R.A. Dickey Says -- 2011

[TransMonk]

Ownership should let Dickey climb the mountain and shut their traps. And if they can't do that, handle this shit behind closed doors and not in the papers.

This organization is beginning to embarass me on a daily basis...and it's only fucking DECEMBER!

[Ceetar]

TransMonk wrote: Ownership should let Dickey climb the mountain and shut their traps. And if they can't do that, handle this shit behind closed doors and not in the papers. This organization is beginning to embarass me on a daily basis...and it's only fucking DECEMBER!

That's pretty much what they're doing no?

"Dickey, we'd rather you didn't do this. It's more risk than we like our players to put themselves in and you're risking your contract if you do so. "

"I'm going."

"Okay then."

The letter was sent months ago and we've known Dickey was going to do this for a year. I don't understand why the WSJ/Costa felt the need to inject the barb about the team's injuries into what was a story about Dickey's charity work and climb. If you asked any professional sports organization if they'd rather one of their players not climb a mountain, every single one of them would say the same thing.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Did they actually PUBLICLY express their disapproval before someone let the press know about a letter?

[Edgy MD]

Not to my understanding, no.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

And also, to be COMPLETELY fair... Dickey is a guy doing a selfish thing for an ostensibly selfless reason. There are an almost innumerable amount of ways he could bring attention to this issue-- and do more to stem the tide of human trafficking-- that don't involve him going all Hemingway Man on a Tanzanian mountain.

[Ceetar]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: And also, to be COMPLETELY fair... Dickey is a guy doing a selfish thing for an ostensibly selfless reason. There are an almost innumerable amount of ways he could bring attention to this issue-- and do more to stem the tide of human trafficking-- that don't involve him going all Hemingway Man on a Tanzanian mountain.

Oh, it's definitely selfish, but despite what professional sports franchises like to think, they don't actually _own_ the player.

[TransMonk]

The story made NPR's Morning Edition this morning.

Copmplete with Dickey's quote: "It's not like it's Everest."

[metirish]

TransMonk wrote: The story made NPR's Morning Edition this morning. Copmplete with Dickey's quote: "It's not like it's Everest."

All things considered it's not Everest.



and you just know Dickey listens to NPR.

Slow news day eh?

[G-Fafif]

metirish wrote: and you just know Dickey listens to NPR.

You kidding? NPR listens to R.A. Dickey.

And when R.A. Dickey talks...

SX7ZEotoFh0

[G-Fafif]

The climb: Not even as dangerous as a "loopty loop," according to the climber, who blogs it for the Paper of Record.

R. A. Dickey, the Mets pitcher, will climb Mount Kilimanjaro in January. He�s doing it in part to raise awareness for the Bombay Teen Challenge, an organization that rescues and cares for women and girls in Mumbai who are at risk of being abused and exploited. His posts will appear occasionally in Bats. It was Alexander Graham Bell who once said, �Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.� Presently, I am in the final hours of my own preparation to ascend the largest free-standing mountain that this Earth has to offer, Mount Kilimanjaro. The time for second-guessing is over. The research has been done, the miles have been hiked, the lungs have been taxed and the equipment has been gathered. In five days, I will travel via Detroit to Amsterdam, finally arriving at Kilimanjaro�s airport after a journey of 18 hours 25 minutes, and 8,674 miles. Needless to say, if you have a hard time with planes, you might want to scoot this one down your list of things to do a bit. As for success, that will, I hope, come in the form of a sunrise summit at 19,300 feet on Jan. 14, 2012. I try sometimes to wrap my mind around what it will be like to see the sun come up from the highest point in Africa, how small I will feel looking out over such an incredibly glorious expanse with the sky about to catch fire. Although the excitement is growing as the departure date draws near, the anxiety is there as well. It�s as if I�m 6 years old all over again and in line for my first �big boy� roller coaster, the one that has the steep drop and a couple of gigantic loops. I know it�s going to be a fun experience, but as the waves of people board and the screams erupt, it brings me one step closer to the unknown, a setting where fear meets anticipation. It is an exhilarating place to be, and I am grateful for the opportunity to do something I have longed to do for some time. More important, we have raised $50,000 and are halfway to our fund-raising goal for Bombay Teen Challenge, an outreach organization dedicated to putting an end to human trafficking in Mumbai, India. With $100,000, Bombay Teen Challenge will be able to purchase a health clinic right in the heart of the red-light district. This will allow hundreds of young women who have been trafficked into the brothels to become introduced to Bombay Teen Challenge and, ultimately, have a chance at freedom. I continue to believe that the risks of climbing Kilimanjaro are minimal. In fact, it may prove to be less dangerous than the roller coaster and all those loopty loops. I am encouraged to learn that a 7-year-old named Keats Boyd and an 82-year-old man named George Solt both have summited. I feel confident that a 37-year-old knuckleballer stands a fair chance to do the same. Nonetheless, I am still taking the necessary precautions to ensure my safety. The African Walking Company is our guide outfit, and it has an outstanding reputation and high summit percentage. I feel like we will be in good hands. Again, the only real danger is acute mountain sickness, or altitude sickness, and there is a medication called Diamox that you can take to mollify the symptoms. However, I am contemplating just carrying the medicine with me and trying to summit without taking any. Either way, getting to the top is the goal, and one I intend to enjoy immensely. Whatever the adversities may be, I intend to continue to document in real time from the actual mountain. With the help of a company called Inmarst I am using a service � B.G.A.N. or Broadband Global Area Network � that will allow me to connect to the Internet using a terminal that is about the size of a small laptop and weighs about 4 pounds. Panasonic has been gracious enough to provide me with a rugged camera and its Toughbook series notebook computer. These items, along with portable solar panels that will supply power, should enable me to communicate from any altitude on the mountain. I look forward to sharing this experience with all who are interested and continuing to raise awareness for a charity that can help change the world.

[Edgy MD]

I continue to believe that the risks of climbing Kilimanjaro are minimal. In fact, it may prove to be less dangerous than the roller coaster and all those loopty loops. I am encouraged to learn that a 7-year-old named Keats Boyd and an 82-year-old man named George Solt both have summited.

I bet they both had ulnar collatoral ligaments, though.

[Ceetar]

Edgy DC wrote: I continue to believe that the risks of climbing Kilimanjaro are minimal. In fact, it may prove to be less dangerous than the roller coaster and all those loopty loops. I am encouraged to learn that a 7-year-old named Keats Boyd and an 82-year-old man named George Solt both have summited. I bet they both had ulnar collatoral ligaments, though.

I bet the Mets would prefer he not go on roller coasters as well.

[metirish]

I know when the mother and daughter from my village climbed it over the summer with a big group it took 5 or 6 days to summit, breathtaking views to say the least.