Lefty starting pitcher Barry Zito won his first Cy Young Award last week, much to the dismay of many Red Sox fans. Boston’s right-hander Pedro Martinez flew from his home in the Dominican Republic to Boston to accept his fourth Cy Young, but was disappointed.
Pedro told the media that Zito deserved it and he was happy for him, but then Pedro began to whine. He claimed that because he is Dominican, he did not get the award. He explained that since Dominicans like Sammy Sosa and others always get the titles, he was snubbed so there would be at least one white guy winning something.
It sounds like Pedro is not in favor of affirmative action.
Looking at the numbers, Pedro did have a more dominant season overall than Zito. However, once Pedro got his twentieth win, he was done for the season. He copped an attitude. He was done.
Zito went 10-0 in his last 10 starts of the season, helping his team to the playoffs. The west coast all voted for Zito, while the east was torn between Pedro and Boston’s former closer, Derek Lowe.
I love thinking about sports. I love pondering baseball, analyzing it, absorbing it. I miss writing sports, hanging out with the team.
There are many things that we enjoy so much, hold so dear that we have to let go in order to pursue greater things. In this trade-off, one may wonder: Is it worth it?
So now I am executive editor. I am responsible for the body of the paper, not just my few pages filled with action verbs and thinking up Sports for the Layperson at the last minute. I have to pore over each article, not just my box scores. I have to represent the paper in front of groups. I am responsible for every typo, every grammatical inconsistency, every forgotten spell-check.
I have to be a jerk when people don’t get their stuff in on time. I have to be stern and irritated, yet simultaneously motivating when we don’t sell enough ads. Heck, I even had to sell all the ads myself at one point.
I miss Saturday afternoons. I miss thinking about sports and getting paid (very little) for writing about it.
However, this new job of mine will strengthen my resume. People count on me. I take this very seriously. I love my job. It is very hard and I don’t sleep much, but I love my job. Even when people call me and tell me I am a racist. Even when the athletics department and the media studies program want my head on a stick. Even when nearly my entire staff mysteriously disappears and the ads look like pixilated oatmeal.
Why do I love my job? Why, after all this chronic stress-related heartburn do I keep coming back?
I work hard every week, and then on Monday afternoons I get the paper and there, behold, is a newspaper. I made this happen. My team made this happen. We made something that we can hold in our hands.
We have assumed a duty to get this news out. We are learning through experience how to write, how to be ethical, how to communicate with others in several different ways. This is far more effective than sitting in a classroom. It is the first step towards a career in any aspect of professional journalism for many of us.
I love my job because I am part of that. I recruit people to improve their resumes. I encourage people to become better communicators. I facilitate people in making professional contacts. I am part of people becoming far greater than the standard college experience could afford.
I am proud of my staff and the paper we produce. I am proud of our hard work and know that we are continuing to improve with each issue. I love my job.