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

In a few days, the Baseball Hall of Fame will announce the 2013 class of inductees. The vote is conducted by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. As in recent years, the media will have the honor of selecting, or not selecting, players who have tainted the game during the steroid era.

Baseball seems to have addressed the on-the-field issue of substance enhancement with its current drug testing program. However, some of the players suspected of enhancing their game over the last 25 years, and who broke cherished records during that time, now are beginning to appear on the Hall of Fame ballot.

Six years ago, Mark McGwire, who is suspected of steroid use, became eligible for Cooperstown. He never has received more than 24 percent of the vote (a player must appear on 75 percent of the ballots). Last year, he received just 19.5 percent. Baseball purists are concerned that McGwire continues to receive votes during each year of eligibility, and they are worried that other alleged substance abusers, as they are placed on the ballot, could receive enough votes to be enshrined with baseball’s immortals.

The 2013 ballot is a litmus test. For the first time, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa—all alleged users of steroids—are eligible for the Hall of Fame. Will the same 19.5 – 24 percent who voted for McGwire also vote for these three players who set big records with their big muscles? Could more writers be swayed to vote for them? Could too many voters find excuses to open the doors to Cooperstown for these players?

Some writers believe that they should vote for players based solely on their accomplishments on the field. If, at a later time, a determination is made beyond a doubt that a player used illegal substances to enhance performance, then that player can be stripped of the honor. Many other writers refuse to vote for any player suspected of using steroids even when the proof is lacking.

All of this can be very confusing and frustrating for fans. It is the same for some of the voters, too. But, actually, there may be a better way for writers to judge and to vote.

The ballot sent to voters each year includes this statement: “Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contribution to the team(s) on which the player played.”

One-half of the decision process includes the words “integrity,” “sportsmanship” and “character.” So, voting a player into Cooperstown should be no different than accepting a person as a member of a prestigious business organization or private club, or hiring a person to be part of a company. Besides accomplishments and talent, it is important to measure a person’s integrity, character and the ability to perform as a member of a team.

At the Whitmore Group, we place “integrity,” “sportsmanship” and “character” on the top of our list. With this foundation, we then help each employee develop or broaden his or her talents to benefit our entire team.

Jim

Do you remember John Doherty? He pitched for the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox from 1992 to 1996. A knee injury ended his professional career, but the baseball in his blood continues to find him on the diamond.

During one day this past summer, he offered his skills and patience to a group of developmentally disabled young adults from the Cardinal McCloskey Services program in Westchester County. Along with his old Eastchester High School coach, Dom Cecere, Doherty loaded bats, balls and hitting tees into a car and drove to a field to meet an enthusiastic group of young players.

The morning was dedicated to a skill session that included basic drills. Doherty and Cecere ran the clinic the same way for this special needs group as they would have organized it for regular little leaguers.

Doherty grew up in the shadows of the old Yankee Stadium before his family moved to Westchester. He enjoyed many years of success on the ball field right up to the major leagues, and his generosity was a big part of his game.

When Doherty was with the Tigers, his manager (Sparky Anderson) sent him to speak at a Drug Abuse Resistance Education program. That may have been when the baseball and public service connection started for Doherty.

Since that time, Doherty has participated on boards of many organizations, including the Eastchester School Foundation and the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association. He has been a Muscular Dystrophy Association Muscle Team member and he has been involved with Miracle League baseball, which engages children and adults with severe disabilities.

After meeting Doherty, the people at McCloskey consider him a real professional, and not just as a baseball player. Possibly everything he learned about life started on the ball field. Now, that experience has taken him so much farther and it has touched many along the way.

Jim

Roger Clemens has put together quite the resume over his 24-year Major League Baseball career.  A two time world champion, he received seven Cy Young awards and he currently ranks third on MLB’s all-time strikeout list.  After the 2007 season, the then 45-year-old Clemens finally decided to hang up his uniform to spend more time with his family.

But he couldn’t remain idle.  As with many athletes, Clemens is “married” to the game.  It is who he is as a person.  No matter the level of competition, professional or a pick-up league, athletes such as Clemens just have the game in their blood.

Clemens now is 50 years old, and he decided that he had enough of “retirement.” Agreeing to a one-year contract with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League, the “Rocket” recently made a comeback.  In his first start during August, Clemens didn’t allow a run while pitching three and one-third innings.  The most impressive stat was, at Clemens’ age,that he was able to reach 87 MPH on the radar gun.

It is clear Clemens did not come back to the game for the money or the publicity. Neither is found in an independent league. Clemens decided to come back for the passion of the game.  This is his “profession.”  It is what he loves to do.  He felt that he could still compete, and he wanted to try at least one more time.

It never is too late for anyone to get back into his or her game. Whether your career path was sports or business, if the work always had been enjoyable to you, then, with a few adjustments, you can make a comeback and again find satisfaction and success.

You are never too old to compete, even when your skills are out-of-date or a bit rusty. You just may need to reinvent yourself. That is what I did with my passion for lacrosse. While I have been very successful in business for more than 30 years after playing lacrosse in high school and college, a few years ago I decided that I missed the game of my youth. Since then, I have worked with and supported today’s athletes through programs at my alma maters of Hofstra and Half Hollow Hills High School East in Dix Hills.

If you have retained the passion for what you once did, and if the flame of desire keeps burning inside you, there always is the opportunity for you to find a way to remain in the game.

Jim