There's More to Baseball ... than catch and throw

I found these exchanges interesting.

To start this year's Major League Baseball season, the Toronto Blue Jays played the home opener with the host LA team @ Anaheim Stadium on Friday, April 7.

Everyone knows it's an honour to be selected to throw out the game's first pitch. Especially the home opener. It's important. There are a hundred quotes about baseball's most important day ... writer, Thomas Boswell said it best ... 

 "Time Begins on Opening Day".

Baseball Hall of Fame honoured member, Vladimir Guerrero Sr. (2018 class) was given that honour by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

It was a nice touch, after all, Guerrero was inducted into the Hall of Fame as the first "Halo" wearing a "Angels" cap. He was also a force in Montreal with the Expos, spent a little time with the Blue Jays organization and his son, Vlady Junior, is expected to join his father in the Hall at some time in the future, wearing a Blue Jays cap. Every Jay fan wants that to happen.

Now, to Anaheim Stadium.

Hall of Famer, Guerrero Sr., delivered the ceremonial first pitch of the game to ANGEL'S fan favourite, outfield zillionaire, Mike Trout.

Can't remember if he threw a strike but Trout came out of his catcher crouch, produced a Sharpie Pen and signed the ceremonial ball and gave it to Guerrero.

What?

He did what?

He gave a signed ball from himself to a member of The Hall?

Maybe it's just me ... isn't that backwards?

Shouldn't Trout have asked for the Hall of Famer to sign the ball for him?

        Switch to Toronto home opener @ Skydome on Tuesday, April 11.

(In 1988, I was on the naming committee for the creation of the original

retractable roof ballyard, SKYDOME. I find it difficult to call it Rogers Centre)

Former Blue Jay, Tampa resident and recent inductee to the Baseball Hall of Fame, (2023 class) Fred McGriff, was honoured and cheered by 45,000 Jay fans (all Jay fans loved Fred) as he delivered the ceremonial first pitch to ... Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 

Vlady looks pretty happy with his keepsake

After the pitch, Vlady hugged the Hall of Famer and asked him to sign the ceremonial ball as a keepsake for himself.

I know this seems silly -- you may think it's a little thing.

It's not.

It's about respect.

I think it's about the way the game of baseball should be thought of and played.

I think both video exchanges should be shown to every MLB player ... for no other reason than to let them know their place in their game.

It reminded me of a similar incident that you may have missed in hockey.

Canada won the 2002 Winter Olympic Gold Medal for Canada in hockey. Mario Lemieux was the team captain and proudly strutted at centre ice following the win and used our country's flag like a Superman cape.

We all cheered.

We loved that moment.

I worked at Canada's National Newsmagazine, Maclean's Magazine, at the time. We put Mario and his celebration on our cover. Fabulous!

The "Golden Goal" in overtime

Then, in 2010, at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, Lemieux's housemate and Pittsburgh Penguins' soon-to-be superstar, Sidney Crosby, led the Canadian team to another Gold Medal win with his "Golden Goal" over the USA team.

Directly following the game, the Team Canada trainer reached over the boards to Crosby and handed him a Canadian flag.

I was just one of Team Canadas' fans who couldn't wait to see Sidney at centre ice with our flag but he immediately folded it and put it behind his back. What?

Clearly, Sid The Kid didn't want to embarrass the Silver Medal, USA team by displaying our flag. He waited until they had received their medals and left the ice.

Then, and only then, did he celebrate with the Canadian flag and his team.

Who taught Guerrero and Crosby to be so considerate -- to know their place in their game? Like everything else in life ... it's the little things that count.

Here's a gotcha ...In his first year with the LA Lakers, superstar basketball player, LeBron James wanted to welcome the newly acquired LA superstar soccer player, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, to LaLaLand -- Zlatan is considered to be one of the greatest strikers in the game and has an ego to match.

LeBron may have been making a statement ... "I'm the big dog in LA" when he sent him a prized LeBron basketball jersey as a gift.

The $190 million dollar soccer player, Zlatan, signed the jersey and mailed it back to LeBron. A super-duper-switcheroo.

Who are you, again?