For those of you who may not have heard yet, we have partnered up with “I Play Clean”. Their mission is to educate and encourage high school students to make the right choice of playing clean – that is, training hard, eating well and playing with attitude, instead of resorting to illegal and dangerous steroids and performance enhancing products.
They are a Non-Profit organization and the partnership couldn’t be more perfect. This topic is something I feel very strongly about. I was raised in a house where when you had a goal, the way you would reach it would be through hard work and dedication. I take pride in knowing that everything I achieved in my playing days was a direct result of me working my butt off to get everything I could out of my talent.
I played in a generation where the use of performance enhancing drugs was at it’s peak. I sat in locker rooms knowing that the guy next to me was using steroids. It didn’t bother me. I truly believe that it didn’t because of the mindset I was brought up with. I learned through this game that, yes it is a team sport, but for my team to be great, it took each of my teammates to know what it took for them to be good as often as possible. I couldn’t control what they did or didn’t do. Once I realized this in my career, things got better for me. I found a routine that I did daily which helped me to be the best I could be for my team every day my name was called. The best in this game are better more often. To be better more often comes from a mindset and desire to be as consistent as you can be.
These guys I played with and against that used steroids are the type of people who are looking for the easy way. Yes, many of them reached the big leagues only because they used steroids but now these guys will have to live with remorse and hopefully regret knowing that the reason they had the success they did was because they were cheaters. Now I’m not stupid, I have spent my life around guys and have a good feel for how everyone of them has different mindsets, and realize that many will never feel these emotions. Many will sit at home in their huge house and never think twice about how they got it. That’s just the way it is.
The point of all this is, live a life of integrity and honesty. Be a strong enough person to make your own choices. If your buddies are doing something that you don’t think is right, be the bigger person and follow what your heart is telling you. You WILL feel better about yourself, and have more confidence, when you live a life by these standards.
Founder of Baseball Dudes. Blessed with three beautiful children and an amazing wife. Baseball is my life, after my family, and I love sharing what I have learned from it. Thanks for taking the time to view what we offer here at Baseball Dudes.
