In Monday’s NY Times, columnist David Brooks quotes from Ryan Sandberg’s 2005 Baseball Hall of Fame induction speech—and I thought Sandberg’s words are a great metaphor for being a father. Listen.
“I was in awe every time I walked onto the field. That’s respect. I was taught you never, ever disrespect your opponents or your teammates or your organization or your manager and never, ever your uniform. You make a great play, act like you’ve done it before; get a big hit, look for the third base coach and get ready to run the bases.”
Speaking of those inducted before him, Sandberg continued, “These guys sitting up here did not pave the way for the rest of us so that players could swing for the fences every time up and forget how to move a runner over to third. It’s disrespectful to them, to you and to the game of baseball that we all played growing up.
“Respect. A lot of people say this honor validates my career, but I didn’t work hard for validation. I didn’t play the game right because I saw a reward at the end of the tunnel. I played it right because that’s what you’re supposed to do, play it right and with respect … . If this [honor] validates anything, it’s that guys who taught me the game … did what they were supposed to do, and I did what I was supposed to do.”
Perhaps I’m drawn to this speech as a metaphor because I’m a huge fan of baseball (if not of the Cubs!) and Jack Petrash’s marvelous book Covering Home: Lessons on the Art of Fathering from the Game of Baseball
.
.I want to respect the path paved by fathers and stepfathers who have trod before me. I want to be in awe every time I see my child sleeping at night or waking up in the morning. I never want to disrespect my child’s other parent(s) or relatives, because all of those people contribute to the legacy that is my child…and my fathering.
I want to father right, doing what I’m suppossed to do, and live like the running the bases of being a dad is its own reward. See www.TheDadMan.com for more.
Comments are closed.