Curveball

Learning to Lead when Life Throws You Unexpected Challenges

Life unfolds much like a baseball season—beginning with the spring of youthful exuberance, progressing through the summer grind marked by streaks and slumps, and concluding with an autumn of sober reflection. Today, author Dr. Lonnie Clinkscale stands as a successful, content man—a devoted husband and father, and a top administrator for a large urban hospital system in the southern United States. However, this present-day reality starkly contrasts with the author’s beginnings.

In baseball terms, Clinkscale was born with two strikes against him. He was the fifth of six children and a member of the Black urban poor in gritty Youngstown, Ohio, during the mid-1960s. His home life was fraught with challenges, including an abusive alcoholic father, and Lonnie struggled with learning disabilities that made him appear intellectually slow and uncommunicative.

From his grandfather, Lonnie absorbed the wisdom of baseball, while a streetside ministry called the Needle’s Eye instilled in him a deep love for God. Built on these foundations, Clinkscale embarked on a slow, arduous, and improbable journey toward personal and professional success.

This journey was far from linear; like a baseball season, it twisted and turned, shaped by the unexpected challenges that every life encounters. A life devoid of surprises would be as unremarkable as baseball without its curveballs. The secret lies in managing these surprises in ways that foster growth and compassion, ultimately shaping one into a leader who serves others—a servant leader.