Oiga, what's a Lefty Jew & a Mexican going to do with a 7-Black men crew?
¿Pues que crees?...play some kind of ball!
I was the odd-man out. I had a problem. I didn't fit in, at least at first. It was a struggle.
I was a lefty. Then I was a righty. Then I was a lefty. Then I was a righty again.
I was ambidextrous.
I was equally bad with a glove on either hand.
Pues que si, it was a "Cardinal" sin to be left-handed.
-You might think it was hard being the only Mexican on a majority Black team.
-You might think it was hard being the only Jew on a majority Black team.
-You might think it was hard being Brown on a majority Black team.
-You might think it was hard being White on a majority Black team.
-You might think it was hard accomodating 2 exceptions on an otherwise Black team.
But you'd be wrong.
What was hard was being the only lefty on an otherwise righty team....and a lefty who was going back & forth trying to be a righty without success. Trying to conform. Tryng to be like everyone else. Trying not to be the worst.
Yeah, that's what was hard. Being the worst player on the team. By anyone's standards.
Sometimes that's okay...to be the worst. Sometimes loosing is a way of winning in the long-run. And we lost some games. In the beginning. That was painful. De principio...me dolió mucho.
A Mexican kid, A Jewish kid, & 7 Black kids...that's what I thought the world was. Every one right-handed, & me a lefty. What did I know? I was just a dumb kid. Un esquincle izquierdista.
But I was one lucky dumb kid...cuz' there were 8 other far more talented kids that carried the weakest player (yo mismo) along with them right into a season of victories.
Los Cardinales...mis carnales. My brothers in a season of struggles, painful losses...and eventual triumph.
Okay, I'm still a dumb kid. I still love the Cardinals. I may've been the worst player on the team...but I was the worst player on the best hijo de la chintola team in the whole mo-fo world...digo yo.
I may be the worst player here at times. You might be the worst player here at times. We may strike out sometimes. But if we carry each other...we can still win. Against the odds. Against the expectations. In spite of the assumptions.
That's my "Cardinal" rule in life.