Now, I’m not a big sports fan but I am a fan of good stories. And I think this story from AllProDad is worth hearing. The only thing is – I’m not sure you of what the moral/lesson of the story is. Give me your two cents.
Houston Astros’ pitcher Roger Clemens was down at spring training in Kissimmee, Florida. As pitcher, he was throwing batting practice with his team. He also decided to try out some of his legendary heat against his oldest son Koby – a third base prospect for the major leagues.
On the first pitch, Koby slammed his dad’s fastball over the left field fence. What to go Koby! So the next time Koby came to bat, what did dad do? He sent Koby to the dugout with his trademark high and tight fastball.
So was Roger just being a competitive rear who didn’t like anyone, even his son, getting a homerun off of him? Or was Roger trying to send his son a message about what Major League Baseball is really like – that there are no easy passes in life. If you choose the first meaning, Roger is a selfish and nasty guy who’s got something of a mean streak to him. If you choose the second meaning (that a father’s primary responsibility is to teach his children how to succeed despite hardships both on and off the field), then he’s an active practitioner of disciplined love.
So, in your opinion, which is it?
Cheers,
-Kev
uuummm…what?
It sounds like his son wasn’t the only one batting and he wasn’t playing favorites. If his son is going to play in the majors he has to treat him the way he would any other batter otherwise he won’t get better at it.
I’d say it was a touch of competiveness. Nobody likes to get shown up.
But, I’d also say that Rodger was showing his son that he won’t coddle him either.
Rodger did the right thing.