04/23/24
July 07, 2006
Minor-league skipper gets major-league gift: Major Leaguers are spoiled, self-absorbed thankless jerks. All of them. Except maybe Joe Crede. Get ready to be a Crede fan (and maybe take that stereotype down a notch).
posted by BullpenPro to baseball at 03:57 PM - 11 comments
Gotta love Joe Crede...that story was one of the most heartwarming I've read. Its guys like Crede that make me proud of athletes...knowing that not all are greedy, self-absorbed thugs.
posted by chemwizBsquared at 04:13 PM on July 07, 2006
Yeah- he seems like a hell of a guy- plus he's having an awesome year. I like to read stories like these- they show that not all big time athletes are grossly overpaid jerks.
posted by redsoxrgay at 04:35 PM on July 07, 2006
The White Sox gave all their minor league managers World Series rings? That's damned classy, too.
posted by yerfatma at 05:08 PM on July 07, 2006
I remember when the Blue Jays won the World Series, they gave every employee of the team a ring. Right down to the ushers, beer guys, and ticket takers. Class act, Joe Crede. Mind you, the rings weren't the same as the players got, but they were the same idea, just a little less expensive.
posted by tommybiden at 05:58 PM on July 07, 2006
Yes! Arod has had a very open heart and wallet when it comes to helping others, and so have many other great ball-players that have followed the Roberto Clemente way or spirit....
posted by zippinglou at 07:14 PM on July 07, 2006
I once gave Joe Crede a ride to the airport, while working at "The Cell". We stopped to fill my Jeep Grand Cherokee up with gas on the way. He not only payed for the gas (roughly $40) he also grabbed a big bag of Funyuns, and a 6 pack of Heineken for the ride. By the time we got to O'Hare, I felt like I was dropping off my older brother. What a class act.
posted by topjimmy13 at 07:24 PM on July 07, 2006
Zippinglou: my point was more remembering those who actually helped you along the way, not the general Clemente-type charity that many, many players do in one way or another. Still, good story about A-Rod. Topjimmy13: Crede bought you beer to drink while you were driving him to the airport? Well, my estimation of him just went back down a notch.
posted by BullpenPro at 09:05 PM on July 07, 2006
I think that such gestures are more the rule than the exception. Boston's pitching staff recently bought their bullpen catcher a new F-250 pickup truck to replace his badly beat up Explorer. Most professional athletes are decent humans, the spoiled brats we hear about so often are the minority.
posted by Howard_T at 12:12 PM on July 08, 2006
Always liked Crede! Not sure why, something about his demeanor. This cements it.
posted by vito90 at 12:39 PM on July 08, 2006
If "What goes around, comes around" is true, I'm assuming Joe Crede will be a very happy man the rest of his life.
posted by jtroy4 at 01:50 PM on July 08, 2006
I wonder how many players, like Crede, remember where they came from and make these kinds of gestures. I've heard that A-Rod maintains strong relationships with people who have helped him along the way. (Due acknowledgement: I found this story here.)