Matthew Cerrone
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | About Me
This is a perfect moment, captured by Wall Street Journal reporter Jared Diamond. It says everything you need to know about what is important to Sandy Alderson and why he does this job.
The Mets clubhouse emptied on to the field after a loud, private, postgame party beneath Wrigley Field. Despite a warning from MLB to keep the party inside, Mets players and Terry Collins took to the field to celebrate with their fans, spraying them with champagne, taking pictures and high-fiving everyone in reach. Two full sections back of the dugout, in the dark, by himself, Alderson watched the team it took him five years to build as they celebrated going to the World Series
It’s a perfect image of a smart man, ‘a maverick,’ smiling, content and watching from above, like a proud parent, who knows his job is not to take credit, but to step back and let his children shine.
Remember, Alderson is the son of an Air Force pilot, who flew missions during World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He attended Dartmouth on an ROTC scholarship and graduated in 1969, after which he joined the Marines and served in Vietnam. They were men of service. I listen when he speaks, especially when I’ve had the privilege to hear him in person, because a person with that level of life experience is almost always talking about more than the subject at hand. His message is textured. He has tremendous wisdom and I appreciate that. And I admire how humble and selfless he is about his accomplishments, whether it’s talking about his time in the military, as a lawyer, or his work with a baseball team.
“New York has been patient with us, and loyal,” he said after the game. “Our goal was to play good baseball through the entire regular season. We took some detours along the way. We had some injuries, but the pitching kept us in it through the first half of the season and we were able to add some offense, get some people back and everything came together. I’m glad that they’ve been rewarded.”
They. Not him. They are being rewarded. It’s a perfect dynamic. Again, in this picture, I see a man whose reward is not champagne, trophies or compliments, but the hard work he put in and knowing his players and fans are happy.
Comment
from Metsblog http://ift.tt/201obNt
No comments:
Post a Comment