It’s not easy to be a fan of the New York Mets.  R.A. Dickey understands this, and he wrote about his appreciation for the fans in a column for the New York Daily News soon after he received the National League Cy Young Award.

“It’s not always easy being a loyal supporter when a team is going through a rough stretch,” he wrote. “But to all of you Mets fans, to be a recipient of your support and passion has been one of the greatest thrills of my baseball life.”

A lot of comments that are said or written by or about pro athletes usually are not genuine. But the words from Dickey always are straight forward and honest. He is a truth-teller about his team, his performance and his life. He also is committed to helping others and he is devoted to his Christian faith.

Dickey climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to help raise money and awareness for the Bombay Teen Challenge, which rescues young girls in Mumbai, India, from abuse and sexual exploitation. In his recent book, he revealed that he was sexually abused as a child and he explained his feelings of despair, loneliness and isolation. He also mentioned his mistakes, but he also wrote about redemption and hope, and his love for his mother, his wife (who stuck by him through a sputtering baseball career) and his God.

“I was tired of hiding,” he wrote in his book. “I needed for the public person and the private person to be the same. I needed to be authentic—to be completely honest before God.”

While it may not be easy to be a fan of the New York Mets right now, it is easy to understand why so many of them are personal fans of R.A. Dickey. He appreciates everything and everyone, and he repays the success he has enjoyed by supporting others.

This season, R.A. Dickey will not play for the Mets, having been traded to the Toronto Blue Jays. We all wish him continued success and we thank him for sharing himself with New York.

We all know the line uttered by Hamlet, as written by William Shakespeare—“This above all: to thine own self be true; and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.” More of our athletes need to follow in the steps of Hamlet and Dickey. So do more of our politicians and business leaders.

Jim

2 Comments

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  By Wally Walkup, February 1, 2013 @ 12:35 pm

  Wow Jim! Couldn’t have summed it up any better. The lack of morals in our culture is quite disturbing. It’s quite fashionable to belittle and cut down God, Jesus and Christians. As a faith based company, we get pounded weekly for our standards….but guess what? I refuse to back down and will not cut our vein of integrity. It’s refreshing to hear about an athlete who has his priorities in order.
  (Sombrotto over to Metzger….shot…..GOAL!!!!)
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  By Brooke Bakker, March 7, 2014 @ 4:50 am

  Jim, I love this story and this man’s personal accomplishments! You navigated his moments beautifully…BNBB

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