A couple weeks ago, Fred McGriff vetoed a trade from the last-place Tampa Bay Devil Rays to the first-place Chicago Cubs before reversing his decision last week. When McGriff vetoed the trade, he said it was because he did not want to uproot his family. McGriff is a Tampa native and makes his home there year-round.
Being "traded" is something most people probably cannot fully understand unless they are professional athletes. They are the best at what they do not only because they have tremendous talent, but also because they work harder and in most cases want to win more than the rest. Most will do anything to help their organization win it all. Thus, changing teams and moving to a new home without a player's approval can be an awful experience after giving so much to help their team win. Despite all this, I can't help but wonder why McGriff refused to be traded to a team with a good shot at winning the World Series at this late stage in his career.
I'm going out on a limb to say that McGriff actually wanted to be traded to a specific team, one that he felt has a better chance of winning the World Series. The New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves, for whom McGriff previously played and won a World Series, come to mind. It's no secret that the Cubs have a history of futility, but give me a break. The Cubs have a good chance at winning it all with a great pitching staff and maybe the game's premier slugger in Sammy Sosa. If you don't want to win, Crime Dog, then hang up the spikes. You're already going to spend half of the next two months away from home anyway.
McGriff changed his mind after it was clear that the Yankees and Braves would not be pursuing him. The improved play of the Yankees' Tino Martinez and the return of David Justice and the Braves' signing of Ken Caminiti rendered the two teams' need for the addition of a left-handed, slugging first baseman pointless.
While on the topic of baseball, it would be a terrible oversight to neglect what the Oakland Athletics did last week. In trading three minor leaguers for outfielder Jermaine Dye, the team got a proven, young power hitter and decided to go for the playoffs instead of conducting a fire-sale and trading away reigning AL MVP Jason Giambi. If the team has any chance of re-signing Giambi, this was a brilliant move that showed they are committed to winning now.
The A's have one of the smaller budgets in MLB, but they built a great team. The payroll disparity between small and big market teams in MLB is disgusting. Credit the A's for not succumbing to the small-market trend of developing players then trading them to wealthier teams when they demand bigger contracts.
A couple weeks ago in this column space, I wrote that the Boston Red Sox would out-duel the Minnesota Twins for the AL Wild Card. Well now, the race comes down to the Red Sox and the A's.
In case you missed it over the weekend, American cyclist Lance Armstrong won his third consecutive Tour de France, the sport's premier event. Not only is this a huge accomplishment on its own, but if you're unfamiliar with Armstrong's life in recent years, know that the man almost died of advanced testicular cancer that had spread to this lungs and brain.
His first win in 1999 was marred by allegations of illegal drug use, but it is clear after the last two years that Armstrong just wants to win more than anyone else. His near fatal bout has driven him to train longer and harder than any other cyclist. A telling statistic: Armstrong, in winning this year's tour, overcame a 35-minute deficit. Armstrong's team made a few tactical mistakes that led to the large deficit. However, Armstrong overcame the mistakes, blew the competition away in the high, mountainous terrain stages and ended up winning by over 6 minutes.
Growing up, each generation watches a few athletes succeed and accomplish so much that they become legends, their achievements become stories they tell their children. For our parents, they are Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Jim Brown, Wilt Chamberlain and others. For us, they are Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Mark McGwire and now, hopefully, Lance Armstrong.
