Rico Brogna, Good Fit (Cont.)

[metirish]

Former Mets coach Gary Pettis joins the Rangers as first-base coach.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Rico Brogna, native of Watertown, Conn., who played for the Detroit Tigers, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies, has been named the chairman of the board of the Torrington (Conn.) Twisters.

I think the rule should be that any news of Rico closes the thread and we have to start a new one.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Brett Butler, good fit.

Brett Butler Named BayBears Manager

11/21/06 - Southern League (SL) Mobile BayBears

MOBILE, AL- In the first season as an Arizona Diamondbacks affiliate, the Mobile BayBears will be managed by former 17 year Major Leaguer Brett Butler. The 2007 season will be Butler's third as a manager, following a Major League career with the five Major League clubs including the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Last season, Butler managed the Single-A Lancaster (CA) Jethawks, and in 2005 served as the Diamondbacks first base coach at the Major League level. After his playing career ended in 1997, Butler spent time as a special instructor with the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets. His debut as a manager came in 2004, leading the Gulf Coast League (FL) Mets to a first-place finish. Lancaster finished fell just short of the playoffs last season in the California League under Butler's leadership.

As a player, Butler accumulated 2,375 hits in 2,213 Major League games. He led the National League in hits in 1990, and was a National League All-Star in 1991. Drafted by Atlanta in 1979, Butler played for the Braves in 1981-1983 alongside Atlanta greats Dale Murphy and Bob Horner.

Arizona Diamondbacks Director of Player Development A.J. Hinch had strong reviews on Butler's talents in the dugout. "He is one of the most energetic guys I have been around," says Hinch. "He has passion and fire in the dugout. He is selfless and gives back to his players. Brett is a great representation of the Diamondbacks organization."

"As we enter our second decade, this new era in BayBears baseball just got more exciting with the announcement that Brett Butler is our manager," says BayBears President/COO Bill Shanahan. "In addition to his Major League credentials, Brett has a great reputation throughout the game."

"I have had the chance to speak to Brett over the past few days," says BayBears General Manager Travis Toth. "I know Brett's enthusiasm and intensity will bring out the best in our Diamondbacks prospects. We look forward to welcoming Brett to the Mobile community and the Gulf Coast region."

[seawolf17]

And Edgy decides his own suggestion is a bad idea, apparently.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I felt no consensus.

[metirish]

I liked the idea,10 pages is enough,what happens if Rico makes news on page one?

[stevejrogers]

Interesting followup on Jeff Reardon in the Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2006/11/26/toughest_save/?page=1

5 pages, but you have to register for it so...

]Toughest save Grief-stricken Reardon tries to pull himself together By Stan Grossfeld, Globe Staff | November 26, 2006 PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Jeff Reardon plunged into darkness after his 20-year-old son died of an accidental drug overdose in February 2004. His mind tormented with pain, guilt, and suicidal thoughts, the former All-Star reliever for the Red Sox shut himself in a bedroom and blotted out the sun with hurricane shutters. "I was in that room all the time," says Reardon, 51. "For months I wouldn't come out of there. It's still a struggle not to go back in there." Reardon, a Dalton, Mass., native who pitched for Boston from 1990-92 and became baseball's all-time saves leader in '92 (he's now No. 6 on the list), couldn't save his son. And he couldn't save himself. In fact, the greatest save in Reardon's life may have been made by a trucker who was driving 70 m.p.h. down the Bee Line Highway in Florida last December. "I pulled over and parked on the side of the road, got out and walked in front of a semi truck," says Reardon, matter-of-factly. "The thing swerved and missed me, and then for some reason I came home and told my wife." She took him to a mental hospital for treatment. The man nicknamed "The Terminator" had lost the one thing he had had an abundance of all his life: control. On Dec. 26, 2005, just three days after undergoing an angioplasty, Reardon strolled into Hamilton Jewelers in the Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens and presented a sloppily scrawled note that said, "I have a gun. Please place $100 bills and jewelry in this bag and no one will get hurt. Thank you." Reardon shrugs. "When I did the robbery, it came out of nowhere," he says. "It was the day after Christmas. I said I was going to go to the mall to get a coffee maker. So, from saying that, somehow I ended up robbing the store. And I don't even know why. That time of my life I don't remember, the robbery included. I don't remember making the note." Reardon says he needed neither money nor jewelry. He wears three gaudy baseball rings, one symbolizing the Twins' victory in the 1987 World Series. He made $11.5 million in his 16-year career with the Mets, Expos, Twins, Red Sox, Braves, Reds, and Yankees. The four-time All-Star finished with a 73-77 record, 367 saves, and a 3.16 ERA. But Reardon insists he was psychotic -- under the influence of 12 antidepressants, mood stabilizers, heart medications, and antibiotics -- when he committed the robbery. "Something with the medication kicked in that day," he says. "I was going to different doctors, but they knew what I was on. I said, 'You sure it's all right? I'm taking this and this.' They said 'Oh yeah.' But it wasn't." * Home > * Sports > * Baseball > * Red Sox The Boston Globe Toughest save Grief-stricken Reardon tries to pull himself together By Stan Grossfeld, Globe Staff | November 26, 2006 PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Jeff Reardon plunged into darkness after his 20-year-old son died of an accidental drug overdose in February 2004. His mind tormented with pain, guilt, and suicidal thoughts, the former All-Star reliever for the Red Sox shut himself in a bedroom and blotted out the sun with hurricane shutters. "I was in that room all the time," says Reardon, 51. "For months I wouldn't come out of there. It's still a struggle not to go back in there." Reardon, a Dalton, Mass., native who pitched for Boston from 1990-92 and became baseball's all-time saves leader in '92 (he's now No. 6 on the list), couldn't save his son. And he couldn't save himself. In fact, the greatest save in Reardon's life may have been made by a trucker who was driving 70 m.p.h. down the Bee Line Highway in Florida last December. "I pulled over and parked on the side of the road, got out and walked in front of a semi truck," says Reardon, matter-of-factly. "The thing swerved and missed me, and then for some reason I came home and told my wife." She took him to a mental hospital for treatment. The man nicknamed "The Terminator" had lost the one thing he had had an abundance of all his life: control. On Dec. 26, 2005, just three days after undergoing an angioplasty, Reardon strolled into Hamilton Jewelers in the Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens and presented a sloppily scrawled note that said, "I have a gun. Please place $100 bills and jewelry in this bag and no one will get hurt. Thank you." Reardon shrugs. "When I did the robbery, it came out of nowhere," he says. "It was the day after Christmas. I said I was going to go to the mall to get a coffee maker. So, from saying that, somehow I ended up robbing the store. And I don't even know why. That time of my life I don't remember, the robbery included. I don't remember making the note." Reardon says he needed neither money nor jewelry. He wears three gaudy baseball rings, one symbolizing the Twins' victory in the 1987 World Series. He made $11.5 million in his 16-year career with the Mets, Expos, Twins, Red Sox, Braves, Reds, and Yankees. The four-time All-Star finished with a 73-77 record, 367 saves, and a 3.16 ERA. But Reardon insists he was psychotic -- under the influence of 12 antidepressants, mood stabilizers, heart medications, and antibiotics -- when he committed the robbery. "Something with the medication kicked in that day," he says. "I was going to different doctors, but they knew what I was on. I said, 'You sure it's all right? I'm taking this and this.' They said 'Oh yeah.' But it wasn't." With $170 in a green Hamilton Jewelers bag, he approached a security guard in the mall parking lot. "I walked up to him and said, 'Hey, I think I've done something stupid. I robbed a store.' He goes, 'What are you talking about?' I said, 'I'm on a lot of medications. I feel like I've screwed up. But I've got a bag here that says Hamilton Jewelers, there's cash in there.' "He called the police. Supposedly, the police pulled their guns on me, 'cause I wouldn't put my hands up. But I don't remember that, either. The psychiatrist told me, 'You might have been trying to commit suicide by having them shoot you.' "That's how depressed I was. I didn't care about living at all. And yes, I have two [other] kids, and I think the world of them. But at that time, depression is a scary thing." Innocent by insanity Reardon was promptly arrested. He immediately apologized, telling police he "flipped on his medications." His disheveled arrest picture was splashed all across the newspapers. "He was in a terrible, terrible depression," says his wife of 29 years, Phebe, a Newton, Mass., native. "The only good thing that came of the robbery is that it got Jeff some help." Said Reardon, "I don't even remember that I spent a night in jail. When I see the clips on TV of me shackled, I don't remember any of that." He was released the next day on a $5,000 bond. In August, a judge found Reardon innocent by reason of insanity after court-appointed psychiatrists testified that he was in a psychotic state because of the medications. Between the time of his arrest and his trial, Reardon spent a month in a mental hospital receiving electroshock therapy three times a week. He is now taking only two medications, along with monthly shock treatments. "I hate going," he says. "Before, I didn't care if I went under and didn't wake up. If they didn't pull me out, who cares? That's how I felt for a long time." His doctors are optimistic. "They say, 'Oh, you're like 100 percent better,' but I'm still depressed," says Reardon, who has begun to exercise again. "It's almost like it's a struggle to do everything. The pain never goes away. To tell the truth, the day is so long for me since Shane died. I don't know what to do. A day to me seems like a week." Reardon says he recently penned a letter of apology to the jewelry store saleswoman. She did not reply. James Silfies, regional director for Hamilton Jewelers, acknowledges the company received the letter, but the saleswoman declined to be interviewed. "It was an unfortunate incident," said Silfies. "We wish him the very best."Continued... Troubled road to tragedy Reardon says Shane, the middle of his three children, was nothing like him. He was very outgoing. He was into music, very creative, and always smiling. They shared a love of Bob Dylan and Pink Floyd. Shane wanted to be a rapper. "He was actually just the opposite of me, even though I was a ballplayer," Reardon says. "I wasn't real popular or happy-go-lucky. He had a great personality. He was very caring and very loving. He had like 20 best friends." In high school, when Shane started getting into trouble with drugs, Reardon sent him to Swift River, an exclusive therapeutic boarding school for troubled teens in Western Massachusetts. "I was anti-drugs, big-time," says Reardon. "Even when I went to UMass in the '70s. It's kind of weird how Shane ended up." Reardon says that when his son graduated from Swift River with honors, he was off drugs. He enrolled in Full Sail, a school in Winter Park, Fla., that offered music programs. But what happened next haunts Reardon. At Christmas in 2003, Shane and an old friend from his drug-using days convinced Reardon they were both clean and would live together at Full Sail. "He said he was straight and off drugs," Reardon says. "Because we are nice people, we believed him. Two months later, our son is dead. I'm always going to feel guilty about that. He was into drugs big-time." Reardon says Shane's roommate found him unconscious but breathing on the couch, dragged him to the shower, but failed to revive him and left. By the time he returned, Shane had turned blue. The roommate told police he thought Shane was drunk. An autopsy determined that he died of a lethal dose of methadone, a synthetic narcotic used to treat heroin users. "They could've called 911 at any time, they had plenty of time to save him," says Reardon. Phebe says she had a premonition of Shane's death. "The night Shane died, I took a nap and I dreamed he died," she says. "I got up all sweaty and shaking. It was 6 p.m. I called him, but of course he didn't answer. He was unconscious at the time, and I got the call four hours later. How's that for spooky?" The Reardons sold their lakeside Berkshire home, where they spent summers together, and Reardon gave away their belongings. It held too many memories of their energetic son, making campfires, setting off fireworks, and water-tubing around the lake. "It hurt to be up there without him," says Reardon. Trying to reconnect The Reardons have a guest book permanently set up for Shane Reardon on Legacy.com and a foundation in his name. Reardon logs in every day and has written 25 messages to Shane. "It makes me feel better," he says. Sometimes, he reads the hundreds of messages and weeps. It is a very public place for a very private man. Reardon writes that he would trade places with Shane "in a heartbeat." He also writes things that rip at a man's soul. "Please come home. We need you with us," he wrote on what would have been Shane's 21st birthday. Shane's tombstone has a picture of him in his favorite blue suit, smiling. Reardon says messages and souvenirs from friends always surround it. Since he retired from baseball in 1994, Reardon had spent most of his time playing golf and fishing, but that stopped when Shane died. Now his oldest son, Jay, is trying to get him back out on the links. And he's talking about baseball again. "I don't think [Jonathan] Papelbon should be a starter," says Reardon, referencing the young Sox pitcher. "You got a gutsy closer like him that can deal with that pressure every night, you keep him right there." He's also reestablishing some friendships. "Actually, we [recently] went out to eat with some of the guys I played with for the first time since our son died. So at least now I'm getting out of the house all the time." But that creates problems for Reardon, who previously went unrecognized around town. "It bothers the hell out of me that I did it because it's been awfully embarrassing for me," he acknowledges. "I get embarrassed when people recognize me now. It ain't from baseball. I can tell. "When I go to the Publix -- I do this to stay busy -- I can see the guy whispering in his wife's ear. I know what he's saying, 'That's the guy that robbed the jewelry store, the ballplayer.' He ain't saying, 'That's the guy that saved 370 games.' " Ask Reardon if he is nuts, and he laughs. "I'm perfectly normal; they made me nuts," he says. "That's why I didn't mind getting a charge of insanity." He bristles at people who say he got star treatment from the court system. "I think it was just the opposite," he contends. "I think they kept it going because I was a baseball star. "I had no gun. Twelve medications. People get off of murders because of medications. Yes, it was wrong, and I admit that, and I feel very bad about doing that. But anybody who thinks I got preferential treatment is full of it. "I didn't have to work since I retired. I got $170 in the robbery. I had like $600 in my wallet. Look at this house, it's all paid for with Boston Red Sox money." Tarnished collection Reardon's trophy room looks like a wing of the Hall of Fame. Signed Reardon uniforms -- from his Montreal days to his final season, with the Yankees -- line the wall. Trophies and photos freeze moments of joy. There's a photo combo of a young Roger Clemens dumping Gatorade on Reardon after he surpassed Rollie Fingers as the all-time saves leader and then lifting him on his shoulders. "Oh yeah, I remember that game," says Reardon. "It was a 1-0 game against the Yankees [June 15, 1992]. I pitched the last inning. Roger, [Tom] Brunansky, Matt Young put me on their shoulders. Roger actually wanted to carry me around the field. I said, 'No, just take me to my wife in the seats.' " There's former President Reagan welcoming the champion Twins at the White House, and a dapper Reardon standing over his shoulder. There's a signed picture of Ted Williams waving a Red Sox cap to the Fenway faithful. "Back then, the other ballplayers weren't that impressed with old- timers," Reardon says. "It was Ted Williams Day. Me and Wade [boggs] were the only ones out there. Ted sat next to us before he went on the field. He said, 'Hey, Reardon, let me borrow your hat.' He's stuffing it in his back pocket, he's sitting all over it. "I said, 'What the hell is he doing with my hat? That's my game hat.' Then he went out and pulled it out and waved it. Williams was famous for not tipping his hat. It was kind of great." Reardon was the first player to save 30 games five consecutive seasons. He was on the 2000 Hall of Fame ballot but fell one vote short of the 5 percent necessary to remain on the ballot. "Compare my numbers to Rollie, [bruce] Sutter and [Rich] Gossage," he says. There's Reardon and Shane riding in the Twins World Series parade in Minneapolis. "He loved to go in the clubhouse, and Kirby Puckett and Bert Blyleven loved him," Reardon remembers. "Carl Pohlad, the owner of the Twins, used to have a table of candy -- it was like trick or treat every night. Bert used to pick up Shane and turn him upside-down and shake him and all the candy would come out. Shane had the look to him, that smile and all. "All of this really meant so much to me, and now to me it doesn't really mean anything at all." With $170 in a green Hamilton Jewelers bag, he approached a security guard in the mall parking lot "I walked up to him and said, 'Hey, I think I've done something stupid. I robbed a store.' He goes, 'What are you talking about?' I said, 'I'm on a lot of medications. I feel like I've screwed up. But I've got a bag here that says Hamilton Jewelers, there's cash in there.' "He called the police. Supposedly, the police pulled their guns on me, 'cause I wouldn't put my hands up. But I don't remember that, either. The psychiatrist told me, 'You might have been trying to commit suicide by having them shoot you.' "That's how depressed I was. I didn't care about living at all. And yes, I have two [other] kids, and I think the world of them. But at that time, depression is a scary thing." Innocent by insanity Reardon was promptly arrested. He immediately apologized, telling police he "flipped on his medications." His disheveled arrest picture was splashed all across the newspapers. "He was in a terrible, terrible depression," says his wife of 29 years, Phebe, a Newton, Mass., native. "The only good thing that came of the robbery is that it got Jeff some help." Said Reardon, "I don't even remember that I spent a night in jail. When I see the clips on TV of me shackled, I don't remember any of that." He was released the next day on a $5,000 bond. In August, a judge found Reardon innocent by reason of insanity after court-appointed psychiatrists testified that he was in a psychotic state because of the medications. Between the time of his arrest and his trial, Reardon spent a month in a mental hospital receiving electroshock therapy three times a week. He is now taking only two medications, along with monthly shock treatments. "I hate going," he says. "Before, I didn't care if I went under and didn't wake up. If they didn't pull me out, who cares? That's how I felt for a long time." His doctors are optimistic. "They say, 'Oh, you're like 100 percent better,' but I'm still depressed," says Reardon, who has begun to exercise again. "It's almost like it's a struggle to do everything. The pain never goes away. To tell the truth, the day is so long for me since Shane died. I don't know what to do. A day to me seems like a week." Reardon says he recently penned a letter of apology to the jewelry store saleswoman. She did not reply. James Silfies, regional director for Hamilton Jewelers, acknowledges the company received the letter, but the saleswoman declined to be interviewed. "It was an unfortunate incident," said Silfies. "We wish him the very best." Troubled road to tragedy Reardon says Shane, the middle of his three children, was nothing like him. He was very outgoing. He was into music, very creative, and always smiling. They shared a love of Bob Dylan and Pink Floyd. Shane wanted to be a rapper. "He was actually just the opposite of me, even though I was a ballplayer," Reardon says. "I wasn't real popular or happy-go-lucky. He had a great personality. He was very caring and very loving. He had like 20 best friends." In high school, when Shane started getting into trouble with drugs, Reardon sent him to Swift River, an exclusive therapeutic boarding school for troubled teens in Western Massachusetts. "I was anti-drugs, big-time," says Reardon. "Even when I went to UMass in the '70s. It's kind of weird how Shane ended up." Reardon says that when his son graduated from Swift River with honors, he was off drugs. He enrolled in Full Sail, a school in Winter Park, Fla., that offered music programs. But what happened next haunts Reardon. At Christmas in 2003, Shane and an old friend from his drug-using days convinced Reardon they were both clean and would live together at Full Sail. "He said he was straight and off drugs," Reardon says. "Because we are nice people, we believed him. Two months later, our son is dead. I'm always going to feel guilty about that. He was into drugs big-time." Reardon says Shane's roommate found him unconscious but breathing on the couch, dragged him to the shower, but failed to revive him and left. By the time he returned, Shane had turned blue. The roommate told police he thought Shane was drunk. An autopsy determined that he died of a lethal dose of methadone, a synthetic narcotic used to treat heroin users. "They could've called 911 at any time, they had plenty of time to save him," says Reardon. Phebe says she had a premonition of Shane's death. "The night Shane died, I took a nap and I dreamed he died," she says. "I got up all sweaty and shaking. It was 6 p.m. I called him, but of course he didn't answer. He was unconscious at the time, and I got the call four hours later. How's that for spooky?" The Reardons sold their lakeside Berkshire home, where they spent summers together, and Reardon gave away their belongings. It held too many memories of their energetic son, making campfires, setting off fireworks, and water-tubing around the lake. "It hurt to be up there without him," says Reardon. Trying to reconnect The Reardons have a guest book permanently set up for Shane Reardon on Legacy.com and a foundation in his name. Reardon logs in every day and has written 25 messages to Shane. "It makes me feel better," he says. Sometimes, he reads the hundreds of messages and weeps. It is a very public place for a very private man. Reardon writes that he would trade places with Shane "in a heartbeat." He also writes things that rip at a man's soul. "Please come home. We need you with us," he wrote on what would have been Shane's 21st birthday. Shane's tombstone has a picture of him in his favorite blue suit, smiling. Reardon says messages and souvenirs from friends always surround it. Since he retired from baseball in 1994, Reardon had spent most of his time playing golf and fishing, but that stopped when Shane died. Now his oldest son, Jay, is trying to get him back out on the links. And he's talking about baseball again. "I don't think [Jonathan] Papelbon should be a starter," says Reardon, referencing the young Sox pitcher. "You got a gutsy closer like him that can deal with that pressure every night, you keep him right there." He's also reestablishing some friendships. "Actually, we [recently] went out to eat with some of the guys I played with for the first time since our son died. So at least now I'm getting out of the house all the time." But that creates problems for Reardon, who previously went unrecognized around town. "It bothers the hell out of me that I did it because it's been awfully embarrassing for me," he acknowledges. "I get embarrassed when people recognize me now. It ain't from baseball. I can tell. "When I go to the Publix -- I do this to stay busy -- I can see the guy whispering in his wife's ear. I know what he's saying, 'That's the guy that robbed the jewelry store, the ballplayer.' He ain't saying, 'That's the guy that saved 370 games.' " Ask Reardon if he is nuts, and he laughs. "I'm perfectly normal; they made me nuts," he says. "That's why I didn't mind getting a charge of insanity." He bristles at people who say he got star treatment from the court system. "I think it was just the opposite," he contends. "I think they kept it going because I was a baseball star. "I had no gun. Twelve medications. People get off of murders because of medications. Yes, it was wrong, and I admit that, and I feel very bad about doing that. But anybody who thinks I got preferential treatment is full of it. "I didn't have to work since I retired. I got $170 in the robbery. I had like $600 in my wallet. Look at this house, it's all paid for with Boston Red Sox money." Tarnished collection Reardon's trophy room looks like a wing of the Hall of Fame. Signed Reardon uniforms -- from his Montreal days to his final season, with the Yankees -- line the wall. Trophies and photos freeze moments of joy. There's a photo combo of a young Roger Clemens dumping Gatorade on Reardon after he surpassed Rollie Fingers as the all-time saves leader and then lifting him on his shoulders. "Oh yeah, I remember that game," says Reardon. "It was a 1-0 game against the Yankees [June 15, 1992]. I pitched the last inning. Roger, [Tom] Brunansky, Matt Young put me on their shoulders. Roger actually wanted to carry me around the field. I said, 'No, just take me to my wife in the seats.' " There's former President Reagan welcoming the champion Twins at the White House, and a dapper Reardon standing over his shoulder. There's a signed picture of Ted Williams waving a Red Sox cap to the Fenway faithful. "Back then, the other ballplayers weren't that impressed with old- timers," Reardon says. "It was Ted Williams Day. Me and Wade [boggs] were the only ones out there. Ted sat next to us before he went on the field. He said, 'Hey, Reardon, let me borrow your hat.' He's stuffing it in his back pocket, he's sitting all over it. "I said, 'What the hell is he doing with my hat? That's my game hat.' Then he went out and pulled it out and waved it. Williams was famous for not tipping his hat. It was kind of great." Reardon was the first player to save 30 games five consecutive seasons. He was on the 2000 Hall of Fame ballot but fell one vote short of the 5 percent necessary to remain on the ballot. "Compare my numbers to Rollie, [bruce] Sutter and [Rich] Gossage," he says. There's Reardon and Shane riding in the Twins World Series parade in Minneapolis. "He loved to go in the clubhouse, and Kirby Puckett and Bert Blyleven loved him," Reardon remembers. "Carl Pohlad, the owner of the Twins, used to have a table of candy -- it was like trick or treat every night. Bert used to pick up Shane and turn him upside-down and shake him and all the candy would come out. Shane had the look to him, that smile and all. "All of this really meant so much to me, and now to me it doesn't really mean anything at all."

[Guest Edgy DC]

Confession: I subscribe to Shane Reardon's page at Legacy.com.

[MFS62]

As per transaction column in today's Daily News, Neil Allen named pitching coach for the Tampa Bay farm team in Montgomery. I think that's AA level.

Later

[Guest Edgy DC]

Turk, not a jerk

Major league morale

Former baseball player visits soldiers overseas

By Nicole Sequino, Berkshire Eagle Staff

Article Launched:12/04/2006 03:02:23 AM EST

Monday, December 04

PITTSFIELD — Turk Wendell, the retired New York Mets, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher who hails from Jeff Reardon's hometown of Dalton, said he saw firsthand how U.S. troops fighting against the Taliban are improving the morale and quality of life for Afghanistan's poor and uneducated masses.

"The soldiers are showing Afghans more of a civilized life," Wendell asserted. "They're enhancing the lives of these people, who don't know anything other than survival in this war-torn country."'

Wendell discussed his fall tour of Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan and Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in a recent phone interview with

The Eagle

.

Retired players raise morale

He and retired outfielder Marty Cordova, perhaps best known for his five seasons with the Minnesota Twins, toured the military bases from Sept. 30 to Oct. 15 as part of a goodwill tour to bring morale to overseas military personnel in the Persian Gulf.

Former Major League Baseball players Turk Wendell (left) and Marty Cordova toured Bagram Airfield and visited with the troops here Oct. 3-7. The players are part of the "Heroes of the Diamond Tour," which is geared towards deployed military personnel. It focuses on raising spirits and providing entertainment to servicemembers. The tour included autograph/photograph sessions, meet and greets, hospital visits and base softball games with the troops. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Joseph Kapinos)

"They couldn't believe that we went out into such a high-risk area to greet them," said Wendell, 39, who was visiting with family in Pittsfield at the time of the interview. He lives with his wife and children in Colorado, where he finished his career in 2004 playing for the Rockies.

"They actually knew who I was right off the bat, too," he quipped. "It was a great feeling to be there. I don't even know if words could describe how I felt."

Wendell and Cordova spent the first part of their trip at the Qatar base, which he said contains many amenities for infantry troops and airmen on break from duty. It operates as a critical hub of U.S. air operations out of the small country's peninsula, which lies in the Persian Gulf bordering Saudi Arabia.

They spent the remaining time at Bagram, now a heavily guarded U.S.combined military compound, which had been built in 1976 for the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. The U.S. military claimed the base, an hour from the country's capital of Kabul, in December 2001.

Request to 'spread the truth'

In both locations, the retired ballplayers met with service members, talked baseball, visited injured soldiers in hospitals, signed autographs and played softball games. They also learned that soldiers were deeply frustrated by media coverage of the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, asking Wendell and Cordova to "keep spreading the truth."

"It makes soldiers angry because they feel the media isn't showing what's really going on," Wendell said, noting that they are building schools and helping to protect the local people. "The people in Afghanistan feel so liberated and appreciative. This is not some lost cause, where soldiers are dying for nothing."

He said the Taliban raid villages, pillage houses and sometimes kill their fellow citizens, who are mostly poor farmers. "I don't think people understand how evil these Taliban really are," he added.

Wendell said he returned with a new appreciation for this country.

On another note, he also briefly discussed his professional baseball career, at least partly inspired by his mother's brother, Rick Barnes, a custodian at the Berkshire Athenaeum in Pittsfield.

"I showed him my baseball cards when he was a little kid, and that was it — that's what he wanted to do," Barnes said.

As a Berkshire native, Wendell said he naturally longed to play for the Boston Red Sox, but was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the fifth round of the 1988 amateur draft. In 1993, he made his major-league debut as a right-handed relief pitcher for the Cubs, where he remained until he was traded to the Mets in 1997. He was traded in mid-2001 to the Phillies. In 2003, Wendell became a free agent and signed with the Rockies, where he endured an injury-plagued season and was released. He attempted a return in 2005 with the Houston Astros' minor league team but retired that year.

Former fan favorite

Wendell amassed 36 wins and 33 losses, 33 saves, 515 strikeouts and an earned-run average of 3.93 in his career. He was known as an eccentric fan favorite, especially with the Mets, and wore his signature necklace containing the claws and teeth of animals he had hunted and killed. In the Mets career, he posted a 3.34 ERA and a 22-14 record in 285 appearances and appeared in the playoffs in 1999 and 2000.

Still, Wendell was disillusioned by the business part of baseball. He said he was frustrated when the Mets traded him to the Phillies after he turned down a lucrative contract with the Baltimore Orioles to remain at Shea Stadium.

"It's the kind of thing that happens a lot in baseball," he added.

[metirish]

Piazza Power

] Piazza scores at XM, drives Trunk home By DAVID HINCKLEY DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Mike Piazza plays baseball, not hockey, but he just rang up a save. Piazza convinced XM Satellite Radio to reinstate his pal Eddie Trunk's metal show, which XM took off its Boneyard channel 18 months ago after Piazza made an unflattering assessment of the channel's other programming content. Trunk returns tonight live, 6-10, on Ch. 41. "I couldn't be happier about coming back, and Mike gets all the credit," said Trunk. "I know it bothered him that I took a bullet for some things he said, so he went to XM in Washington to clear the air and here we are." The D.C. meeting happened this summer when Piazza's San Diego Padres played the Washington Nationals. Piazza had wanted to do this for a while, said Trunk, but Boneyard's former program director wasn't interested. "Once that individual left, we set it up for Mike to meet with [senior vice president of music programming] Jon Zellner and [executive vice president of programming] Eric Logan. He explained his comments, they saw that he was a guy who genuinely knows and loves the music, and an hour later they contacted me about coming back." The key point about his return, says Trunk, "is that I'll be doing the kind of show I want to do - live, with music, interviews, stories, talk and so on. There aren't many live shows like that, especially on satellite, and I think that's one reason so many people responded to mine. "The fact a lot of fans wanted me back was a big part of XM's decision, too." This show is separate from and won't affect his "Friday Night Rocks" on WAXQ (104.3 FM). "The Q show is my bread-and-butter," he said. "But I'm always looking for more places to spread my message that metal fans aren't just some small niche. They're a large group of passionate people who are underserved." Trunk's featured guest on tonight's show will be Rob Halford, and don't be entirely surprised if Piazza shows up, either in person or on the phone.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Oh, just say it. Because he's gay.

[metirish]

I didn't make the connection....Halford and Piazza...lovely.

[MFS62]

I spoke to a guy today named Pacella. I asked him if he was related to the ex-Met pitcher John Pacella. He said John was his cousin, and that he and his dad used to go to Mets games using tickets provided by John.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/P/John-Pacella.shtml

I asked what John was doing these days. The guy told me that John, after leaving the majors, played in Japan for the Tokyo Giants for a few years. He returned to the states and is now in "Real Estate". I forgot to ask where.

Later

[nymr83]

God bless you Turk Wendell (and Marty Cordova too)!
I'm glad he didn't get lost in the mountains again...are there mountain lions out there?

[Guest cooby]

MFS62 wrote: He returned to the states and is now in "Real Estate". Later

That seems to be the norm.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

]He returned to the states and is now in "Real Estate"

Every time he shows a house, the roof falls off.

[Guest Edgy DC]

That took some work. Good job.

[Guest Edgy DC]

John Stearns, appointed manager of your Columbus Clippers.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I forget: who are the Clippers now affiliated with? Pittsburgh?

ON EDIT: Actually, I think it's Washington.

[Guest Edgy DC]

A coupla prospect updates.

Lee May, Jr., former number one pick, has been hired to coach for the Akron Aeros under coach Tim Bogar.

D.J. Dozier, as I think we've reported, is providing financial guidance to athletes.

Whatever Happened To . . . Two-Sport Star Athlete D.J. Dozier?

Dec 11, 11:03 AM

By TONY GERMANOTTA | THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

He anchored a national football championship team at Penn State University and had careers in the NFL and baseball. Then in his prime he walked away to chase another dream: missionary work.

These day s, Dozier is living in Allentown, Pa., with a brand new baby and a start up business that helps athletes like himself find fulfilling careers after sports.

It's been quite a journey for the 41-year-old father of four.

"I was fortunate in terms of having the opportunity to play at a nationally ranked college team, to get to the NFL and to play a little baseball," he said last week from his office at Cambridge Sports Consultants.

"I didn't hit the milestones that I set for myself, but looking back now, I got five years in the NFL, got to play baseball. I had a great time and I escaped unscathed for the most part."

At Kempsville High, Dozier was named a Parade All-American r unning b ack. A fter starring in both football and baseball, he won the Hertz #1 Award as best athlete in Virginia.

Recruited by coach Joe Paterno, Dozier led the Nittany Lions in rushing all four years and scored the winning touchdown and earned the MVP award in the Fiesta Bowl to cap Penn State's 1986 championship season .

Dozier was the 14th pick in the NFL draft the next year by the Minnesota Vikings. He would spend four largely unhappy years there, mostly on the bench behind legendary Herschel Walker. He was traded to the Detroit Lions, where his path was blocked by Hall of Famer Barry Sanders. One of a handful of football players who forced their free agency in court, Dozier was without a team in 1992 .

Dozier, who had been drafted by baseball's Detroit Tigers after high school, had decided early in his football career to chase his baseball dream during the off seasons .

He signed as an amateur free agent with the New York Mets in 1990, played in his hometown for the Tidewater Tides and made it to the majors for 25 games in 1992.

Later, Dozier was traded to the San Diego Padres and then to the St. Louis Cardinals. He never played in the majors for either team, retiring in 1994 from both sports to spend a pair of seasons coaching at Rock Academy in Virginia Beach before joining a ministry out of Orlando, Fla.

He traveled the world for five years with various ministries, including Benny Hinn's Miracle Crusades, mostly taking care of logistics.

Through the years, he worked as a financial planner and investment banker.

A mutual friend put him in touch with Tyler Green, another financial planner. Green, a former first- round pick of the Philadelphia Phillies, had arm injuries that curtailed his career.

They opened their business in March and have a couple dozen clients they are helping transition into new careers, Dozier said. A sister company has contracts with the NBA and WNBA player s associations to work with retired members.

Dozier's family still lives in Virginia Beach. He hopes to visit in January to talk to high school athletes.

What would he tell them?

"Go after it. Just live your dream ... and have fun doing it."

* * *

Reach Tony Germanotta at (757) 446-2377 or

tony.germanotta @pilotonline.com

. D.J. Dozier was one of the finest athletes ever nurtured in Hampton Roads.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Tommy Herr, who probably never should have been a Met, taking over as manager in Hagerstown, a development made even less interesting in light of this riveting story.

Ex-Major League player to help ‘Santa Cops'

By Hector Trujillo/Staff Writer

Retired baseball star Robin Ventura will be signing autographs and accepting donations this afternoon for Arroyo Grande Police Department's Santa Cop program.

Ventura, a Santa Maria native who enjoyed a long and successful Major League career, will be at the Petro Grande Mobil gas station at 525 Traffic Way in Arroyo Grande from noon to 2 p.m.

“Robin is such a wonderful and down-to-earth person that his willingness to help does not surprise me,” said Kathy Stanley. She manages the gas station and knows Ventura because he's a frequent customer.

“He comes down here all the time to get coffee and breakfast ...,” Stanley added. “We are hoping that many people show up not only because of who will be there but also because of the goals for this event.”

The program, in its 19th year, serves children whose families in need did not receive assistance from other sources, or who had unexpected sickness, injury or financial crisis.

In 2005, the department delivered gifts to more than 1,300 families.

Ventura's name is well known to baseball fans. He was a two-time all-star and won the American League Gold Glove Award six times.

He was born in Santa Maria in 1967 and made his Major League Baseball debut on Sept. 12, 1989.

Ventura played third base for the Chicago White Sox during his first 10 years in baseball. He then went on to play for the New York Mets for three years, the New York Yankees for two years, and the Los Angeles Dodgers for two years, where he finished his career.

Other members of the Santa Cop program will join Ventura in accepting donations at the station today.

Anyone interested in supporting the Santa Cop program or in helping the AGPD with their gift-wrapping session at 6 p.m. Thursday can call 473-5136.

Hector Trujillo can be reached at 489-4206, Ext. 5008, or

htrujillo@santamariatimes.com

.

December 13, 2006

Oh, you don't think much of that one? How about this?!

Brigham students raise $1,500 jumping rope

By Phyllis Coulter

pcoulter@pantagraph.com

BLOOMINGTON -- Three people who made names for themselves playing ball skipped their usual plans Tuesday to encourage Brigham Elementary School students to jump rope.

The children started Jump Rope for Heart at 8:20 a.m. Tuesday with a goal of raising $1,500 for the American Heart Association, said physical education teacher Robin Beyer.

The event was organized in honor of former Illinois State University swimming and diving team member Dede Woytowych, who died at age 23 in September.

To motivate the children, Beyer turned to former Major League baseball player Tim Bogar, former professional basketball player Ken Moorehead and Tricia Gaither, an ISU softball player and a student teacher at Brigham.

“Fitness is a big part of their lives -- that’s why I chose them,” Beyer said.

The celebrity guests turned the ropes for the children and also signed autographs.

Fourth-grader Molly Ewen, 9, looked like a pro as she jumped.

“I got 900 in a row once,” said Molly, who jumps rope on her own and plays softball, basketball and volleyball.

Aside from raising money, Beyer said she wanted the students to learn about cardiovascular fitness and agility and have fun with successful athletes.

It also was a way to honor Woytowych, who was a student teacher at Brigham. Woytowych, who had a pacemaker since a young age, was named ISU’s Newcomer of the Year in her freshman season.

“She was really special to all of us,” Beyer said.

Bogar, a rural Bloomington resident and Brigham parent, now lives in Ohio during the baseball season. He manages the Cleveland Indians Double-A farm team, the Akron Aeros.

He and his wife, Wendy Bogar, are active at Brigham, where their son Ty is in kindergarten and daughter Aralee is in second grade.

Gaither taught Bogar and the children a catchy little teddy bear rope-skipping song.

“I used to do a lot of this when I was in training,” Bogar said of jumping rope.

Bogar played nine seasons with the New York Mets, Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers and was a Class A manager for two seasons in the Astros’ organization.

Ken Moorehead is a 6-foot 7-inch former basketball player who grew up in Michigan, was drafted by the New Jersey Nets and played on their farm team.

He retired as a juvenile probation officer in Michigan to move here with his wife, who works at State Farm Insurance Cos. He works at Brigham in the YMCA’s Pals after-school program and as a lunchtime supervisor.

“Many children didn’t know he was a basketball star,” Gaither said.

Some kindergarten students also discovered that their student teacher, Gaither, was a softball star at ISU earlier this year.

“They have very, very good teachers here,” Gaither said.

Huh?

[Guest Edgy DC]

One note I picked up in the Jeff Bagwell career retrospectives. He wasn't drafted out of high school. But University of Hartford coach Bill Denehy believed in him and offered him a contract. Think about that every time you read one of RealityChuck's posts.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Charlie Hough, pitching coach for your San Bernadino 66ers.

Manny Acta Day

You know, Jackie Robinson's legacy as "the first" frames way too many story lines. I mean, this tribute day is a good story, but describing Acta as "only the fourth Major League manager from the Dominican Republic" is silly. Kind of like no story could be written about an ex-Beatle without working into the lead speculation of the story's impact on a potential reunion.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Mike Glavine, the fun he's havin':

Glavine named assistant coach

Dec. 19, 2006

Boston, MA

Mike Glavine ’96 has been named an assistant coach on the Northeastern University baseball team, head coach Neil McPhee announced on Tuesday. Glavine will work primarily with Northeastern’s infielders and hitters. A native of Billerica, Mass., Glavine was inducted into the Northeastern Hall of Fame on Nov. 16 for excellence in the sport of baseball and brings with him 10 years of experience at the professional level.

Glavine spent four years at Northeastern and left as one of the most prolific hitters in Huskies history. He made a big splash in his freshman season, as he batted .307 with 19 extra-base hits, including a school-record nine triples. In his career, the first baseman hit 28 home runs and knocked in 110 RBI, which placed him third and ninth, respectively, in the school’s all-time record books. The left-handed slugger also accumulated 120 career walks, good for second all-time at Northeastern, as well as a .552 slugging percentage.

After graduating from Northeastern, Glavine spent 10 seasons in professional baseball after being drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 1995, with most time coming at the Double A and Triple A levels. In 2003, Glavine was called up to the major leagues by the New York Mets for the final month of the season, where he played with his older brother, Tom. He got his first major league hit in his last game with the Mets, on Sept. 28, 2003 against the Florida Marlins. He became the third Husky to play in the major leagues, joining George Yankowski and Carlos Pena.

Glavine, who retired from baseball in 2004, is a co-owner of Future Stars in Dracut, Mass. The facility offers baseball and softball instruction as well as personalized strength and conditioning programs for young players. Glavine, who has previously coached AAU teams in addition to teaching private lessons and group camps, is responsible for the day-to-day operations of Future Stars.

Also, Alvaro Espinosa has been named the infield coach for the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees. I didn't know AAA teams had infield coaches.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Backman lands a job.

South Georgia "Nuts" about Backman

12/20/06

ALBANY, GA- The South Georgia Peanuts have named former big leaguer Wally Backman field manager for the upcoming season.

"I'm very excited to be back in baseball," said Backman. "I can't even begin to tell you how much I missed the game."

Backman grew up in Beaverton, OR and attended Aloha High where he hit .548 as a senior. Wally came from a baseball background as his father played in the minors for the Pirates organization. After high school, Wally was selected in the first round of the 1977 draft (16th overall) by the

Some of Backman's top returning players.

New York Mets. He progressed quickly through the system as a second baseman, and earned a September call up for the 1980 Mets, hitting .323 in 93 at-bats.

"We're thrilled to have Wally on board with the Peanuts, said General Manager Keith Michlig. "He's a name most people familiar with Major League Baseball will recognize. More importantly, he has been recognized for his ability to work with young players at our level. His expertise will only help solidify our efforts to develop players and help them take that step towards the major leagues."

Backman's speed and high on-base percentage made him a valuable number-two hitter. The switch-hitter teamed with leadoff hitter Len Dykstra to become known as the "Partners in Grime" for their hustling, dirty-uniform style of play for the 1986 World Champions.

A vital part of the World Championship team in '86, Backman was later traded to Minnesota after the 1988 season. In 1990, Backman signed with Pittsburgh, where he was used primarily as a third baseman and helped the Pirates to an NL East title by batting .292 in 104 games. He spent two years in Philadelphia as a utility infielder and pinch-hitter before ending his career with 10 games for Seattle in 1993.

After retiring, Backman managed for seven years in the minor leagues. His first position was with the Catskill Cougars of the Independent Western League in 1997, and he went on to manage two other Western League teams, Bend and Tri-City.

"Independent baseball is like a chess game because you get to make your own moves," shared Backman. "In affiliated ball, you can't make any of the personnel decisions, and that often hinders your success. I feel that chemistry is a big part of game and I plan on getting the most out of my players."

Backman later went on to manage Class A Winston-Salem in 2001 and Double-A Birmingham in 2002 and 2003. His 2002 team won the Southern League title. In 2004, he was named The Sporting News' Minor League Manager of the Year after leading the Arizona Diamondbacks Class A Lancaster affiliate to the California League championship series.

"I've learned from some of the best minds in the game," said Backman, who played for the likes of Davey Johnson, Lou Pinella, Joe Torre and Jimmy Leyland. "I feel that I have my own style of coaching, but I have definitely taken a piece from every manager I've been around."

In his New Historical Baseball Abstract in 2001, Bill James ranked Backman the 106th best second baseman in baseball history. Backman's son, Wally Jr., was a 30th round draft pick of the Texas Rangers in the 2004 amateur draft and has since moved up to Single A in Spokane, WA.

"I think the fans of South Georgia will appreciate the competitive spirit Wally Backman will instill in our guys, shared Michlig. "We look forward to displaying a gritty, hard-working brand of Peanuts baseball."

The South Coast League is a six-team based independent professional baseball league located in the Southeastern U.S. First pitch is scheduled for May of 2007.

[Frayed Knot]

I don't always read this thread so it may be here already, but ex-Met, and Long Island native, Paul Gibson is now Atlanta's scout for the Northeast region.

Check last Sunday's Newsday if you want an article.

[Guest Edgy DC]

And Tom "Ziggy" Wilson signs on as hitting coach for the Trenton Thunder.

[Guest iramets]

Frayed Knot wrote: Check last Sunday's Newsday if you want an article.

I'll take "the," please.

[Guest Edgy DC]

An update on Ed Hearn in Hall of Fame magazine (I never heard of it, either), though the author himself admits that not much is new.

A Hall of Famer in the Game of Life

by Gene Frenette

=indigo]HOFMAG.com Exclusive

Jacksonville, Florida

When the 1986 New York Mets assembled at Shea Stadium in August for a 20th reunion of the World Series championship, the loudest cheer was reserved for the final player introduced who had battled countless off-the-field problems through his own bad choices - Darryl Strawberry.

Another of the high-profile Mets and a Strawberry running mate, pitcher Dwight Gooden, was unable to attend the reunion because he's still serving time in a Florida prison for violating his probation by using cocaine.

Less conspicuous among these '86 Mets - a collection of players that achieved almost as much notoriety for their excessive lifestyle away from the game as their 108 regular-season victories - is the backup catcher who has become a different kind of Hall of Famer during his two decades out of the batter's box.

Ed Hearn never signed a lucrative big-league contract. After an eight-year struggle just to reach the majors, Hearn's stay on the baseball mountaintop ended before he had a chance to really take in the view.

http://www.hofmag.com/images/stories/12232006/frenette/1163866559_240p.jpg Hearn made his biggest contribution to the Mets when he was traded to the Royals for David Cone.

After his rookie season with the '86 Mets, he played in only 13 more games during the next two years with the Kansas City Royals because of a painful shoulder injury that never fully healed.

Hearn was part of the infamous trade by then Royals' executive John Schuerholz that sent future All-Star pitcher David Cone to the Mets. And Hearn has seen his life after baseball take a different plummet than the alcohol and substance abuse nightmares endured by Gooden and Strawberry.

Virtually all of his former Mets' teammates enjoyed greater baseball careers, but none of them returned to Shea Stadium on that momentous occasion with the same perspective as Hearn.

Sometimes, it's hard to see the real-life Hall of Famers from the ones inducted for merely their athletic skills and productivity in the game.

It wasn't until Hearn left baseball that he discovered the true meaning of getting up from a knockdown pitch. Through unfathomable circumstances, and before smaller audiences now than he had in those Mets' glory days, Hearn has become a bigger hero to people than he ever imagined.

Not as a baseball icon, but as a motivational speaker who relishes the opportunity to uplift people. Hearn does it with humor, with frankness, and mostly, with a powerful story that comes from his daily struggle to overcome all the medical challenges thrown upon him.

A few months after he left baseball for good in 1991, Hearn, then 31, was diagnosed with kidney failure and began dialysis treatments. His 15-year journey since then has been a monument to perseverance, too often preceded by so much despair that it's a wonder Hearn even made it to that Mets' reunion or even his 46th birthday.

Ten years ago, I co-authored Hearn's book, titled

Conquering Life's Curves

, and not much has changed. The catcher who played in 62 major-league games and hit four home runs is still battling in life's trenches.

"I don't even know what normal is," Hearn said. "At 46, I feel like what I think a 65 or 70-year-old would feel. My body feels it's at a point, medically and physically, that I'm about to retire. It's a chore just to walk up stairs."

Hearn doesn't want sympathy. But he does want to impart on those willing to hear his message that a lot of good can still come from years of physical suffering and living in a perpetually hope-challenged state.

His medical résumé isn't a pretty sight: three kidney transplants, overcoming cancer in his lip and temple, radiation treatments for a tumor that has been surgically removed, sleep apnea, weekly IV treatments for hypo-gamma globulin anemia, lingering pain in his feet, constant headaches that make it difficult to sleep, and taking 25 pills a day to combat various maladies.

But in living through his own personal hell, which included briefly contemplating suicide back in 1993, Hearn has also taken advantage of another career opportunity that has brought him more fulfillment than any World Series ring or ballpark ovation.

Approximately 30-50 times a year, Hearn goes around the country giving motivational speeches to Fortune 500 companies, state & regional conventions and various corporate groups that are genuinely moved by his willingness to mix humor with hard-hitting anecdotes about his medical ordeals.

Two decades ago, Hearn thought getting two hits off Los Angeles Dodgers' pitcher Bob Welch in his major-league debut on NBC, with announcers Vin Scully and Joe Garagiola on the call, was the thrill of a lifetime. When the ball rolled through Boston Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner's legs to end of the most memorable World Series game and the Mets were basking in champagne two days later, Hearn believed nothing could be so gratifying.

He couldn't have been more wrong. It took a lot of pain and misery for Hearn to realize that his baseball journey, while enriched by a one-year stint with one of the game's most famous ball clubs, could never compare with the satisfaction that comes from uplifting people without a bat in his hand.

"Teaching and encouraging people today is bigger than anything I achieved in baseball," Hearn said. "It's more important to me as a person. Not only from the perspective of making a difference in other people's lives, but mainly, it gives purpose to all of the stuff that happened in my life."

"I absolutely don't know if I could have handled all I went through without it. I'm often considered a lifeline in my speaking, but it's also been a lifeline for me. I've done public speaking at times when I've felt like the world had caved in on me. One of the strengths of my talks is I don't sugarcoat it. If I'm hurting that day, I often let my audience know it."

Hearn understands the risks. He knows he's being paid to motivate the crowds that come to hear his speeches. But the Florida native, who now makes his home in Shawnee, Kansas with his wife Tricia and 12-year-old son, Cody, is convinced that people relate to his message because everyone faces personal struggles they may not readily share with friends or co-workers.

After all his talks, Hearn tries to stay around and converse with his audience. The feedback he has received during the years has given him greater satisfaction than anything he ever did on a ball field.

He has received numerous letters from people telling him, in so many words, that his talk either saved their lives or turned them around. Hearn still gets chills talking about the Fortune 500 CEO who took him out of public sight after a speech and bawled on his shoulder because "he saw the light" about rearranging his priorities.

The essence of Hearn's message is encouraging people to move away from self-centeredness to serving others, in whatever form that may take. He believes that attitude will make for stronger businesses, stronger families, stronger self-worth and a stronger country.

"Ed used to get fan mail that was mostly about autographs and signing baseball cards,'' said Tricia Hearn, a pediatric nurse. "Now he gets notes from people about the difference he's made in their lives. To do it now from a different platform, I think it gives him a sense of purpose."

"Maybe it's a reason why he had to endure all this, so he could help others with their struggles, no matter what they are. It's a sense of validation."

Hearn almost didn't attend the Mets' 20-year World Series reunion because, though he cherished seeing old friends again, he felt awkward about receiving adulation for accomplishments that didn't seem as meaningful as they once did.

And maybe, too, it was a painful reminder of the baseball career that never reached full bloom because of his health problems. But Hearn relented and returned to Shea Stadium, if nothing else to let his son experience the joyous, rock-and-roll atmosphere that was the '86 Mets.

Besides, what really matters is not who Ed Hearn was 20 years ago, but how he has persevered through a mountain of medical challenges and become a different kind of hero.

Of the '86 Mets, the only player to attain Hall of Fame status was Hearn's mentor and the team's starting catcher, Gary Carter.

You'll never see a bust of Ed Hearn in Cooperstown. But in a humanitarian sense of the word, he belongs in anyone's Hall of Fame.

Learn more about Ed Hearn's triumphs at

www.edhearn.com

.