Now that the Yankee season has ended, Jeter is scheduling his tee time for the next 6 months, and Slappy is preparing to bolt New York faster than a speeding bullet, I've got a confession to make.I like a Yankee player.
Man, that was harder to write than I thought it would be. But if you have just the tiniest bit of heart, it's really hard not to root for Joba Chamberlain.
Let me get this out of the way first: I think he's a bit of a head hunter (throwing 2 pitches in a row over Youk's head), has a lot to learn about being a PROFESSIONAL big league pitcher, and ENOUGH about the bugs already.
However, the influence of the Rocket on the head hunting thing can't be discounted, and he's just a kid. A kid who made the leap from A ball to the show in ONE FREAKING YEAR.
Not only did he make it to the show, he was DOMINANT at the highest level a player can reach, pitching for one of the best teams in the thick of a pennant race: if you believed in fairy tales, you'd think the guy was a robot.
However, it's not his athletic talent that has me rooting for him: it's his relationship with his Dad. Afflicted with polio in 1952 which left him deaf in one ear, paralyzed in an arm and a leg, and in a scooter for the rest of his life, Harlan Chamberlain is a man all of us can admire.
No Mom (she left when he was young), no money, and a father who would play catch with his son by sitting on the steps and tucking his glove under his chin to throw the ball back. If you don't subscribe to Sports Illustrated, you need to go to the local library and read the October 8th, 2007 edition.
"Watch the son turn his back to the plate, look to the sky and hold his Yankee cap over his heart. Watch the father remove his Yankees cap and do the same as the tears stream down his cheeks...."
I like to think of myself as a good Dad: after reading that article, I've got a LONG way to go.
And I get as sick as anyone when FOX or ESPN shows Jeter's Mom and Dad or Joba's Pop every other inning: in his case, I asked myself this.
What if he played for the Red Sox?
I'd think it was the best story I'd ever heard.
Besides, it's not his fault he had the misfortune to get drafted by the MFY's.
12 comments:
The only thing that would make this story better would be to hear you say. What if your own son gets drafted by the Yankees. Enough with the mfy stuff. ( smile)
I can't say I root for him. Not in pinstripes. But as another Sox blogger once said: Joba Chamberlain is Papelbon's evil twin. He is *that* good. I just hope they trade him somewhere so I can do more than acknowledge the raw talent & the endless possibilities that lay before him.
Bub, how goes the flower business? Miss you around here.
And if one of my boys ever got drafted by the Yankees, I think I'd crawl in a corner a pray for it to end.
And it's NEVER enough with the MFY's. Just a fact of life.
Dawn,
Maybe I misspoke: don't root for him professionally, just as a human being. What a story this guy has. I'm with you, hopefully they trade him or he walks to another team. Because this story he has is too good to waste as a Yankee player.
Jr., who says you never go deep. Great post. You know, seeing MFY's as human is the first step on the road to recovery.
By the way, the Canes smacked O Canada in the mouth tonight, beating the Leafs 7-1. Just an update for all you hockey fans out there.
Great story, Ted. All he needs is a Sox uniform and it would be perfect.
Mattie, the who beat the what in what?
Just messin' with you: you need to get TSN so you can really keep up.
Stacy, it's a pretty moving story: I'll save it for you and let you read it.
Have a great day everybody.
Loved the father-son story and it really must have hit home to you with your own sons. I also think I don't want to know what the MF in MFY stands for but I have a pretty good idea. Yikes! I'm guessing you don't care much for the Yankees. Just a hunch, you think?
Denise, don't care for the Yankees is putting it mildly! Which makes the fact this guys story got to me the way it did.
How's life in So. Cal?
Every time I think Ted is going all soft and gooey, he treats us to an MFY reference. Somehow I thought having the little guys around would prevent you from using it, but you do us proud! :)
I used to hate the team from NYC because they were good, now I just think they're kinda pitiful.
Two days till baseball!
becks, soft sometimes? Yep. NEVER gooey! And the little ones don't yet know this particular reference!
2 days is going to go by SLOOOOOOOOOW.
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