This man, this is what it’s all about. I saw this on my twitter feed a few days ago, one of my best friends who is an assistant to the regional manager baseball coach at Florida Southern tweeted it out. The head coach at Florida Southern printed it and posted them on the doors for his players to read.
I’m surprised I haven’t seen anybody tweet about it, usually these stories make their way around pretty quickly. With a lot of negativity around baseball it’s nice when these stories come out and with everything going on with the Astros these tend to get overshadowed. Here is a guy who loves what he does and is willing to do whatever it takes to continue that. A veteran of NINE seasons in the bigs had to do all this to stand out. How many players out there think they can get along with talent alone? How many players who throw 90+ are looking for a shot in the big leagues? Sure this guy may not have the type of talent as someone younger than him but how can you not give a guy like this a shot. If you were going into a job you would usually highlight your talents and skills in your resume and to look more professional include a cover letter explaining why you would be a good fit. It is unusual to do that while trying to obtain a professional sports contract. As the paper says most players leave it to their agents to get them in contact with someone. Hector knew he couldn’t of that, in order to stand out he would become a “yes man.” Anything the team needed him to be, he was going to do that. No matter how he felt or what it took he was going to do whatever was asked of him from the team. This was a veteran guy, he could have big leagued it and said his nine seasons and all star appearance were enough to give him a chance. It not like the talent wasn’t there, he had proven success in Puerto Rico in the offseason. It was that extra effort to show that he was willing to do whatever it took to help his team that got the attention of the tigers front office. In the end as a gm how could you not take a shot on a guy like this?
“It was tough going into the offseason not knowing what’s going to happen,” he said. “The way baseball has turned around, you are just hoping to get a phone call. … We had talked before and they were supposed to come see my start (in the Caribbean Series) on a Wednesday. That game got rained out.
Hector Santiago – The Detroit News
(Jesse Johnson-US PRESSWIRE)
You don’t have to be a sports fan to appreciate this type of dedication and passion. Hector knew his situation, he knew who he was up against. The thousands of players younger than him, who had more upside and maybe some better stuff. He was rational, he made it clear to every organization why they should give him a shot. And that’s all he was looking for, an opportunity. At some point everyone in their life has submitted a resume and cover letter to try and obtain a job they wanted. If you had the qualified skills for the job how could you stand out amongst the hundreds of other people who are applying for that job? Thousands if the job is highly sought after, as it is in the professional sports world. Sometimes you have to become that “yes man” to get that opportunity. That no matter what, you are going to give everything you have to that team/company. So next time you are applying for a position, think to yourself how bad do I want this? Am I doing everything I can to obtain it? It’s hard to say no to someone with such a passion for what they want to do. I hope Hector makes the major league roster and has a unbelievable year, so his story gets told more. As a human being you can’t help but pull for this dude.
The Washed Up Athlete 