What Have You Done For Me Lately?

Joe Maddon. My favorite baseball person on the planet.

Maybe it is because Joe and I are the same age. Maybe it is because he didn’t become a major league manager until he was 52 years old – after serving 31 year in the Angels organization as a minor league player, scout, hitting instructor and a coach. (About the same age I was when starting to date MK)

I remember his first stink as a MLB manager because MK and I were in Tampa Bay when he became their coach in 2006. Yep. Took over the worst team in baseball with the cheapest payroll. Those first two years were brutal. The Rays lost 197 games in his first two years.

In 2008 the magic happened. The Rays won their first American League title. They were better than the Yankees and the Red Sox. They went to the World Series. MK and I got Series tickets for game six – I’ll never forget it! Unfortunately, they lost to the Phillies in 5. Still, they went from worst to first and guided the Rays to the World Series. There was bedlam in Tampa. We were part of it.

In 2010 it almost happened again but the Rays lost to the Rangers in the ALDS. We moved in 2010 and missed the excitement of that year. Still, we loved Joe.

In 2014 Joe opted out of his contract, then signed with the Chicago Cubs. I kept telling my friends, who were Cub fans, that the best was yet to come. It did!

The Cubs were the loveable losers. “WAIT TO NEXT YEAR” was the common refrain.

In 2015 the Cubbies, under Joe, made it to the 2015 National League Championship Series. Lightening stuck in 2016 when the Chicago Cubs, who hadn’t won a World Series in 108 years, became World Series champions!

Joe’s magic changed how Cub fans viewed their team. Now they were expected to win. Joe did things other people would never think of doing. After a 5-game losing streak he brought in a magician. The team wore onesies on the plane. He made it fun for young athletes playing for the Cubs. He brought in a zoo in the outfield one time for the families. Put in a disco ball in the clubhouse that would spin after wins.

This year the Cubs were positioned to go to the playoffs again. Then they lost five straight games by one run heading down the stretch – including getting swept by the Cardinals in a pivotal series that could have sealed a playoff bid. Lost nine in a row in the last two weeks of the season.

On Sunday, September 29th, team President, Theo Epstein, and Joe made a joint appearance saying that Joe’s contract wouldn’t be renewed.

In his five seasons the Cubs had a winning record and became the second-best manager in Cubs history – right behind the coach from 1905 – 1912. Yet, the Cubs didn’t make the playoffs this year. What have you done for me lately, Joe?

Fans cite that Joe did things differently. He didn’t handle the pitchers properly during the game. Made unusual players moves in games. Messed with the starting line-up. What have you done for me lately, Joe?

Attendance in games was 2.6 million before Joe got to Chicago. It went up to 2.9 million then 3.2 million the two years after he arrived. The team averaged 69 wins a game the five years before Joe got to the Cubs. 94 wins a game after he got there. What have you done for me lately, Joe?

Some people will talk about the last two weeks of the 2019 and how the Cubs choked. Stuff we still talk about with the ’69 Cubs and how they choked losing 17 out of 25 games in mid-September after being in first place for 155 games. Instead of the Cubs, the Mets won the World Series. What have you done for me lately, Leo Durocher?

Durocher was 64 years old when the Cubs choked in ’69. Joe was 65 when the Cubs choked in ’19. Guys, what have you done for us lately?

We see it all the time. We forget those players who didn’t execute their jobs correctly. We, however, remember their bosses, the Presidents of the company, the Presidents of the country, the baseball managers and football coaches for their mistakes.

When President Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg address many newspapers thought it was terrible:

· The Harrisburg Patriot-News wrote a scathing account of the speech: “We pass over the silly remarks of the President. For the credit of the national we are willing that the veil of oblivion shall be dropped over them and that they shall be no more repeated of thought of.”

· The Chicago Times: “The cheeks of every American must tingle with shame as he reads the silly, flat and dish watery utterances.”

· London Times, “the ceremony was rendered ludicrous by some of the sallies of that poor President Lincoln . . . Anything more dull and commonplace it would not be easy to produce.”

17 months later Lincoln was dead. The Gettysburg address considered by many as terrible. What have you done for us lately, Abe?

Fortunately, history heals so many wounds. Who knows what people will say about Joe Maddon as a manager? I know the truth. I was there. I saw him in Tampa. I saw him with the Cubs.

What have you done for us lately, Joe? You brought winning to Tampa – as they are a wild card team again this year. You brought winning to those loveable Cubbies. It had been 108 years!

In our own lives we will be judged, and some will say, “What have you done for me lately?” Remember the Rays. Remember the Cubs. Remember Gettysburg.

You, and only you, may only remember some highlights of your life. The good news – that should always be enough for each of us!