Caleb Ginsberg's Speech
|
|||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
Return to The Amherst Citizen Homepage
Contact us at: 603.672.9444 |
|||||||
|
Delivered at the Souhegan High School Sports Awards Banquet – May 13, 2010.
|
|||||||
| SHS SAB Speaker: Caleb Ginsberg, SHS Alumni 04’ At the senior Athletic Awards Banquet, Caleb Ginsburg an alum of Souhegan High School was the featured speaker. " The truth is, I am honored and privileged to be here tonight. To be included in such a wonderful occasion, this time of joy and celebration in your lives, it is quite special! Surrounded by so many talented individuals, passionate and successful within your chosen endeavors - whether on the field, court, track, pool, or ice, in the classroom, or within your families and communities – and with the ever-present and unyielding promise of the great Journey that lay ahead for all of you – to stand before you as I am now: it is, to say the least, quite humbling. Not long ago, I sat in your very seat. It was an exciting time in my life; I was a graduating high school senior, part of a class that had won seven state championships in our final year as seniors, a captain of the state champion baseball team, fitting in senior project, banquets (with yet another long-winded guest speaker!!) parties with friends, goodbyes, summer fun, and college plans! It was certainly a crazy time (as you all well know) … but it was a wonderful time. I am not that far removed from your world; that was just over six years ago. And having had the experience of these past six years, and knowing what I now know (which, relatively speaking, still isn’t much!!), I’d like to share a few stories with you, a piece of advice here and there, and certainly a couple laughs … in a sort of non-conventional way … some stories that help to fill in those 6 short years of my life, back to your seat today. So, to the seniors, I present to you: my instructional manual for your next six years, entitled, “Life through the EYE of a Bullpen Catcher.” 1) Take Care of your Most Important Fans: Your Family I spent some time working for USA Baseball’s Olympic Team, as a Bullpen Catcher and Auxiliary Coach. These guys were good … the best of the best in college baseball … all future 1st or 2nd round draft picks. I did anything and everything as a part of my job– a jack of all trades, but certainly a master of none. In the summer of 2006, I was fortunate to travel the country with Team USA, spend two weeks in Cuba for the World Games, and bring home a gold medal! But much more important than that gold medal, was making sure that I brought back a bag of Cuban coffee for my mom. All told, it was a great summer. However, living out of suitcase, and hopping from one hotel to another, can certainly get old and lonely. My saving grace was my family. Countless nights were spent on the phone complaining to my mother, who as any good mother would, proceeded to tell me to suck it up, get tough, and stop whining. Of course, she would always feel bad right after berating me to tears, and would turn the switch, trying desperately to comfort me by telling stories from home. She would go on and on about the dogs or the cat, about how Mr. and Mrs. Johnson still walk by every morning on their way to Moulton’s Market, or even about her perennials out in the garden that were finally in full bloom! While I just didn’t have the heart to tell her that quite honestly, I wasn’t interested, yet somehow her repetitive banter always left me feeling uplifted and anew. Whether it’s a good butt kicking I need, a recipe from mom when I’m cooking for a date, an ear to vent to, or a shoulder to cry on, I turn to my family. Your family is the integral component of your support network. They will always be the closest thing you have to a reaffirmation of your inner-voice, your conscience, your gut feeling. The tough decisions you’ll face (and you will face them) are manageable because you have your family to help you work through them. Your family is the one group of people who you CAN complain to, and who love you unconditionally. They will always be there. 2) Have Dreams; Take Them Seriously; Make Them a Priority! The goal for me as long as I can remember was to be a part of professional sports. For most of my life, I dreamt of being a big league baseball player. That dream slowly faded when I eventually discovered (much my dismay) that short, flat-footed, slow catchers - who can’t hit, and are missing an eye - are not typically viewed as highly sought after commodities by major league scouts. As sad as that realization was at the time, it was a blessing in disguise. My focus then became working in baseball, not as a player. My world then revolved around finding a way in the door. With front office aspirations, I got to work. My dream to work in baseball became a goal to work in baseball, and that goal has changed shape many times, but has remained intact, and a constant focus. Shortly after coming to terms with the fact that I would never be a Hall of Fame ballplayer, I began to find ways in which I might contribute to the world of professional baseball, and slowly I discovered my niche. Being a catcher most of my life, it was a virtually seamless transition to sell myself as a Bullpen Catcher to major league organizations. Not only could I remain on the field, catching top-notch pitchers everyday (which I so enjoyed), but I could also begin to evaluate players, and from a unique perspective (from behind the plate). In my mind, this would lend itself to an ultimate full time front office position with a major league club, and from there my road to General Manager of the Boston Red Sox was solidified! Not so fast. Much work still remained. Fortunately, I am of the persistent/relentless breed (some would just call it annoying), and I was able to annoy enough major league baseball personnel, through emails, phone calls, and letters (150 of them to be exact, 5 to each club) to get a second look, and a legitimate conversation. I was fortunate to rub elbows with some upper level executives with USA Baseball, the Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees – and fortunately, they too saw the value in a Bullpen Catcher with a college degree, who can also evaluate talent and scout players. The dream has shifted, but it has remains a priority in my life. When you fall asleep at night dreaming of something you want to do … wake up the next morning and do something to make it happen. Your dreams are only dreams until you take action … at that point they become plans. They can and will become your plans when you BELIEVE you are a good enough, smart enough, talented enough, to achieve them… to make them YOUR reality. Do the work, take the small steps. To have the job you dream of, make achieving your dream your job. So it goes like this, start with your dreams, then make plans, carry out the work you’ve planned, and slowly begin to realize the original dreams. 3) Embrace Obstacles, Know That Challenges Are Coming (They are Part of the Process): The first pitcher I caught for the Yankees was Phil Hughes. Day one on the job, and Mr. Hughes comes strolling out to the bullpen, quite casual and nonchalant, and even singing “You Raise Me Up” by Josh Groban … filling me with nothing but ease and confidence. I had nothing to worry about. Furthermore, his goofy mannerisms and his enormous head (honestly, the guy looks like a bobble head doll) led me to believe he was just your average, run of the mill soft-throwing finesse pitcher, with great control of all of his pitches. WRONG. Pitch one from Hughes, on day one of my job with the New York Yankees, came in at about 95 MPH w/ nasty bite at the end, and proceeded to miss my glove entirely … but no worries, my exposed right ankle bone was there to catch it! In excruciating pain, I pretended like nothing happened, threw the ball back, and waited in sheer terror for pitch number two. Fortunately, I made it through the remainder of that bullpen session relatively unscathed. After exchanging comments and questions with Hughes and the pitching coach (all w/ a fake smile to mask the throbbing pain from what I imagined was my ankle bone sticking out of my skin), I made a bee line for the ice tub and the ibuprofen. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with this slang term, but for the next month, I was the definition of “Cankles.” Swollen and in constant pain, I hobbled around the bullpen for quite some time after that, reluctant to make the same mistake. Fortunately, I got it out of the way on the first pitch, learned from it, and made sure to not let it happen again. I’ve encountered quite a few obstacles over the years. Some simply frustrating and menial, others dealbreakers and potential life-changers. I experienced one of the latter obstacles as a six year old kid; I lost sight in my right eye after a traumatic water-balloon slingshot accident severed my optic nerve. Learning to adapt to the world with monocular vision was certainly a struggle, and even more so for an active kid, and sports enthusiast! But it’s a struggle I am thankful for each and every day. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to learn so much about myself, at such a young age, setting the tone for years to come. The choice was mine to either allow the injury to negatively shape my life from then on … or … to find a way to push forward through the difficult times, and to become a better person because of it, with the ability to use my situation as a tool to help others. I am fortunate to have been given the love and support necessary to get on the other side of this obstacle, and to emerge with a new perspective and vision (quite literally). While I was still recovering in the hospital, and quite upset about my new set of circumstances, a family member cut out a comic from the local newspaper, and its’ quote stays with me to this day: “It’s not the things you cannot do that make you what you are; It’s doing well with what you’ve got that lights the morning star.” So, remember that the obstacles and challenges make you stronger. Prepare yourself mentally for them, because they will be there, in one way or another. I think the saying goes something like, “success is not in never falling, but in getting up every time that do.” I love that quote … it’s so true. To get where you want to go, it’s a battle of attrition … challenge after challenge, knock after knock, and it’s typically the last man standing who gets the prize. Seldom are we handed the trophy from the get-go. So, be the person that can hang in there the longest, endure the most, and remain intact with your wits about you. Because you’ll surely encounter plenty of your own Phil Hughes’ fastballs and waterballoon slingshots on your own journey! 4) Persistence and Patience I put these two together because you cannot have one without the other. For me, I have plenty of one, not nearly enough of the other. I have always been quite persistent, but I still have the patience of a toddler. My chosen career path is one of many headaches, but much fewer victories. I am still learning how to accept that, and work within those parameters. After my Junior year of high school, I spent the summer helping out as a Bullpen Catcher for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League (the cape league is comprised of 10 teams, made up of the best college players in the country). The first person I met when I arrived was a guy name Jake Fox. Jake was a sophomore catcher at the University of Michigan, but looked like he’d been spending more time on campus in the “all-you-can-eat” buffet line, than behind home plate. This guy was literally built like a square. Now, by no means am I a tall person, and I have been compared to a square once or twice – but Jake was ridiculous – he must’ve been 5’6” 210. As Jake and I were driving to that first game on the Cape, I began quizzing him on his career thus far. I was like a starry-eyed kid, meeting his hero for the first time. I wanted to know everything about this guy … he must’ve been recruited by all the best schools – LSU, Cal State Fullerton, Florida State – I was certain of it. He’s in the Cape League, so he must’ve been groomed for this, having his pick of scholarship offers and star treatment from any college out there. But that was not the case with Jake. He was a walk-on at Michigan. Jake went from showcase to showcase his Junior and Senior years in high school, but nobody was interested. All the coaches said he’s too slow, can’t hit for power, and he’s a bad defensive catcher. Jake chose Michigan because his family was close by, and the baseball coach told him he could stay on as a 4th string catcher – primarily serving as the club’s bullpen catcher, with no promise of any playing time whatsoever. Well got an opportunity to play … and he made the most of it, beating out full-scholarship players ahead of him on the depth chart, and landing the starting job at Michigan. From there, he tore up the Big 10 Conference, leading the league in home runs and RBI’s as a sophomore, and landing a coveted spot on a team in the Cape League that summer. Jake finished his story by reciting what he called, his motto, to me. As coach after college coach turned him down and sent him “Thanks for your interest” letters, and as his frustration steadily mounted, Jake held this as his mantra: “You can hear a thousand NO’s, but it only takes one YES.” Jake made his major league debut in July of 2007 for the Chicago Cubs, hitting a homerun at Wrigley Field in his first big league game. Jake’s story is one of persistence and patience. These are two things critical to your success. If you want something, be persistent and relentless, and go get it. But realize that you may have to wait quite awhile for that day to come. 5) Separate Yourself From the Pack With Your Work Ethic One of my regular jobs with the Yankees was as the “Rehab Guy” … basically, when players went on the DL, and were hurt for an extended period of time, they’d come down to the Yankees complex in Tampa, FL, and I would catch bullpens for them, throw batting practice, long toss with them … rehab them back to health. One such player was Carl Pavano. Carl was not a popular guy with the Yankees’ brass, the New York media, or the fans. He was in the final year of a four year, $40 million contract, and had only made 19 starts over those four years, because he was injured so often. I had the good fortune of getting to know Carl quite well during his rehab, and learned his true colors. For a period of 8 months, through the grueling Tampa heat, Carl worked tirelessly to rehab back to full strength. We played long toss everyday, 300+ feet, threw hundreds of bullpen sessions, ran thousands of miles, and spent hours discussing the intricacies of pitching, and we brainstormed new ways in which he could get major league hitters out. Everyone had ridden Carl off – washed up, he took his money and ran, he’s done. But Carl wanted so badly to pitch, to be healthy, and get back to doing what he does best; play baseball. He knew he could still have success, and worked harder than anyone I’ve ever seen, to achieve it. Last year, in his first action in nearly two years, Carl proved to the baseball world that, indeed, he still is a quality major league pitcher, and was rewarded for his efforts by signing a lucrative contract with the Minnesota Twins, where he’s helped the team to their best start in years. It was during my time as the Yankees’ “Rehab Guy” that I learned the true meaning of hard work. Whether players were coming back from Tommy John surgery or torn Rotator Cuffs, their roads back to glory were long and uncertain. Watching their commitment to the job at hand, no matter how small or insignificant the task seemed, was a tremendous lesson for me. Your work ethic is something you can control. It’s a choice. There are so many external factors in your lives that you have no control over – sometimes you simply have to roll with the punches. But what you can accept is what you choose to do from there. Neal Huntington, the General Manager of the Pittsburg Pirates, gave this one piece of advice when I first started working in baseball, he said, “Out-Work everyone!” Separate yourself with your work ethic. When promotions, raises, or new job opportunities arise, leave no doubt in anyone’s mind that you have outworked everyone around you. 6) Be Willing to Do Anything! Do the Small Things Well! As I mentioned before, my job title with Team USA, quite literally should have been “jack of all trades.” Anything under the sun, you name it, I did it. The vast majority of these tasks were not fun. One such task comes to mind. As we traveled so often, we rarely had access to a regular washer and dryers. Laundry was quite the monumental task for a team of 30 baseball players and coaches, playing in mid July and August in some of the hottest places in the universe. Guess who found himself knee deep in jockstraps and detergent on more than one occasion? And there were countless coffee and sandwich runs, and painstakingly monotonous excel spreadsheet work as an intern with the Tampa Bay Rays, and bullpen after bullpen with the Yankees. But regardless of the task, it had to be done, and done well. It’s the small, seemingly insignificant, things that can make you stand out. Whether your washing jock straps of fetching coffee … be the best at it! Scrub those jocks until they shine … and order the best darn Grande Mocha Latte Frapaccino that your boss has ever seen! The way you handle those situations says a lot about you to the people around you … it says a lot about your character. Don’t ever think your overqualified to handle the small stuff – it’s the small stuff that creates the opportunity for you to one day do the big stuff. 7) Be Resourceful … Find a Way In between baseball gigs, I spent some time working for the NFL Players Association in Washington, DC. Two weeks into the job, I was called up to lead a group of 15 NFL players around Capitol Hill, setting up and facilitating player meetings with Congressmen and Senators, based on constituency. Let me preface the remainder of this by saying that I had never been on Capitol Hill prior to this. All I knew about the Capitol building I learned from tapes of School House Rock in 4th grade. These meeting were incredibly important, and it was crucial that all the players showed up to their respective meetings on time, and in the right place. Oh, and my last minute instruction from my boss, “make sure you’re not late for the meeting with Nancy Pelosi … it’s a big one!” Needless to say, I was in way over my head. But I went in there full-steam ahead, and pretended like I knew what I was doing. Luckily, I was able to connect with a few staffers roaming the halls of Capitol Hill (they must’ve picked up on the look of sheer panic on my face … or they did a double take when they saw 15 gargantuan athletic specimens in expensive three-piece suits being led around the Capitol Building by a one-eyed hobbit). These kind-hearted staffers equipped me with a few maps, and gave me their cell phone numbers in case of an emergency. And thank goodness they did, because the emergencies didn’t stop. I spent the majority of the day being led around this gigantic maze of a building via cell phone. But at the end of the day, not a single player was late to a meeting, nor did any of them end up lost or arrested. A success! A good friend of mine is the Assistant Director of Baseball Operations for the Yankees, and when explaining how he overcame his anxiety and fear of making baseball decisions for the Yankees … he said … “fake it until you’re not faking it.” Confidently act the part, and eventually you’ll belong! You will all encounter situations such as this; you must be resourceful. Somehow, you must find a way. It’s those people that can “get it done” no questions asked, that are called upon most often. You certainly want to be one of those people. Ask questions, be confident, and get it done! 8) Laugh at Yourself! A couple months into my tenure with the Yanks, I had perhaps my most memorable experience. It was 8AM in Tampa, FL, and I made my way out to the bullpen as I had done hundreds of times before. But something was different on this day. Our head trainer called me over, and explained that we had a bullpen session in five minutes, and that I needed to be on my game. The trainer is a good friend of mine and a goofy guy, so I thought nothing of it. I casually sauntered over to the pen, and oddly enough there was a big entourage awaiting me. Now rehab bullpen sessions are not glamorous in the least – it’s typically me, the pitcher, the 110 degree heat, and 100% humidity. This time though, there was a scene! The seas parted as I made my way, and who appeared? None other than Roger Clemens. Well, here he was, my boyhood idol, and I had to fight the urge to both vomit, and run up to him asking for his autograph. “Act like you’ve been here before,” I kept telling myself. So I hop in the bullpen, stretch out for a minute or two, and get ready to catch Roger Clemens … and combat dangerously accelerated heart rate and profuse sweating. First pitch from the Rocket … I catch it … no problem. But as I attempted to throw the ball back, something strange happened. The sudden realization that I was throwing a baseball to Roger Clemens hit me all at once, and I just panicked. Instead of a nice easy toss back to him, I fired a missile about two feet in front of his foot, that proceeded to skip off the mound and smoke the future hall of famer in the shin. I wanted to die. After Clemens hopped around in agony for a minute or so, we got back to work. Pitch number two came zipping in … I caught it, no problem. But here we go … time to throw it back. Oh boy. Determined not to make the same mistake twice, I aimed a bit higher this time, and launched the baseball out of the bullpen and into the stands. Had a shovel been nearby, I would’ve just kept digging. After a plethora of hoots, hollers, and belly-laughs, from innocent bystanders and observers, and even from Clemens himself, we continued the bullpen session, and fortunately for me, the remainder of it was uneventful. Of course, I ran and retrieved the ball I launched into orbit, and Mr. Clemens being a heck of a guy, was able to suppress his laughter long enough to sign an autograph. Laugh at yourself! It’s so important. Life is hard the majority of the time … but find a way see the humor … in others and in yourself. You can put people at ease with humor. Laughter is such an important stress reliever, and it brings about such true joy in so many people. Even when you want to run and hide (or dig a hole under home plate) … find a way to laugh, find that joy, and find a way to share your laughter with others. Don’t take life too seriously, because you’ll miss all the fun! 9) Enjoy the Moment! Don’t Miss the NOW Along the Way! I tend to look ahead far too often. I’ve been guilty of missing some of the most important and enjoyable times in my life, because I was far too concerned with what’s on the horizon. What’s the next step? What connection can I make here? How can I get where I want to go?! But sure enough, my family has been there to slap me around, and bring me back to earth. “Don’t miss the NOW, they’d tell me.” And they couldn’t be more right. It was only then that I could truly appreciate sitting on the Yankees’ chartered jet next to Joe Torre, eating shrimp cocktail and sipping champagne, while Jeter and ARod are in the back playing poker. It was only when I took time to slow down and enjoy it that I was able to pinch myself on my first night in a big league bullpen in Camden Yards in Baltimore, warming Andy Pettite up before the game, in front of 55,000 people. It wasn’t until I stopped and took a deep breathe that I was able to truly enjoy and share the story of shaving in the Yankees’ clubhouse in New York, when Don Mattingly and Derek Jeter occupied the sinks to the left and right of me. It was only then that I could see the joy in sharing stories like seeing Johnny Damon running through the hotel lobby at 3AM after our plane got in, asking, who’s ready to party?!?! Or the fact that at one point the entire Yankees bullpen referred to me only as “Captain Cyclops!” And I’m so thankful to be able to enjoy the memory that I nearly missed the first pitch one game, because I was so busy pounding sandwiches, nachos, cake, and cookies, trying to eat one of everything in the in the INCREDIBLE clubhouse kitchen! These are the stories I remember most … they are what matters in the end. We only get to do this thing called life, once. There’s no dress rehearsal … so enjoy it! Enjoy the moments that you’re a part of. Look around you every now and again, sit back, take a deep breath, and smile. You deserve it. Enjoy it! 10) Accept That You Always Have More To Learn, and that You Can Always Improve! Never Settle! Professionally, I am far from where I’d like to end up. I am thankful for the opportunities I’ve had thus far, but I have so much to learn, so many roads yet to travel. As a good friend of mine once said, “as hard as we work, we’ll never have this thing figured out.” But that’s OK … we’ll also never stop trying to figure it out. It is truly a gift that we are given the ability to continue learning, and to continue striving. You have to use the tools you’ve been given, and then go out into the world and find new tools! Never stop asking questions, and never stop trying new things, new approaches, new paths, new careers if you must. Never stop striving to become better. Professionally, do something better tomorrow than you did it today, and you will be successful whatever your chosen endeavor. And give something back … improving also means improving the lives of others. Find a way to contribute to someone else’s wellbeing. Whether through your family, school, community, nation, or planet, leave everything a little better than when you found it. Give enough of yourself to leave a positive footprint. If you are fortunate enough to be able, help others in need – realize what it means to embody the true altruistic spirit. Only then are you truly improving. So as I conclude my instructional manual, and as I wrap things up here tonight (and I know what you’re thinking …. FINALLY!), I’d like to leave you seniors with a challenge, an idea. As I complete my next chapter, and as you embark upon your first, my one request to each of you is this … Create your own instructional manual for YOUR next six years. Fill it up until its busting at the seems, stuff it with memories, stories, lessons, trials and tribulations, carry it with you everyday, live by it, and down the road, be sure to pass it on to someone sitting in your old seat. Thank you so much for having me tonight. It’s been a privilege and an honor. Congratulations to you seniors, I wish you all the very best! Comments? Suggestions? Email us: news@amherstcitizen.com |
|||||||
Thank you! Lisa Lyon, Maren Petropulos, Coach Dod, Chris Lavoie, The Committee"