About the Off-Season: Embracing Change

About the Off-Season: Embracing Change

By Tim Kabel

February 8, 2025

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I have a few thoughts about the third base situation and then I would like to turn my attention to something that is not baseball related.

Brian Cashman recently stated that the Yankees are planning to use an internal option to resolve the third base issue in 2025. Again, that means a competition between DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera, and Oswald Peraza. However, there are numerous reports that the Cardinals are extremely motivated to trade Nolan Arenado and the Yankees are among the three most likely teams to acquire him.

I have concerns about trading for Arenado due to his age end a decline that is seemingly underway. However, perhaps a change in scenery and being surrounded by players like Aaron Judge and others might help him to bounce back. I would prefer a younger option but if it is Arenado, it might turn out to be better than I suspect. 

Brian Cashman was recently on the Hot Stove program on the YES Network and stated that when he acquired Jazz Chisholm, Jr., his original plan was to play Chisholm at second base and move Gleyber Torres to third base. He said that Aaron Boone preferred to do it the other way around. Ultimately, Gleyber Torres simply refused to switch positions.

After this appearance by Cashman, Torres released a statement basically saying that the Yankees, and Cashman needed to move on and not dwell on the past. In case Torres didn't notice, they did move on. That's why he is in Detroit. I find it quite interesting that there were a lot of concerns about how well Chisolm would fit on the Yankees, and whether he would be a team player. He absolutely was and seems like he will be a tremendous fit on this team moving forward. Meanwhile, Torres, who frequently pouted and malingered during his Yankees’ career, proved to be anything but a team player. Oh well, as they say, via con Dios.

I found the article by Paul Semendinger the other day to be quite engrossing and moving. It was about his marathon running career and how it had come to an end. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Paul and for runners. Many years ago, I coached high school track and field. Before that, I was on the track team myself, competing in the shot put and discus events. I also threw the javelin but, the less said about that, the better. Surprisingly, I could actually sprint very fast over short distances. For example, if the ice cream truck was starting to pull away and I wanted to get there before it did, Usain Bolt would have lost to me.

My experience in coaching track and knowing marathon runners has led me to develop a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for people who participate in them. The discipline, work ethic and diligence required to do something that demanding, especially for the length of time that Paul did it, is awe-inspiring. Even more inspiring, is the ability to walk away from something you love when it's the right time. To end something that has been a significant part of your life on your own terms is rare and wonderful.

Too often, things end in our lives under unpleasant circumstances. When I was a kid, we had a small rental house on our property. It was essentially a studio apartment in the form of a little cottage. The gentleman who rented it was an older man, Mr. Grinn, who was a top executive in a very big company in town. He had never married, had no children, and seemingly, few friends. I would often visit him, and he would tell me about his life experiences. As he grew older, he began to struggle. One winter, he slipped on the ice and badly injured his face in the fall. He also had trouble with his vision and had a car accident. Eventually, he was pushed out of his job. Although he had been one of the founders of the company, he was voted out. He had nowhere to go during the day. He had nothing to do. One day, not long after all this happened, he decided to take his own life. My father found him.  The local authorities decided it was a good idea to question my father as if he were a person of interest as they say. Since I am a lot like my father, it won't surprise anyone to know that line of questioning did not last long or go well for those local authorities.

My point is that Mr. Grinn gave his life to his job. When he was no longer welcome, he couldn't adjust. He didn't know what to do when it was taken away from him. He gave up. I often think about Mr. Grinn and I think that whole experience made me realize how important it is to have a full life.

We all have things in our lives that are part of us, whether it's a job, family, or an interest such as running, fishing, or following the Yankees. The key to living a successful life is to have those things be part of us and part of what makes us unique but not to define us.

I worked at my job as a social worker and supervisor for 30 years, to the day. When I wasn't working my regular shift, I was on call. For 15 straight years, I was on call every day of the year except for about two or three weeks, when I was on vacation. It ended about a year and a half ago but, I handled it in a way so that I ended it on my terms. The other thing is that although I gave everything I had to my job, when I was working, it was only a part of my life. I was also a father, a writer, a cook, and many other things. 

As I read Paul's very powerful article, it reinforced things that I had seen in my own life. If you have a full life, and one part of it goes away for whatever reason, you can simply expand other existing parts of your life or replace it with something else. We all know that Paul will be very busy and very happy in his life. Reading his article made me realize again that the same is true for me. Since I am no longer working for a state government agency, I now write full time and pursue other interests. It is important to be happy in your life and happy with yourself, especially as our lives evolve. I'm reminded of something that the late British actor and playwright, Robert Morley said, “I have little patience with anyone who is not self-satisfied. I'm always pleased to see my friends, happy to be with my wife and family, but the high spot of every day is when I first catch a glimpse of myself in the shaving mirror.”

Paul’s article was a celebration of his running career and his life. (I am sure that running in his last race, the Dopey marathon, dwarfed all the other races he ran.) We all have chapters in our lives that eventually end. Although that can be sad, those chapters helped shape us and will provide tremendous memories.

And as writers like me and Paul know, there is always another chapter just a few pages away.