Considering we lost one of the great managers of the game today, I thought I'd share a story of the time I met Sparky...
It was sometime around the age of 9 or 10 that I was really getting into baseball. My
parents decided to send me to the UofM Baseball Camp (I think coached by Geoff Zahn at the time) and I was psyched. Sometime around the third day we were all eating our lunches in the bleachers, and all of a sudden everyone rushed to the field. There was a large group around this guy and I had no idea what was going on. I decided to walk over and see what all of the commotion was about. After making my way to centerfield I saw who it was...Sparky Anderson. I knew that this guy had coached the Tigers to the World Series in 1984, but at the time I really knew little else. I did not know about the Big Red Machine. I did not know about Johnny Bench. I knew about Ken Griffey Jr, but not Sr. I knew of Alan Trammel and Kirk Gibson and the rest of the '84 crew, but I don't think I realized the magnitude of who I was seeing. Sparky had us line-up around him so he could talk to us about baseball and life and a few other things. Afterwards he asked if anyone wanted autographs....shoot. It was then that I realized that I had nothing for him to autograph. I was wearing a dark navy blue Michigan shirt and hat. My baseball pants were not an option. My glove certainly was not an 0ption. And, it wasn't like I carried a pad of paper around with me at all times. So, at that very moment, I decided I could at least meet the guy. I stood in line, and when it came my turn, Sparky asked, "Son, what would you like me to sign." I replied, "Mr. Anderson, I don't have anything with me to sign, but I was hoping to just shake your hand." Sparky stopped, looked at me, and smiled. He told me that I was the most polite kid he had ever met and that he couldn't believe that all I wanted was a handshake. He kneeled down, gave me a hug, and told me to never change. As corny as this probably sounds, I took those words to heart. Obviously my family raising me has had an impact on that, but, I do think that story really did affect my life. So, today, I'd like to honor one of the greats. We all know that he hopped over the chalk-line on his way through the pearly gates.
RIP Sparky
Cheers,
Kevin
It was sometime around the age of 9 or 10 that I was really getting into baseball. My
parents decided to send me to the UofM Baseball Camp (I think coached by Geoff Zahn at the time) and I was psyched. Sometime around the third day we were all eating our lunches in the bleachers, and all of a sudden everyone rushed to the field. There was a large group around this guy and I had no idea what was going on. I decided to walk over and see what all of the commotion was about. After making my way to centerfield I saw who it was...Sparky Anderson. I knew that this guy had coached the Tigers to the World Series in 1984, but at the time I really knew little else. I did not know about the Big Red Machine. I did not know about Johnny Bench. I knew about Ken Griffey Jr, but not Sr. I knew of Alan Trammel and Kirk Gibson and the rest of the '84 crew, but I don't think I realized the magnitude of who I was seeing. Sparky had us line-up around him so he could talk to us about baseball and life and a few other things. Afterwards he asked if anyone wanted autographs....shoot. It was then that I realized that I had nothing for him to autograph. I was wearing a dark navy blue Michigan shirt and hat. My baseball pants were not an option. My glove certainly was not an 0ption. And, it wasn't like I carried a pad of paper around with me at all times. So, at that very moment, I decided I could at least meet the guy. I stood in line, and when it came my turn, Sparky asked, "Son, what would you like me to sign." I replied, "Mr. Anderson, I don't have anything with me to sign, but I was hoping to just shake your hand." Sparky stopped, looked at me, and smiled. He told me that I was the most polite kid he had ever met and that he couldn't believe that all I wanted was a handshake. He kneeled down, gave me a hug, and told me to never change. As corny as this probably sounds, I took those words to heart. Obviously my family raising me has had an impact on that, but, I do think that story really did affect my life. So, today, I'd like to honor one of the greats. We all know that he hopped over the chalk-line on his way through the pearly gates.RIP Sparky
Cheers,
Kevin
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