Teammate by David Ross & Don Yaeger

Author:David Ross & Don Yaeger
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography / Sports, Sports & Recreation / Baseball / General, Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs
Publisher: Hachette Books
Published: 2017-05-08T16:00:00+00:00

Rizzo was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the sixth round of the 2007 MLB draft out of Stoneman-Douglas High in Parkland, Florida. Theo Epstein, general manager and executive vice president of the Red Sox, traded Rizzo to San Diego in 2010—but with the promise he’d see him again. Anthony made his major-league debut on June 9, 2011, against the Washington Nationals. But, as promised, Epstein, who had left the Red Sox for the Cubs in 2011, traded for Rizzo in January 2012. He’s been a fixture in Chicago ever since because of his incredible talent and personality.

I watched Anthony Rizzo as closely as I watched anybody when I sat on the bench. I expected a lot out of him. He is my friend. I know what he’s capable of, and I was probably hard on him because I can’t even imagine what he’s ultimately capable of as a player. He was consistently one of our best at-bats. His two-strike approach is the best I have seen in my career.

In our last regular-season game of 2016, however, against the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley, Rizzo didn’t go to his two-strike approach when he led off the bottom of the eighth inning against Reds reliever Blake Wood. We led 3–2. Rizzo fell behind in the count 0-2. On the fourth pitch of the at-bat, he strikes out swinging. It was his normal swing, one without any of the adjustments he normally made with two strikes. He didn’t choke up on the bat. He still used his usual high leg kick, and he didn’t move on top of the plate to better see outside pitches.

I noticed all this from the bench. I had planned to give him a great big bear hug and congratulate him on a great season after his at-bat—he was the first Cubs player in franchise history to hit thirty-plus home runs over three consecutive seasons. But I probably didn’t give him enough time to collect his thoughts when he returned to the dugout. He was at the bat rack, taking off his gloves, when he saw me walking toward him. He looked at me and said, “What!? What!? I didn’t want to go to my two-strike approach.”

I walked up to him and, without any emotion on my face, hugged him and said, “Hey, man, congratulations on a great year.” He was real quiet, and I just walked back down the dugout and sat on the bench. A few seconds later, Anthony walked down and said, “Hey, man. Sorry.” He didn’t have to apologize. But he knew what he did, and he knew that I knew what he did. He knew that I was watching him, too. I told him, “Don’t apologize to me, bro. It’s your career, not mine.”

I told the truth to Anthony and I was on him because I love him. He is the guy everyone is watching. He sets the tone for our team. Veterans don’t talk to guys they don’t care about. I learned that early in baseball.

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