Malcolm GauldPeople have been asking me what I think about KC Royals pitcher Gil Meche who has decided to walk away from the last year of a guaranteed contract that assures him $12M – no matter how well he performs – because he feels he’s no longer pitching well enough to deserve that kind of money.
Of course, I tip my hat to him. However, I’m also from a state that greets visitors and those returning home at the state line with a sign that reads: “The Way Life Should Be.” Hence, to make too big a deal of his expression of character dishonors both him and his act. The guy gets it. If you’re looking for a role model, there it is.
Furthermore, his act is not without precedent. If you do not know the 1925 quote from golfing great Bobby Jones after he had called a penalty on himself for an infraction that no one else had witnessed, thereby eliminating himself from a sure victory in a major tournament, it’s worth recounting here: “You might as well praise a man for not robbing a bank.”
Bobby Jones got it. Gil Meche gets it. Let’s get it.
Onward, Malcolm Gauld
