We have just experienced the joy and sense of renewal that is baseball’s opening day. Not long ago a baseball phrase was used and that phrase needs to be restored to its former glory. The phrase should have the same cache a “can of corn” or “yellow hammer” …it is the highly descriptive sobriquet “Dick Smith.” A Dick Smith was a player so disengaged that you barely knew his name. He’s the guy who sat in silence in the dugout and did his progressions and hitting practice away from the team. Dick was aloof and the noble idea of team never seemed to cross his mind.
In my years of coaching, I discovered a few things that stand the test of time and the most meaningful discovery is that team play and team values can be no less than exalting. When the team is playing for each other there is a level of inspiration that defies description. Our sports movies depict this elevated emotion. At the end of Hoosiers, Coach Norm’s last words to his team says it all, “I love you guys.” The line of cars winding down an Iowa road in Field of Dreams tells the story of the fevered contagion that spreads when a great game is played by great players. Sadly Dick Smith is the kid who was there but didn’t show up.
Our current version of the American Game includes too many Dick Smiths. Too many players who sit quietly as the game passes in front of them. While the American Team of doctors, voting rights activists, volunteers and others are playing within a team concept, the Dick Smiths remain somewhere else. They won’s wear a mask or seek a vaccine. They are above it all. When the outcome is in the balance they fail to show up.
Experience tells me that the joys of team play require effort, respect for the game and-above all- the desire to perform in order to “get the win for your teammates.” Can you imagine not diving for a ball in the seventh inning of a no-hitter? Your pitcher and your team deserve your best effort at all times. My team-the Gang of Eight- is a group of clutch players that go the extra mile to make life better. They are teachers, workers, and all-around doers who understand the idea that they are on a team that plays for everyone’s betterment. These are the folks that you want on your side.
I hope everyone joins their local team and makes some plays whether they are routine or not. In the long run (we are in extra innings re: covid) we can experience the inspiration that comes from team victories. Mostly I hope we get to a point where giving a damn is America’s Pastime.
Don’t be a Dick.
Olio Folio 