David Ortiz Leadership

Jose Fernandez had a love and enthusiasm for the game of baseball that could not be measured. Second only to his love for his family. His infectious smile lit affected those around him, a smile that will forever be remembered.

He hit 600 home runs (5th most all time), won 10 gold gloves, and made 13 All Star Games. In almost 150 years baseball history, only the great Willie Mays can match Ken Griffey Jr. in these statistical categories. However, despite these extraordinary stats, Ken Griffey Jr. may be the ultimate “What Could Have Been” player. An incredibly promising career was derailed in the latter half by chronic injuries that robbed him of hundreds of games. If not for these injuries, Griffey was well on his way to becoming the Home Run King (Stark, 2010) and possibly the greatest player ever. Despite these setbacks, Griffey is still revered as one of the greatest and most popular MLB players ever. The savior of baseball in Seattle and the lone star to

David Americo Ortiz Arias was born on November 18th 1875 in Dominican Republic. He is nicknamed “Big Papi” and is a retired professional baseball player. Who was a designated hitter in the Major League Baseball, and he also played firstbase thoughout his career. He played for the Minasota Twins in 1997 to 2002 and then the Red Soxs in 2003-2016. Ortiz was a ten time All-Star,and a 3 time World Series Champion,and he holds The Boston Red Sox single season record for most homeruns in a season with 54 set during the 2006 season.David hit 541 career homeruns,which ranks 17th on the all-time homerun list. He is the all-time leader in homeruns (485), runs batted in(RIBs)(1,569),and hits(2,192) by a designated hitter (DH) (www.wikipedia.com)

“‘I’m not perfect. Nobody’s perfect. But I love baseball and I love to play hard.’ Adrian Beltre.” In the spring of 1998 at the age of 19 Adrian Beltre made his debut in Major League Baseball (MLB). When he was growing up baseball wasn’t even his main focus it was pushed onto the backburner, the sports that were his main focus were tennis and basketball. That has not stopped him though because he is the 31st MLB player to hit the 3,000 hit club and he is the first player from the Dominican Republic to reach that milestone since the MLB was founded in 1869.

"Baseball as America." Academic Search Premier. Spec. issue of USA Today Magazine 1 Apr. 2002: n. pag. EBSCO. Web. 1 Dec. 2015. The Baseball Hall of Fame is an iconic American landmark, which houses thousands of artifacts from baseball's crude beginnings to its current day glory. This piece is simple, yet it demonstrates what an important aspect of American culture baseball has become. The artifacts demonstrate how far baseball has come, among its highlights are Jackie Robinson's uniform, articles from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, and even "Shoeless" Joe Jackson's cleats. Pictures accompany the article which adds the needed bit of glamour to illustrate how greatly baseball has influenced American

Yadier Molina who was born on July 13th in the year of 1982 is a Puerto Rican baseball player that has found his way to the MLB and has really made a mark on the game. ("Yadier Molina." Famous Birthdays. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2016.) Molina was born in Bayamon Puerto Rico and grew up with his father Benjamin Molina, his mother Gladys Matta Molina, and then his two brothers Bengie and Jose. Yadi’s father was a ameture catcher in Puerto Rico but also worked as a toolsman too. Baseball was in the family for a long time and that is all that him and his brothers knew growing up which would explain why they all three made a professional career out of it. Both his brothers Bengie and Jose ended up being major league catchers as well, but nothing like their brother Yadier. They all knew he had something special growing up and playing as a kid. Molina never really focused on the catching

“I’ve heard people say that the trouble with the world is that we haven’t enough great leaders. I think we haven’t enough great followers. I have stood side by side with great thinkers- surgeons, engineers, economists, men who deserve a great following- and have heard the crowd cheer me instead. I love my profession. I like playing baseball. I love the fans too, but I think they cheered too loudly, and they cheered for the wrong man.” This was quoted by Babe Ruth explaining why he isn’t selfish and why he thinks that others aren’t honored enough for their positions. Leading up to Ruth’s career, he had a terrible life. He later became one of the best baseball players of all time. And now, he inspires others. Because Babe Ruth was confident in

Baseball has always been America’s national pastime. In the early and all the way into the mid 50’s, baseball was America and America was baseball. The only thing lacking in the great game was the absence of African American players and the presence of an all white sport. America still wasn’t friendly or accepted the African American race and many still held great prejudice towards them. All this would change when the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Branch Rickey decided he was going to sign a Negro player. Jackie Robinson was that player and Jackie Robinson changed the game, America, and history. By looking specifically at his childhood adversity, college life and the hardships he encountered by becoming the first black player

man that guy is an absolute legend in the baseball world. This matters to my topic because it

Throughout his professional career, Jackie Robinson, received criticism for being the first “black” player to play the game. Not only did Jackie Robinson manage to live up to the criticism, he also changed the face of America’s greatest past time forever. With his entrance into the MLB he opened the path for great black players like Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays, and Ozzie Smith just to name a few. In crossing the color-barrier in baseball Robinson not only strived as a great player on the field, but also a inspiration to the black community of the field with his humility, and willingness to move forward in a time where blacks were not considered “equal”.

Baseball has been label as America’s pastime since before the civil war, and Opening Day kicks off the season. This is the beginning of a new season and the opportunity to accomplish your goals; this symbolizes the American dream, and the every changing society in America. Throughout this essay we’ll discuss four images that illustrate how baseball is shaped by American culture.

I, Babe Ruth, had a major contribution to society, mainly the game of baseball. As I was becoming more recognized as more of a hitter than a pitcher while the “dead-ball era” was happening. I hit many home runs and broke records. My fans loved it; they paid attention to my full-swing hitting. With the style of hitting I had, it contributed to the revolution of baseball and now the “live-ball era.”

Ever since I could remember, I have always had a great interest and love for the game of baseball. As a kid, I would spend countless hours in the backyard with my grandfather, or even by myself, tossing, hitting and fielding a baseball. When I wasn't in the yard pretending to be Nomar Garciaparra I would watch the Boston Red Sox games on TV with my Grandfather.  Even in my early adolescence, as impatient as most are, I had the patience to sit there and watch the Sox.With my eyes glued to the screen with a look of anticipation fixed on my face ready to mimic my grandfather with the excitement of a home run hit or the frustration of Mo-Vaughn striking out. Call me crazy, but I was addicted, even as a young boy, to Boston Red Sox baseball.

The sport is such an integral part of our culture today that we Americans sometimes take for granted its significance in our everyday lives. Contemporary baseball is so closely related with American ideals and identity that it often has served as an expression of patriotism. In times of national hardships, baseball has been used to encourage and rally the nation. In speaking of the emergence of America's nationalism in the historic and contemporary playing field, there are several key issues that surface. Of these issues I will specifically address the long residuals of how baseball has helped to establish our (Americans) national spirit and identity. That is the links between our heritage and national institutions and the game of baseball as a cultural and political representative abroad and unifying tradition at home. I will also address ideals and injustices. That is how baseball's acceptability has changed over time, and how this acts as a microcosm for America's changing attitudes about equality and opportunity.

their communities. Throughout every major sports league there are dozens of players giving not only their money to the needy but also their time. A specific example is Barry Zito of the San Francisco Baseball Club who created his own foundation to support wounded troops of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Named Strikeouts for Troops(http://www.strikeoutsfortroops.org/), every strikeout Zito records, he gives a certain