Two events occurred the past week that has left an impression on my thoughts that I am now taking time to write about them.
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I have been a Yankees fan ever since Derek Jeter played his first postseason game. I was home one October and I was down with the flu. I saw the game where Jeffrey Maier, a fan, caught a flyball for a homerun.
This is however not about Derek Jeter. The one who have caught my attention and my google time the past week was Mike Mussina.
Consistent, reliable, sometimes brilliant, Mike Mussina was an example of continued excellence. I was a big fan of his control of a wide variety of pitches. On a good day, hitters can never quite guess what he is going to throw at them next.
He is a notorious creature of habit whose game gets disrupted when things do not go as planned. Nonetheless, for 18 years in the most offensive minded division in Major League Baseball, he managed to compile one of the highest winning percentage among active pitchers.
He was known as Mr. Almost – never quite winning a Cy Young or a World Series or winning 20 games or pitching a perfect game. All of those though, he has come awfully close to achieving.
On the last game of a doomed Yankee season (only time since I have been a fan that we have no October), Mike Mussina finally won 20-games. He is 39 years old and in what could be his last game, he finally ticked off one of those ‘almosts’ attached to his name.
He is 30 games shy of 300 wins, another sacred milestone. Right now, he is 50-50 to reach the Hall of Fame. He is still wanted by the Yankees and a championship ring can still be achieved. But he is thinking about walking away, finally.
Even if he knows all the things he can still achieve, the guy said that he was very satisfied with his career and what successes he has accomplished. He is ready to turn his back on glory to finally drive his kids to school, watch them grow up, coach their Little League games, and stay home with his wife.
In a league where immensely talented players inject themseleves with steroids to prolong their greatness and to achieve those milestones and despite all of those still not feel satiated, here is a guy who played with what was given to him, maximized his strengths using his smarts and experience, played hard everyday, and he is ready to walk away from the game and every ‘almost’ he could still achieve… happily.
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My officemate is leaving for his studies in Europe by Monday. I am happy for him, just a bit sad to see him leave. He will miss my delivery. He was one of the people who made life normal during my turbulent times. The one thing I like most about this office is that personal lives can be in tatters but people always come in to work. He was one of those people.
He turned over some of his files to me already. Among the piles of work files he gave me, there was one newspaper clipping he left for me. It talks about integrity and leadership.
He was one of the people who interviewed me for this job. I am touched because it shows that he does respect what I have done in my short stay here. My potential for leadership did not go unnoticed.
I have worked with far smarter, far more influential, and far louder people in my life. Only a few of them that I truly respected. I realized that it is not degrees or the people they know that matter to me. The people I respected are the ones who worked hard, excelled and maximized what skills they have, dedicated their lives serving others, lived modest lifestyles, and never let on how hard things are for them.
Enjoy the Netherlands, my friend. I will see you next year.
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Here is a quote from the newspaper article that struck me the most: People with integrity do not live bifurcated lives.
