I can only speak about this topic growing up as a wrestler. I have a different mindset than most people. I can remember being 5 years old and my grandfather just hammering me. Nothing that was intended to be malicious, just trying to make me tougher. He used to crossface me, rip at my ears, and give me nasty fish hooks. I had two options, fight back or cry about it. Trust me, option number two was way worse. Then I really got hammered. Fighting back with the only option.
As I listen to the way players are talking about the Astros cheating scandal, I can’t believe some of the responses players have. What happened to having tough athletes? What happened to overcoming things? Coming from my background, I’m dumbfounded with how players are talking about this.
This should be the response of every player. Are you going to sit there and cry about it or get to work and try to win a championship? Sounds like a guy who won a championship and knows what it takes. As an athlete, I could never imagine spending energy thinking about this kind of stuff. I’m sure there was a good handful of people I wrestled that were on some kind of supplants. I remember wrestling one kid that put vaseline on his legs. Crying about it wasn’t an option. Kicking his ass was a much better option. Boy, did it feel good to do so.
I just can’t wrap my head what it would take for me to say this. Mr. Daddy was a big leaguer, never had to overcome anything, looking for an excuse after numerous bad showings in the postseason. If there’s a bad look here, it’s Bellinger crying.
It’s crazy to me. If I ever lost to somebody in wrestling, the only thought I ever had was wanting to pummel the guy the next time I saw him. What is he doing worry about an MVP award in the other league? That’s not what a winner sounds like. It’s somebody looking for an excuse.
This one isn’t as egregious. It’s still bad. One guy is 6-foot-7. The other guy is 4-foot-2. The 6-foot-7 guy is crying. What world are we in? Again, I can only speak coming from a wrestlers background. Worrying about an award that was voted on has never crossed my mind. My dad won national wrestling coach of the year. That means in the entire country, he was voted the best coach. That trophy ended up in the trash. Helping kids achieve their goals, attend great schools, and winning states was enough for him. Worry about trophies that just collect dust isn’t something that you should lose sleep over. Winning and doing everything you can to work towards winning should be.
C’mon, Trout. Your team wasn’t in the playoffs because LA doesn’t have a starting pitcher worth my left pinky toe. Your team threw out Trevor Cahill and Matt Harvey the first two days of the season. Your entire team could have taken steroids and the Angels still wouldn’t have had a shot. Speaking of steroids, rumor has it you might be on them. Not a single national reporter picked up the story. I don’t know if he is or isn’t, but the fact that nobody dug into it seems odd.
Let’s just lay out some facts. Every team was stealing signs with technology to some degree. The Yankees are now going to cry wolf after they were listed in The Athletic report on 72 occasions and started the Apple watch thing. Evan Drellich is the one who wrote the report. Guess which two cities he worked in?
Drellich was the biggest media member who got the ball rolling. If Drellich worked in LA and New York, guess which two teams would have gotten whacked?
I’m not trying to tell you that what the Astros did was right (despite the fact that stealing signs with technology isn’t found anywhere outside of in an email memo to teams with no defined punishment). Houston probably did it in a way that crossed the line more than others. I’m not trying to defend them. What I am saying is that way the players are responding to this is crazy to me.
My dream job is to become a gm. I have two options. I can either sit there and cry about how life is unfair and guys like Thom Brennaman got their jobs because of who daddy is. OR I can fight back and try to prove that I’m worthy of being one of 30-32. I decided to fight back. More people should start thinking like Chris Sale. Get my ass to work and try to win a championship. Crying about it won’t solve anything.
