My wife and I recently screened "Cinderella Man," an inspiring biopic about boxing champ, James J. Braddock.
Braddock struggled during the Great Depression to keep heat in the apartment and food on the table. At one point, his sick kids were shuttled off to stay with relatives, so they wouldn't shiver to death or starve.
I have to say this isn't an easy baseball to watch. Your heart goes out to this washed-up boxer, whose many-time broken right hand nearly stopped his career, forever.
His improbable comeback is something Damon Runyan called one of the best stories he had ever encountered.
So, what does "The Manny baseball Story" have to do with Braddock?
Absolutely nothing; and that's the problem.
Manny is a talented athlete who has been offered the world on a platter, but that's not enough for him. Declining a two-year deal with the Dodgers that would pay him what, about $45 million bucks, isn't enough.
Enjoying the adulation of LA fans, isn't enough.
There are guys like Braddock in our Great Recession that will struggle to take their kids to a single ballgame in 2009. They'll fret over whether a menial job will still be theirs the following Monday.
Meantime, Manny will lament to pal Pujols and others that he isn't loved enough, that nobody wants to sign him.
If Manny had one-hundredth the grit or the obstacles facing a Braddock, or for that matter, a "Rudy," the diminutive grunt that finally played a down or two for Notre Dame, maybe someone would be interested in making a movie about him.
But that's doubtful, because for all of his ability, he's just not enough of an inspiration.
Dr. Gary S. Goodman is a top speaker, sales, customer service and negotiation trainer, best-selling author, and TV and radio commentator. He conducts seminars and convention presentations around the world and can be reached at: gary@customersatisfaction.com. His profile can be read at: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/0/a91/833
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