I didn't go to work today.
Watched the Petraeus hearings. Caught some 9/11 programs - watched the planes hit the towers again. Heard the names of the dead again.
I guess I have moved on - but the memory of that day, and the days after, is still one of the sharpest amd most emotional memories in my life. I don't think I will ever work another 9/11. It is a good day for remembering and reflecting.
It is also a good day to shift paradigms.
So today I am writing about baseball. The best ball player I ever saw was...
Paul Molitor of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Though I have always been a Yankees fan, and though I loved Mantle and really am greatly impressed by Alex Rodriguez, Molitor was the best ballplayer I ever saw.
Molitor is in the Hall of Fame - elected as soon as he was eligible in January 2004. He played for 21 years and retired with a lifetime .306 batting average. He had 3,319 hits - one of only four players to exceed 3,000 hits, with a .300 average and 500 stolen bases.. He was an All-Star seven times in his career. He holds a couple of records in post-season play -- including most hits in one game (5 in the 1982 World Series)
I saw Molitor steal second in a game at Yankee Stadium - when the throw went into the outfield, he kept running and easily reached third base, and then headed home beating the throw to the plate. He had two hits that day - one of them a home run. He killed the Yankees that day. It was an amazing display of a glorious athletic talent.
Life is good - even on 9/11. It helps to remember that.
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Another common link! I didn't know "Molly" personally, but in my effort over the years to be a Twins fan (at least a couple good years in '87 & '91) I also admired his professionalism....but he had a younger sister who worked for me at 3M so I got acquainted with his family and learned he's also a "good guy." He truly has high values, through dedication to the community and his family....a rare role model in professional sports.
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