Orioles star Adley Rutschman shares intriguing thoughts on going deeper than motivation

Adley Rutschman not only takes the pitchers deep, but sometimes his words are also deeper. Rutschman believes in finding deeper purpose, and that motivation isn't enough to keep grinding day in and day out.

Motivation is the fuel that drives many athletes to push harder, train longer and compete at the highest level. But for the Baltimore Orioles catcher, that alone isn’t enough.

On the Ball 5 podcast on Thursday, Rutschman shared his perspective on why having a "why" is crucial for sustaining long-term success.

"For me, when it comes to motivation, that's something that has to come from a higher purpose, almost to where it's not motivation, it's my why," Rutschman said.

He went on to highlight how motivation can be inconsistent.

"There's so many times where guys are like, okay, I'm motivated to work out today and I'm going to go hard, but the next day they're tired," the catcher added. "When motivation fails, what do you have left?"

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Adley Rutschman reveals "quote of the century" received from a special person

During the same interview, Adley Rutschman spoke about the impact his college coach, Pat Casey, had on him during his time playing for Oregon State.

Casey helped him find a deeper purpose, which completely shifted his perspective on baseball.

"He (Casey) totally shifted my perspective on baseball, on playing, and just, you're waking up, you have 6 a.m. weights, that teaches you discipline in itself, like you're playing team baseball, and they totally shift your perspective to where you're thinking, I'm nervous playing, I'm showing up, what is my purpose in life, in baseball?," Rutschman said.

The Orioles catcher revealed one quote, tabbed as "quote of the century" by the Ball 5 team, which came from Casey.

"And he always had this quote — he had a lot of quotes — but the guy was motivating," Rutschman said.

"He dropped this quote on me, and I'll never forget it. There were two of them. He said, 'Wise men plant trees whose shade they'll never see.' That one really stuck with me."

Rutschman shared another quote Casey told him.

"And then he hit me with, 'Make sure that when the next guy puts on number 35, they remember who wore it.'"

Both quotes made a profound impact on Adley Rutschman's life and gave him a deeper meaning to keep working hard.