game. Through it all, maintain your perspective, your integrity, your character, and your enthusiasm. Be your best you.”