To retire like David Ortiz

 

David Ortiz is having a record breaking final year playing for the Red Sox. Having announced his intention to retire at the end of this baseball season, every time he steps to the plate is an opportunity to set another mark for a player his age or for one in his retirement year.
With more than 100 RBIs; closing in 40 home runs and leading the league in a couple of offensive categories, he doesn’t seem like someone who should be retiring, even at age 40.

While he has given every indication that this is his final season, there are many who can't seem to accept it. You would think from their reaction that if not playing baseball, Ortiz is surely destined for rocking chair on the porch of a retirement home.

Just recently Red Sox President Sam Kennedy was asked on Sports Radio if he and team ownership had sat down with Ortiz and had “the talk.”

Kennedy was adamant that the Club is respecting Ortiz's wishes and gave no indication that Big Papi has ever suggested that he was thinking about changing his mind. In fact, Ortiz has said on several occasions that he wishes he hadn’t announced his retirement before the season began, because of all the additional obligations and expectations that have followed him as he makes his last appearances in ballparks around the country.

But the questions continue.

While I’m certainly older than Ortiz but nowhere near as financially secure, I can appreciate why he’s decided to call it a career.

- It’s a young man’s game. With one of the younger teams in baseball, Ortiz is clearly the old man amongst the kids. While it’s energizing to be around younger people in the workplace and elsewhere, I know from my own experience it can be challenging, as well.

- There’s too many miles on his tires. When he approaches the plate, Ortiz is often described as “walking on pillows” because of the physical issues he has with his feet. While he has never been the fastest player on the team, it’s pretty obvious when he’s out by a country mile attempting to stretch a single into a double that he has lost a step or two from his already glacier like pace.

- It’s too much work. The training; the roads trips; the time that it takes to get ready for a game. While baseball players are some of the most pampered athletes in the world, the grind over 162 games and more than six months has got to take its toll after all these years.  

- There are other things to do. I haven’t read or heard anything directly from Ortiz that indicates what he plans to do when his playing days conclude. But as one of the most beloved players in the game and blessed with enough money to be sure that his great, great, great grandkids will be financially secure, he can continue his philanthropic work, become an international ambassador for the game or even a team owner.

- It’s a chance to go out on top. This one I identify with the most. It’s a lock that the Sox will win the division and have as good a chance as any team to make it to the World Series. Given his ability to shine in the spotlight, Ortiz will most likely thrive in the playoffs and leave center stage with fans remembering his contributions, not his failings.

Far too often athletes– pick your sport – spend their last few years hanging on. If you have the cache of a Jeter, Ripken or Yazstremski you stay in the line up where fans can see on a daily basis how your skills have slipped.

Personally, I’m hoping to be more like Ortiz than Yaz and accept when its time to leave the game to the kids, even if I'm still at the top of mine.  There are other things I want to accomplish, too.  

 

A horse named False Hope

I’m trying to understand it, but I just don’t get the Donald Trump phenomenon.

It seems that reality gets turned on its head when it comes to Trump. What have long been considered the basics of successful campaigns – release your tax returns; don’t insult potential voters or your opponents based on their sex, race or religion; don’t threaten violence if you lose – just don’t seem to apply.

If he were any other candidate in any other year, we wouldn’t be talking about him less than two months from the election and contemplating the chance that he might win.

I get the frustration of some of his supporters. While local and state governments generally speaking seem to work just fine, the national government appears to be at a standstill.  A Supreme Court nominee hasn’t received the courtesy of a vote rejecting him. Legislators can’t agree on how to address gun violence, reflecting the divided view of their constituents.  Opinion in Washington is also split about immigration and those who have been living here illegally, which also reflects the mood of the country.

But, when you take your eyes off Congress and focus on what our national government does on a day-to-day basis, it’s still working.

Social Security checks are being mailed; emergency aid is going to communities hit by natural disasters, and taxes continue to be collected. The “gridlock” that dominates the headlines has everything to do with the politicians and not the actual functioning of government. 

There are many theories about why Trump has garnered so much support. They range from economics to an unrealistic fear of terrorism.

The New Yorker ran an interesting piece in August that suggested that Trump voters “feel that their privileged place in America is threatened by forces they don’t really understand.”  They live in culturally isolated areas and have little contact with people who are not like themselves.

Given that we can live, work, shop and find entertainment without venturing into a metropolitan area, it’s not surprising that many of our fellow Americans could have a somewhat limited view of the world and be concerned about what they see.

Their perspective on life in the big city; immigrants, and living in ethnically and culturally diverse communities is probably based more on cable news or "Law and Order" than actual experience. I’m going to guess that many believe that we’ve become a little too politically correct (We could lighten up a bit). They probably have little, if any, contact with people who are gay or transgendered and want to use the bathroom associated with their chosen sexual identity.  

And then along comes Donald Trump who talks about the good old days when you could punch somebody in the mouth and get away with it; who makes fun of people with disabilities, and promises to build a wall to keep out foreigners.

I guess I can see the attraction, but it seems like putting all your money on a horse named False Hope.

Mexico isn’t going to pay to build the wall. You’re not going to be able to deport the number of people Trump has talked about without massive police action that I suspect would make the majority of people shudder, even ardent immigration foes.  We can’t turn back the clock and make it acceptable to tell ethnic jokes again.  Folks who are LGBT aren’t going to return to the fringes of society.

If Trump backers are frustrated because people they have supported in the past haven't delivered on their promises, what will happen if he gets elected and inevitably lets them down, too?

I keep waiting for those who I put in the “they should know better” category to decide that enough is enough with Trump. Maybe his recent musings about what would happen if Hillary’s Secret Service protection was disarmed or his calling a press conference to make a major announcement only to attempt to use it to promote his new hotel will make them realize that the reasons they’re supporting him aren’t enough to trump the fact that he’s just not the kind of person we need as President.

I just hope enough of them come to their senses by November 8.  

Rookie Advice

The title of this blog is a tip of the cap to my first boss in the energy business, Paul Pinkham.

The phrase "Thought while shaving..." often appeared on the top of notes he would leave us with suggestions or ideas about a project we were working on or one he wanted us to take up.

It's ironic for me, because I've had a beard for 40 years and, as a result, don't have much time to think while shaving. I don't believe anyone in my family would recognize me without hair on my face. At this point, I'm not even sure my Mother or brothers would remember without looking at photos.

Since I was a rookie in the communications business, Paul had a great influence on my early career. Another one of his favorites phrases that I recall on a regular basis was: "Plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery."

I make a point to share that with all my staff and students and most seem ready to fall out of their chairs when hearing it. (Figuratively)

But, he didn't mean it literally.

It was his very effective way of saying "do the research." Before writing the quarterly financial statement; the yearly press release on preparing for winter, or even the CEO's letter in the Annual Report, look back and see what was done before. Check out what other utility companies were writing in similar situations. Then develop your own approach and message. He was giving us permission not to struggle.

(I suppose he could have said "don't reinvent the wheel," but that's not quite as memorable.)

I also admired Paul because as a life-long company employee, he worked his way up from selling appliances back when utilities owned stores to VP of Corporate Communications. His talent and experience, however, was not always appreciated by those who went through the revolving door of higher level senior management. But he was comfortable in his own skin and confident in his ability. Paul was always the last one standing when the latest hot shot senior VP moved on.

A quick shout out is also in order for another colleague of mine from those days, Bernie Mendillo, an accomplished author and playwright. I recently started receiving links on social media to Bernie's blog at this site and thought maybe this was an avenue for me, as well.

Time will tell...



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