11/1/11
Greetings everyone!
Another MLB season has come to an end – and what an exciting finish! Game 6 of the World Series was, by far, the best baseball game I’ve ever seen. During my
keynote presentations I lay out my strategy for success in life– Priorities, Planning, Perseverance, and Patience. The St. Louis Cardinals definitely bought into my
idea. What a great way to win the championship!
For the Pitch for Awareness National Tour (PFA) I decided to print a baseball card in lieu of a business card. My card for the 2011 season featured a photo of my first
pitch at Busch Stadium for the St. Louis Cardinals. That’s right, the CHAMPION St. Louis Cardinals! So I need to pull out my crystal ball and/or Ouija Board to determine
what picture I will use next for my 2012 baseball card.
All of my potential baseball card photos are on the PFA homepage (www.pitchforawareness.com). Take a look at them and let me know what photo you think will make
a great card – and who knows, maybe even lead to a World Series trophy!
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Alas, another PFA season has come to an end. I pitched at four more stadiums for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Houston
Astros. And I was also invited back to Cincinnati to throw a second pitch for their Disability Awareness Day celebration.
None of this would have happened were it not for some very kind people who believe in the message of the PFA tour.
My friend Elliot Karathanasis is a lawyer in L.A. who has a friend of a friend of a friend who knows someone in the Dodgers organization. After a few well-placed e-
mails, I was soon invited to pitch before a Dodgers game. Even though I threw a strike, the best part was having 20 friends show up at the game to cheer me on.
Earlier this year I met Virginia Tinley, executive director of the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CFA). Virginia passed my information along to David Samson, a
member of the CFA Board of Directors. David also happens to be the President of the Florida Marlins. He made a few calls on my behalf and suddenly the Red Sox,
Diamondbacks, and Astros invited me to their stadiums. Prior to David’s intervention, these teams expressed little interest in the PFA tour. So his calls made a big
difference.
My repeat performance in Cincinnati was compliments of Mass Mutual, the company that sponsors the Disability Awareness Day celebration. We met last year when I
pitched for the Reds on August 15, 2010. They were interested in my awareness effort so they invited me back again this season to not only pitch, but to give my
presentation at their regional staff meeting/event that coincides with the Reds game. So thanks to John Maddrill at Mass Mutual for inviting me back! And thanks to
Kathy Barnes and Trisha Rutherford for all their help.
- ESPN Update
ESPN is still working with me on a feature about the PFA tour for “E:60” (The Best Stories in Sports). ESPN camera crews followed me in Phoenix, Cincinnati, Houston,
and here in San Diego. We have not yet filmed my interview that will be the core of the story. The original plan was to broadcast the piece this fall, but ESPN chose to
bump the story until the spring, when the 2012 season gets underway. I’ll keep you updated on the (now 2012) broadcast date.
- Sports Illustrated
Last week, Sports Illustrated’s website (SI.com) had a photo gallery of the 41 top “Memorable First Pitches of the 2011 Season”. Guess who came in at #18 – just after
Santa Claus and before Aaron Rodgers, last year’s Super Bowl MVP! (Not really a ranking, just a list.) You can check it out here:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1104/first.pitches.2011/content.1.html
Or you can go straight to #18 (PFA) here:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1104/first.pitches.2011/content.18.html
Ironically they chose to use the photo of my pitch in Boston, home of the infamous “Fenway Flop”.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To date I threw at 14 stadiums and seven pitches were balls and seven strikes. (Last year my pitch in Cincy was a ball, but my second pitch there this season was a
strike – so I count this one instead!) So I sit on a solid .500 average.
Two seasons / 14 stadiums down – and 16 more stadiums to go. Hopefully I can find more great people like Elliot, Dave, and John to help me along the way.
Thanks to everyone for your continued support of the PFA tour. I will try to fill in the gaps with my (overdue) blog entries from my past adventures on the road.
I leave you with a quote from Albert Einstein – “Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid.”
Greetings everyone!
Another MLB season has come to an end – and what an exciting finish! Game 6 of the World Series was, by far, the best baseball game I’ve ever seen. During my
keynote presentations I lay out my strategy for success in life– Priorities, Planning, Perseverance, and Patience. The St. Louis Cardinals definitely bought into my
idea. What a great way to win the championship!
For the Pitch for Awareness National Tour (PFA) I decided to print a baseball card in lieu of a business card. My card for the 2011 season featured a photo of my first
pitch at Busch Stadium for the St. Louis Cardinals. That’s right, the CHAMPION St. Louis Cardinals! So I need to pull out my crystal ball and/or Ouija Board to determine
what picture I will use next for my 2012 baseball card.
All of my potential baseball card photos are on the PFA homepage (www.pitchforawareness.com). Take a look at them and let me know what photo you think will make
a great card – and who knows, maybe even lead to a World Series trophy!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alas, another PFA season has come to an end. I pitched at four more stadiums for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Houston
Astros. And I was also invited back to Cincinnati to throw a second pitch for their Disability Awareness Day celebration.
None of this would have happened were it not for some very kind people who believe in the message of the PFA tour.
My friend Elliot Karathanasis is a lawyer in L.A. who has a friend of a friend of a friend who knows someone in the Dodgers organization. After a few well-placed e-
mails, I was soon invited to pitch before a Dodgers game. Even though I threw a strike, the best part was having 20 friends show up at the game to cheer me on.
Earlier this year I met Virginia Tinley, executive director of the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CFA). Virginia passed my information along to David Samson, a
member of the CFA Board of Directors. David also happens to be the President of the Florida Marlins. He made a few calls on my behalf and suddenly the Red Sox,
Diamondbacks, and Astros invited me to their stadiums. Prior to David’s intervention, these teams expressed little interest in the PFA tour. So his calls made a big
difference.
My repeat performance in Cincinnati was compliments of Mass Mutual, the company that sponsors the Disability Awareness Day celebration. We met last year when I
pitched for the Reds on August 15, 2010. They were interested in my awareness effort so they invited me back again this season to not only pitch, but to give my
presentation at their regional staff meeting/event that coincides with the Reds game. So thanks to John Maddrill at Mass Mutual for inviting me back! And thanks to
Kathy Barnes and Trisha Rutherford for all their help.
- ESPN Update
ESPN is still working with me on a feature about the PFA tour for “E:60” (The Best Stories in Sports). ESPN camera crews followed me in Phoenix, Cincinnati, Houston,
and here in San Diego. We have not yet filmed my interview that will be the core of the story. The original plan was to broadcast the piece this fall, but ESPN chose to
bump the story until the spring, when the 2012 season gets underway. I’ll keep you updated on the (now 2012) broadcast date.
- Sports Illustrated
Last week, Sports Illustrated’s website (SI.com) had a photo gallery of the 41 top “Memorable First Pitches of the 2011 Season”. Guess who came in at #18 – just after
Santa Claus and before Aaron Rodgers, last year’s Super Bowl MVP! (Not really a ranking, just a list.) You can check it out here:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1104/first.pitches.2011/content.1.html
Or you can go straight to #18 (PFA) here:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1104/first.pitches.2011/content.18.html
Ironically they chose to use the photo of my pitch in Boston, home of the infamous “Fenway Flop”.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To date I threw at 14 stadiums and seven pitches were balls and seven strikes. (Last year my pitch in Cincy was a ball, but my second pitch there this season was a
strike – so I count this one instead!) So I sit on a solid .500 average.
Two seasons / 14 stadiums down – and 16 more stadiums to go. Hopefully I can find more great people like Elliot, Dave, and John to help me along the way.
Thanks to everyone for your continued support of the PFA tour. I will try to fill in the gaps with my (overdue) blog entries from my past adventures on the road.
I leave you with a quote from Albert Einstein – “Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid.”
| Thanks for your on-going support of the Pitch for Awareness national tour! |
| Pitch for Awareness |
| 2011 National Tour |
| End of Season Update |
| November 1, 2011 |
