Bandits and the Little Big Man

Dear Joel,

Do you remember when we were little and mom and dad bought us boys memberships to the Quad City River Bandits Kids Club Posse (or whatever it was called)? Season tickets, plus special promos at every game. We didn't go to all of the Bandits' games, but we went to a lot of them. Back then the ball park was called John O'Donnell. It was old and full of character. The Bandits weren't very popular, so a lot of times, especially on week days, it seemed like we were the biggest group of fans there. In fact, each game the Diamond Girls would walk around with a Domino's pizza to give to the loudest cheering group of fans. I'm pretty sure we won that on more than one occasion.

I am so thankful for our exposure to baseball as kids. I know that's a big reason why I love the game so much today. It might be why I'm kind of a purist, and why I'm so frustrated with the new instant replay system in the major leagues. It's also probably a big reason why I hope the new commissioner was joking when he suggested eliminating defensive shifts in baseball. My goodness, I could do a whole series of posts on each one of those! 

You asked me to tell you who my two favorite athletes are from each of three different sports. I might get to that someday, but today I'm only writing about one guy, from my favorite sport, and my favorite team. At the time, they were a pretty new favorite of mine.

March 2006, I started dating the woman who would soon become my wife. I've always loved baseball, but had never been devoted to a specific team. I liked the Cubs (still do) because we had WGN sometimes, and could watch them play. And they were the closest team to us. I liked the Braves (still do) because we also had TBS sometimes, and could watch them play, and they were successful. I also liked the Giants (still do) because you did. But then I started dating Elizabeth, and realized that if there was going to be peace in our relationship, I would need to become a fan of her life-long team, the St. Louis Cardinals - which I gladly did (she still hates that I pull for the Cubs against most teams, by the way). Fortunately for me, in my very first season of Cardinal fandom, my team won the World Series! It was really fun. There were some big names on that team. Big bats like Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina, Jim Edmonds, and Scott Rolen. And the manager was already pretty much a living legend - Tony LaRussa. But there was another guy on that team.

He wasn't gifted with nearly as much natural athletic ability as those other guys. He was small. After watching Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds bat, you'd look at this guy stepping up to the plate and wonder whose kid he was. A bat in his hands looked like an oak tree. He had to choke up so he could swing it properly. The opposing manager called him a "cute little kid." His name was David Eckstein, and when it was all said and done, it was Eckstein - not Pujols, Edmonds or Rolen - who was named the World Series Most Valuable Player.

Why is he my guy? Because he became World Series MVP largely due to his effort. How can you possibly be a successful major league ball player when you're 5' 7"? By working harder than everyone else. I loved to watch that guy play. His hustle, his intelligence, his preparation, his mental toughness - all of these things helped him earn one of the toughest honors to earn in the game.

But I can give you one more reason why I love that guy. As a reward for winning MVP of that series, Eckstein was gifted a brand new Corvette. When he was presented with his award after the game, and handed the keys to the Corvette, he somewhat casually mentioned that it was the first new car he'd ever owned. The guy was 31 years old and had made over $8.7 million as a professional baseball player to that point. And he'd never bought a new car!

I've got other "favorites" too, of course, but we'll have to put those on hold for now. When we talk sports, I can really fired up about certain things (how dumb the designated hitter is in the American League, how irritating, as I mentioned above, the instant replay system in baseball is, how poorly the NFL judges a catch from a non-catch). What fires you up like that? Maybe it's not even in sports. Maybe it's those drivers who don't use turn signals. I HATE THOSE GUYS!!! Go ahead, sound off on something.