Chuck HBest Wishes To Alex Gonzalez And Family In These Trying Times
October 7th 2009 01:59
Sometimes it all gets put into perspective. Sometimes you realize as an adult, that your everyday run of the mill worries simply pale in comparison when a problem of a much larger magnitude rears its ugly head in your life. You end up feeling stupid when you realize how truly trivial most of those little worries or problems are that we deal with in our lives. Problems like, 'Jesus, who didn't put the toilet seat down', or 'I'm sick and tired of sitting in this traffic every day of my life', or 'God, why does every day feel like the movie, Groundhog Day, and have me stuck in what seems to be this boring routine?' or 'For Christ sakes, this cashier has to be the biggest moron known to man! I've been in line for 5 whole minutes!'
At this very point in his life, Red Sox shortstop, Alex Gonzalez, probably just kicks back and smiles every time one of the above 'problems' happens to him. See, he's had that little run in with some problems of a much larger magnitude, like I referred to earlier. In a great article by Jessica Camerato from WEEI.com (click HERE to read the piece) His son has been in a coma for over two years now. Here's a hard hitting piece from Camerato's article..
With his child's life on the line, Gonzalez has forced himself to stay driven in the lineup. He was traded back to the Red Sox in August and returned to Boston with the same emotional hardships he had the last time he left. He brought his fighting attitude back with him, too.
“I know his condition," Gonzalez said. "2007 was a tough year for me. I never had a sick baby like that and it was a little hard to play and take care of him. My parents and friends talked to me a lot: 'You've got to be strong. You have a job. You have to be professional.' That's why I still play ball, you know?
“I know his condition," Gonzalez said. "2007 was a tough year for me. I never had a sick baby like that and it was a little hard to play and take care of him. My parents and friends talked to me a lot: 'You've got to be strong. You have a job. You have to be professional.' That's why I still play ball, you know?
What Gonzalez has to put on the back burner of his mind as he laces up his spikes everyday to take his position at the highest skill level in the world, is mind boggling. The fact that he can compete and play at such a high level is such a tribute to his mental toughness, I can't even do justice to it in this column of mine. On a personal note, and on a much smaller scale, I remember being a senior in high school and getting caught up in partying and such, while attempting to lead my baseball team to back to back city championships. The grades were suffering badly. The partying was increasing. What was going to happen to me? I knew I was a good ballplayer and could play at a high level after high school, but I was struggling academically. My mind was a complete mess for the past two weeks of that season. I was trying to keep news of my grades slipping from my parents and at the same time trying to get things right in the classroom and I was a shell of myself on the field. No matter how much I thought I was keeping it out of my head while on the field, it didn't matter. It ate me up mentally, especially at the plate. That was only high school ball and grades that I'm talking about in my own experience and is nothing close to Gonzalez' problem. I'm simply making a point of how much the off the field issues can affect you on the field as an athlete, especially in a sport like baseball. I can not even come close to imagining how somebody can deal with such a heart wrenching problem with one of their children, and compete so well and on such a high level as A-Gon is doing right now. When I read the piece by Jess Camerato it hit me so hard that I was nearly in tears. Truly, the story was so well written and the subject so heavy, it shook me up pretty good.
God bless young Johan Gonzalez and best of luck and sincere well wishes to the Gonzalez family during these very trying times. The time is now Alex. October is here and with all you've done for this team so far with such a heavy heart, there isn't a guy on that field I'm rooting for more than you right now.
Chuck
~TCFB~
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Two Cents From Beantown
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Two Cents From Beantown
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Again, everyone, please check out the hyperlink I provided within this post on Gonzalez and click on it to check out the story by Jessica Camerato. It's her great story, I'm just commenting on it and putting my own thoughts and spin on it in the blog post.