“Team sports are really difficult things. Sometimes your team wins because of you, sometimes in spite of you and sometimes it’s like you’re not even there. That’s the reality of the team game. Then at one point in my career, something wonderful happened. I don’t know why or how, but I came to understand what ‘team’ meant. It meant that although I didn’t get a hit or make a great defensive play, I could impact the team in an incredible and consistent way. I learned I could impact my team by caring first and foremost about the team’s success and not my own. I don’t mean by rooting for us like a typical fan. Fans are fickle. I mean CARE, really care about the team...about “us.” I became less selfish, less lazy, less sensitive to negative comments. When I gave up ME, I became MORE. I became a captain, a leader, a better person and I cam to understand that life is a team game...and you know what? I’ve found most people aren’t team players. They don’t realize that life is the only game in town. Someone should tell them. It has made all the difference in the world to me.”DON MATTINGLY
New York Yankee All-Star
Future Hall of Famer
