There comes a time when you have to take the car keys away from granddad.
There comes a time when your pitching ace is getting shelled every outing, and he has to be told it's time to hang up the spikes.
Mad Dog played baseball into his early 70's and he should have stopped sooner: the outfielders were moving in when he came up to bat. But the real sign was when he dropped a pop fly in the outfield. That was it. He knew it was time.
You really do not want to recognize what others have already seen.
It's a kind of death, at worst, and at best it's giving up the stuff which really gave you satisfaction and a sense of potency, relevance and self worth.
But sometimes, you have to do it before you just embarrass yourself and all that people remember is the decline.
Willie Mays, in a Mets uniform could barely throw the ball in from the outfield by the time he stopped playing. It was distressing to watch.
Don't be Willie, Joe. Say it ain't gonna go that way with you. Say it ain't so, Joe.
Mad Dog,
ReplyDeleteI bet you were still a pretty good baseball player when you hung up your cleats, but you obviously thought that was what was best for the team. Let’s hope Biden decides to do what’s best for his team as well-it’s a mighty big team- over 300 million strong..
Maud
I wish I could claim such loft motives. No, I was just embarrassed and decided not to prolong the shame.
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