It’s not the weather or the calendar that tells you it’s spring in New England, instead it’s when more nights than not, right around 7 pm, the Red Sox are taking the field. That consistency has me thinking about the recent World Baseball Classic and how one Czech pitcher reminded everyone that while viral moments are amazing stories, it’s the constant reps and consistency over time that build unforgettable names, careers, and brands.
Shohei Ohtani is the best baseball player in the world, a perennial MVP *and* Cy Young candidate that may eventually go down as the greatest player of all time. HOWEVER, back at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Ohtani struck out while facing Ondrěj Satoria. The guy on the mound wasn’t a flamethrower hitting triple digits on the gun or even a wily MLB veteran, no he was a Czech pitcher whose day job was working as an electrician.
It’s an all-time feel good story for the pitcher and a tale his family will tell for GENERATIONS, but my point is that even arguably the greatest player of all time can be bested in a one-off situation. Especially in tournaments like this where players are unfamiliar with each other, whether that’s because they’re young minor leaguers or in this case are blue collar badasses from the other side of the globe.
Let Shohei see this pitcher a few times and he probably bats a cool .900 against him.
That is the importance of reps.
If you look at this strikeout in a vacuum, like say a random viral video, you could convince yourself this pitcher is the next best thing because he struck out Ohtani. When in reality, an objective viewer knows that with consistency and reps, water is going to find its level and Shohei Ohtani is going to remind everyone who the F he is while taking this guy to the moon.
Something I say to C-suite execs all the time is, yes we could remix a random viral cliff jumping video and rack up views, but what’s the point?
It’s empty calories.
If you make a habit of lifting and shifting content that has nothing to do with your business just to chase views, then you’ve turned your brand into a meme page. Don’t chase trends, focus on the value your brand provides, foster that emotional connection with the audience, and THEN use your team’s social expertise, analyze the data under the hood, and pull all the various levers in an attempt to juice the algorithm. Not before.
Get your reps in.
Now I’m not a total miser because I am a lifelong baseball fan so when Satoria was back on the mound for the Czech in the 2026 WBC and spun 4.2 scoreless innings against Team Japan, it was impossible not to tip my cap.
All of Japan seemed to agree.
Red Zmudzien 
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