Let’s face it; these are not the best of times. The economy and financial markets are in turmoil. Natural disasters are coming at us more frequently and more ferociously than before. The country is more divided then ever. Covid refuses to give up. The Russia Ukraine crisis grinds on and we may be on the cusp of a global recession.
But sports still has the power to unite us and uplift us when so many other societal institutions don’t. If you’re a sport fan, early October is the best time of year. College and NFL football is underway. Even better, there’s no clear Super Bowl favorite this year and lots of formerly lousy teams are suddenly in contention (Miami, NY Giants, Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Cincinnati, et al). Major League Soccer and Major League Baseball are about to start their playoffs and professional basketball and hockey are about to tip off the regular season.
There may be little to cheer about in the daily news – except the sports section. Take baseball. Even if you’re not a baseball fan, it’s been hard not to root for two good dudes doing amazing things on the diamond.
Forty-two-year-old #AlbertPujols, the longtime Cardinals slugger recently clubbed his 703rd career home run and collected his 2,216th run batted in. Only Babe Ruth, Henry Aaron and (drug-aided) Barry Bonds finished with more home runs and only Aaron had more RBIs. In fact, only Aaron had more total bases than Pujols.
Then there’s Yankee slugger #AaronJudge who broke Roger Maris’s single season home run record, this week – a record that had been on the books for 61 years. Judge’s 62 home runs this season trail only Sammy Sosa (66), Mark McGwire (70) and Barry Bonds (73) who set their marks during the peak steroid era of 1998-2001 and all were later found to be “on the juice.” Judge, an athletic 6’8” and 280 pounds didn’t need performance enhancing drugs to accomplish his feat. He used hard-work to leverage his imposing size and natural gifts to outdistance his closest rival Kyle Schwarber (46) by about 40%. Like Pujols, Judge is a nice guy and modest to boot. No one ever said that about Bonds.
In this cynical, jaded era of sports and common discourse, everyone seemed to be cheering for the bi-racial adopted slugger from Sacramento, CA – including the Maris family.
“It’s hard not to be moved by it, even when you’re on the wrong side of it,” said Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell after a recent game against Judge. Even President Biden tweeted: “Congrats @TheJudge44 on home run 62. History made, more history to make.”
I never liked the Yankees and my favorite team plays the Cardinals in the playoffs, but I’ll still be rooting for Judge and Pujols. In an era of painfully cliché athlete interviews, Judge came up with a unique take on why he’s not going to rest on his laurels: “If what you did yesterday still seems big today, then you haven’t done enough today.”
Conclusion
Maybe Nelson Mandela said it best: “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, it has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. Sport can create hope, where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than governments in breaking down racial barriers. It laughs in the face of all types of discrimination.”
What’s your take? I’d love to hear from you.
#AaronJudge, #AlbertPujols, #homerunrecord
