Griffey is 13 months older than me. He's retiring from baseball at 40, having become a shell of his former self. I, at 39, am about to see my first book published. Barring tragic injury or illness, I can do this for up to 40 more years. Or, heck, even longer, though family history argues against my making it much past 80.
I'm glad I'm an author and not a baseball player. Now, Griffey in all probability has far more money than I'll ever see, and I'm sure he'll do just fine. He's got a great family, he's involved in several worthy causes, and I bet we'll see him managing in a few years. Nonetheless, I'm happy to think of my glory days as being in front of me rather than behind me.
As for the Galarraga incident, to paraphrase Bull Durham (one of my all-time favorite movies), sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains, and sometimes you get royally screwed over by forces beyond your control. Purists would disagree, but I think the game needs instant replay to prevent mistakes like that.
I have Galarraga on my fantasy team :( Coulda used that perfecto.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I always really feel for the umps in situations like this. When I screw up in my job, it's not broadcast to the masses and discussed for days afterwards on call-in radio shows and Sportscenter. Umpires and closers must be made of much sterner stuff than I.
I feel bad for both of them, stuck in a system where there's no way to undo that call. Both have been gracious above and beyond the call of duty, as best as I can tell.
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