Another Good Guy

101_2951.jpg
Justin in Pawtucket in January, signing for Kelly O! (Taken by me) 

One of my favorite parts of Spring Training coverage is the attention given to the minor league players.  Unless you frequent minor league message boards or the websites for the minor league teams, during the season the information out there on these guys is severely limited.

Rob Bradford, as usual, has a fabulous piece on Justin Masterson in today’s Boston Herald.  It gives some wonderful insight to a kid that most only heard of because his name was thrown around in the Santana trade talks.

“The way I look at it is I can positively impact people’s lives,” said Masterson, a born-again Christian who doesn’t curse or drink. “I’m going to work as hard as I can to be the pitcher I can. But when it comes down to it, putting a smile on someone’s face is more exciting than anything else. “I have an opportunity to be a role model. Some people in sports say they don’t want to be a role model, but that’s why I’m here. People back home will say, ‘Yeah, he’s a good baseball player, but is he treating people nice?’ That’s what’s important.”

I’ve recently been involved in a heated discussion about MLB players.  I am of the position that they aren’t all jerky, arrogant, obnoxious, lying, skirt-chasers.   I realize that some are, but Justin Masterson being a member of MLB (well, right now, MiLB) is proof that there are some good guys in the game. 

The Masterson is NOT an endangered species.  We just need more of them to show themselves.

7 comments for “Another Good Guy

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *