#BaseballisForever
Instead of #OpeningDayatHome, I have another hashtag courtesy of Los Angeles Dodgers former manager Tommy Lasorda: #BaseballisForever.
There's a reason why Lasorda is one of the most irresistibly quotable men of baseball. He never disappoints and manages to say just the right thing, to put chaos and fear into perspective.
When we spoke this week he was quarantined at home in Fullerton with his wife Jo, resting and taking in the news like every other American. As one of my MLB WWII guys, he's fearless, unflappable, forthright, and logical about the pandemic rattling our country. As a Hall of Famer who came out of retirement to help the US Olympic baseball team capture the gold medal over Cuba in the 2000 Sydney games, Lasorda's perspective on the delay of Opening Day and the Tokyo Olympics is unprecedented.
At 92, Lasorda thinks toward the future, when this crisis is behind us. He doesn't dwell on loss, rather, he focuses on what we "do have" to beat this virus. From what I gather, he gets his strength from a best tool in the greatest generation handbook - gratitude. He said he's grateful for having two loving yet stern parents; he's grateful for being born in America--the greatest country in the world, where he could chart his own destiny; he's grateful for family and friends, and he's grateful for the training he received while serving in the Army during WWII.
Lasorda feels like America and baseball are invincible. Instead of focusing on delays, let's remember his words fueled on gratitude: "Baseball will be forever." #BaseballisForever.
