What does it mean to be average?

Substance vs Concept

“I can’t imagine waking up and thinking I can be average today.”

David Yarrow

What does it mean to be average? By definition, the average is a norm, standard, or level considered typical or usual. We define that as mediocre or not very good, except in baseball.

In baseball, a batting average is calculated by dividing a player’s hits by his at-bats. The Major League Baseball batting average is .250, meaning a batter only hits the ball 25% of the time.

Not Josh Gibson, who batted .372 over 14 seasons, the highest MLB batting average recorded. Higher than Ty Cobb, Roger Hornsby, Ted Williams, and Babe Ruth (who ranks number 13).

Ever heard of Josh Gibson? If you’re from Buena Vista, GA, you probably have. If you know about the Negro Baseball Leagues of the 1930s and 1940s, particularly the Homestead Greys of Pittsburgh, PA, perhaps you know about Josh Gibson. He worked at the Gimbels Department store when he was not playing baseball. He died from a stroke caused by a brain tumor when he was 35. You may walk past his statue inside the Center Field Gate at Nationals Park. He is in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Josh Gibson was above average, yet he only hit 37% of the time when he was up to bat. He is not a household name because he is black and played for the Negro League. By most accounts, he was a better player than Jackie Robinson. But Josh Gibson didn’t have a Branch Rickey.

Did Josh Gibson wake up thinking he could be average on any given day? Probably not. Did he want to hit each time he was up to bat? Yes. I bet he did. Josh Gibson knew he had to work harder than everyone because of his race. But he could hit a ball with a wooden bat, and it sounded like dynamite. But not every time he swung. Does that make him average?

Do I wake up thinking I can be average today?

No. I strive too much for above average, for better than yesterday. It still borders on perfectionism. When I make a mistake, I know the negative impact it has on my mind and well-being. I fight it to reprogram my default mode network. Yet, some days, average is itself an accomplishment.

The word average comes from the Middle French word avarie, which comes from the Arabic word ʽawārīya, meaning damaged merchandise. The word originally referred to the expenses incurred when a ship or its cargo was damaged at sea, shared among the owners or insurers.

The word "average" entered everyday speech after the 1720 South Sea Company financial crisis. The earliest known use of the adjective was in the Monthly Review in 1770.

Being average often implies a lack of exceptional qualities, leading to a slightly negative connotation in specific contexts, such as the quote by David Yarrow above. This shift in perception occurred over time as society increasingly valued excellence and innovation, making average seem less desirable.

An artist does not want to be average. An artist makes art, expressing themselves using their imagination. We expect our artists to be innovative and unique. To make something unlike anything we’ve seen before. But someone who paints a traditional landscape is no less an artist than someone who makes woven tapestries that look like land-formed shapes hung from the rafters at Art Basel in Miami last week. We have come to expect our art to be shocking. To be wild. To push boundaries. So we end up with a banana taped to a wall selling for millions of dollars. A banana and some duck tape are pretty average if you ask me. The concept of it as art, I suppose, is not. At least that’s what Justin Sun said last month after he paid $6.2 million for the “work of art” and then proceeded to eat the banana on stage, saying, “The real value is in the concept itself.”

The same goes for our politics, which are about concepts, not substance.

I want substance. Does that make me average? I’m not striving for typical or usual, but if that’s where I land, is that a failure? I don’t know.

Currently, I am striving for average. The average number of subscribers for a newsletter on Substack is 1,000. I have a ways to go.

Will you help me be average?

Will you share my newsletter with those who might be interested? Those who want substance and not just concept. Thank you.