Focus
Ryan Howard and AG. in DC
Power
Respect
"I done played the underdog my whole career, I've been a very good sport haven't I, this year..."
Basketball has done so much for my life. From my early days on the playgrounds to the first time I played on the hollowed floor of Madison Square Garden. Of course my playing days are over, and while I still compete, the games are just for fun, not meaningful wins or losses. Basketball is something that I have trouble putting into words. I love it, but to tell you what that means is tough. On days when things are out of order, I can always find an answer on the court. However there is another sport that I love…baseball. It’s just something about it. First team to record 27 outs wins, and while it may look easy, looks can be deceiving.
It’s not checkers, it’s chess.
A BASEBALL DIAMOND IS FOREVER
Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby have changed baseball forever, and throughout the years since then many stars have followed in their footsteps making history of their own…most recently the Philadelphia Phillies slugger, Ryan Howard. I recall hearing about him while he was a minor leaguer with the Reading Phillies in 2004. Within a year he was called up to the big leagues and by July he was playing as the everyday first baseman…by the way he won the NL Rookie of the Year award (2005).
Growing up I collected baseball cards, and that experience of buying packs and looking for some “good” cards is something that I cherish. In fact, I still purchase cards from time to time, looking for a special insert or All-Star player. But it wasn’t there that I fell in love with the national pastime that would happen many years later once I got to college.
I’m from Philadelphia, but it was the New York Yankees that opened my eyes to what baseball was all about. Without crossing the line of allegiance, I have two teams that I cheer for, my hometown National League, and that American League team in the Bronx. For the sake of this column, I’ll spare the details and stick to the script. I first met Ryan Howard 2-years ago. He had just won the NL MVP award and he immediately became the toast of the town.
Sunday, November 12, 2006, is the day I met Howard, as we were both in attendance for the Eagles vs. Redskins game. I had heard that he amongst some executives and without anything to lose, I located the suite, walked in, saw him speaking to a group of admirers,
and like the patient man that I am, I waited for an opportunity to introduce myself. Unbeknownst to me Ryan and I had more in common than we knew…upon figuring out
that we were both into sneakers, we exchanged information and the rest has played out into not only this story, but also a decent friendship.
This story was also built on another friendship…the one of the Philadelphia Phillies Media Relations Assistant Kevin Gregg and I. Naturally our jobs put us in contact with one another but his father, longtime NL Umpire Eric Gregg and my mother, went to West Philadelphia High School and graduated in the class of ’68 together. Pretty interesting huh? Nevertheless, I respect history and I respect sports, so to have the synergy that I did in preparing this column, made it one to remember.
Thursday, August 16, 2007 was the day, RFK Stadium – Washington DC was the place where I would attend my first baseball game as a member of the press. I arrived early and I ventured into the depths of the arena. Next thing I know, I’m in the visiting clubhouse. I enter, and there is Howard sitting on a couch, watching the St. Louis Cardinals game...so here I am feeling like I’m 10 years old on Christmas, and I have to pretend to be smooth like Paul Newman in the movie Cool Hand Luke.
I was so hype about baseball that we didn’t even talk about sneakers. Sorry about that, but I did ask him about everything else…here is the final score on our conversation…batter up!
So how did you begin playing baseball?
“Well it all started in front of the TV watching games, my pops told me that he used to watch me imitating the players. I had my little red plastic bat, and I just stood up there and started swinging like them. It was fun, and my mom always said that I would hit the ball higher and further than other kids my age, and my parents saw something there. I was just enjoying it, playing in the dirt…getting dirty.”
You have such a natural talent, can you talk about that?
“My parents brought us up to remember that no matter what you do, always do the best in what you do, if you are going to go for it, go all out. Actually baseball wasn’t my first love, it was basketball, but baseball worked out in how I was able to go to college. I was on a baseball scholarship and the rest is history.”
What in your opinion is the greatest record in baseball?
“When you think about it, you have to say the homerun, and then the [Joe] DiMaggio 56-game hitting streak.”
Talk about your SUBWAY commercial with Jared:
“It was cool, and it was different. It was a different element, Jared was real cool, and everyone on the set was cool, and I had a lot of fun. I would do it again, but I have a new respect for actors and actresses because I was there for 3 or 4 hours, for a 30-second commercial.”
It’s not checkers, it’s chess.
A BASEBALL DIAMOND IS FOREVER
Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby have changed baseball forever, and throughout the years since then many stars have followed in their footsteps making history of their own…most recently the Philadelphia Phillies slugger, Ryan Howard. I recall hearing about him while he was a minor leaguer with the Reading Phillies in 2004. Within a year he was called up to the big leagues and by July he was playing as the everyday first baseman…by the way he won the NL Rookie of the Year award (2005).
Growing up I collected baseball cards, and that experience of buying packs and looking for some “good” cards is something that I cherish. In fact, I still purchase cards from time to time, looking for a special insert or All-Star player. But it wasn’t there that I fell in love with the national pastime that would happen many years later once I got to college.
I’m from Philadelphia, but it was the New York Yankees that opened my eyes to what baseball was all about. Without crossing the line of allegiance, I have two teams that I cheer for, my hometown National League, and that American League team in the Bronx. For the sake of this column, I’ll spare the details and stick to the script. I first met Ryan Howard 2-years ago. He had just won the NL MVP award and he immediately became the toast of the town.
Sunday, November 12, 2006, is the day I met Howard, as we were both in attendance for the Eagles vs. Redskins game. I had heard that he amongst some executives and without anything to lose, I located the suite, walked in, saw him speaking to a group of admirers,
and like the patient man that I am, I waited for an opportunity to introduce myself. Unbeknownst to me Ryan and I had more in common than we knew…upon figuring out
that we were both into sneakers, we exchanged information and the rest has played out into not only this story, but also a decent friendship.
This story was also built on another friendship…the one of the Philadelphia Phillies Media Relations Assistant Kevin Gregg and I. Naturally our jobs put us in contact with one another but his father, longtime NL Umpire Eric Gregg and my mother, went to West Philadelphia High School and graduated in the class of ’68 together. Pretty interesting huh? Nevertheless, I respect history and I respect sports, so to have the synergy that I did in preparing this column, made it one to remember.
Thursday, August 16, 2007 was the day, RFK Stadium – Washington DC was the place where I would attend my first baseball game as a member of the press. I arrived early and I ventured into the depths of the arena. Next thing I know, I’m in the visiting clubhouse. I enter, and there is Howard sitting on a couch, watching the St. Louis Cardinals game...so here I am feeling like I’m 10 years old on Christmas, and I have to pretend to be smooth like Paul Newman in the movie Cool Hand Luke.
I was so hype about baseball that we didn’t even talk about sneakers. Sorry about that, but I did ask him about everything else…here is the final score on our conversation…batter up!
So how did you begin playing baseball?
“Well it all started in front of the TV watching games, my pops told me that he used to watch me imitating the players. I had my little red plastic bat, and I just stood up there and started swinging like them. It was fun, and my mom always said that I would hit the ball higher and further than other kids my age, and my parents saw something there. I was just enjoying it, playing in the dirt…getting dirty.”
You have such a natural talent, can you talk about that?
“My parents brought us up to remember that no matter what you do, always do the best in what you do, if you are going to go for it, go all out. Actually baseball wasn’t my first love, it was basketball, but baseball worked out in how I was able to go to college. I was on a baseball scholarship and the rest is history.”
What in your opinion is the greatest record in baseball?
“When you think about it, you have to say the homerun, and then the [Joe] DiMaggio 56-game hitting streak.”
Talk about your SUBWAY commercial with Jared:
“It was cool, and it was different. It was a different element, Jared was real cool, and everyone on the set was cool, and I had a lot of fun. I would do it again, but I have a new respect for actors and actresses because I was there for 3 or 4 hours, for a 30-second commercial.”
Remember it’s all about respect, and you must give it to get it.
Peace to my family, Satchel Paige, “Cool Papa” Bell, Buck O’Neil, Oscar Charleston, Josh Gibson, Henry Aaron, Willie Mays, Bob Gibson, Ernie Banks, Lou Brock, Frank Robinson, Campy, Don Newcombe, Willie McCovey, Pops, Reg-gie Jackson, Willie Randolph, Joe Morgan, Tim Raines, Dave Winfield, Garry Maddox, Tony Gywnn, The Hawk, Barry Bonds, Big Hurt, Crime Dog, Kirby Puckett, Kenny Lofton, The Sheff, Ken Griffey Jr., Derek Jeter, Jimmy Rollins, Juan Pierre, Dontrelle Willis, Derek Lee, and Torii Hunter.
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