Posted on 11/13/2017 6:52:42 PM PST by Elderberry
Some of the best advice I have ever received in my life did not come from a ballplayer. It came from a golfer, if you can believe it.
It was Chi Chi Rodríguez.
I have been in many conversations with Chi Chi. He is a legend in Puerto Rico, and he is a very wise man. I remember in 1999 — when I was named Rookie of the Year — he approached me.
“Carlos,” he said, “what do you want to accomplish in life?”
I said, “I want to be successful, Chi Chi … successful at the game of baseball.”
And he said to me, “Oh, that’s super simple.”
I was confused. Simple? Was this a joke?
So I said to him, “If it’s so simple, why don’t you see more successful baseball players? Why can you only count the very best in the league on only two hands?”
He put his hand on my shoulder.
“To be successful in life, Carlos, you have to surround yourself with successful people. You can’t be afraid to ask questions to those people that you look up to.”
That one piece of advice changed everything for me. See, the sport we play has a long season. We have long road trips with a lot of travel and down time. So as ballplayers, we can be very laid back — even shy — and keep to ourselves at times.
After that conversation with Chi Chi, I decided that I was not going to keep to myself anymore.
The best example of this is from All-Star weekend in 2007. I was standing in the clubhouse at AT&T Park in San Francisco when I saw Barry Bonds in the corner, sitting at his locker. Now, most players only have one locker. Some guys have two. But Barry? He had like five lockers … and a TV … and a recliner — like a massage chair. He owned an entire corner of the clubhouse. I think a lot of players were intimidated by him just because he was Barry Bonds. He was the best player in the world, and he just had this … presence. And when he was sitting in his corner of the clubhouse, he basically felt unapproachable.
I had never been so wrong.
More: The Players Tribune
Very nice.
Thank you for posting.
This takes away some of the sting of my Dodgers losing the series.
Gracias, Carlos.
great read
class act
What a great story!
I still can’t see his name in print without hearing it pronounced by Les Nesman, the newsman at WKRP...
“Chai Chai Rod-ra-gueeze”
Same here.
I always loved the way that Chi Chi, after making a long putt would whirl the putter around like a sword and then slide it into an imaginary sheath. He had flair!
Wow. Nice article.
Great story by a great man. I’m ready for spring training to start yesterday
If Roger Goodell didn’t have his head wedged someplace where the sun don’t shine, he might think of sending a copy of this article to all the players in his league - or at least to those who can read.
We enjoyed this. Thanks for sharing. Seems like he was one of the good guys.
Great read! Thanks.
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