Sparky Anderson, who managed three World Series champions in a Hall of Fame career, has died. The secret to his success? ”He understood people better than anyone I ever met. His players loved him, he loved his players, and he loved the game of baseball,” said Pete Rose, one of the stars who flourished under […]
Have you heard the commercial that begins, “There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing?” I’m not even sure what the commercial is selling (probably clothing), but it reminds me of what they say in Juneau, Alaska, where it rains an average of 220 days per year. “You never cancel anything because […]
This year’s baseball Hall of Fame ballot is on its way to the voters. No matter who gets voted in — if anyone — you can be sure he passed the test of consistency. No one gets in on a fluke. One or two great seasons aren’t enough. To even be eligible, a player must […]
Hollywood’s version of “True Grit” came out in 1969 and starred John Wayne. You can remake this movie today, put yourself in the starring role, and have it run in your home every day. A recent article in the Boston Globe takes a look at success and concludes that it comes from something it calls […]
Has anyone ever told you to be well-rounded? Many people, from parents to guidance counselors, offer these well-intentioned words of wisdom. The trouble is that being well-rounded is not the best way to achieve extraordinary things. In fact, the two are opposite. Just think. If you spend your time becoming pretty good at lots of […]
Teammates love to tell stories of Rickey Henderson, a superstar character who is to be inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame today in Cooperstown, N.Y. Henderson, for instance, once neglected to cash a $1 million check. Instead, he had it framed. But one incident makes perfect sense. It came one day after he struck […]
Hall of Fame baseball player Reggie Jackson once said, “As long as you have a bat in your hand, you can write the story.” Jackson certainly did that in the 1971 All-Star Game, when he smashed a ball off a transformer on the right field roof. He also wrote many a story in the World […]
“The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated.” ~ William James TV commentator Joe Morgan tells the story of the one time he met Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier in major-league baseball 62 years years ago today. Morgan, himself an African-American who is in the baseball Hall of Fame, […]
“The strength of a person is often weighed by how they deal with their weaknesses.” –– Nathaniel Summers If you’re not achieving all that you wish in your life and career, you can safely bet that the reasons aren’t all that complicated. Failure can usually be traced to one simple cause. Maybe it’s laziness. Perhaps […]