Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Rays/MLB

Kid hasn't adjusted stance yet

It matters how you behave. It matters how you treat people. It matters how much discipline you have off the field, and how much devotion you have on it.

By JOHN ROMANO
Published May 10, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - The tone was nearly apologetic. The words were somewhat sincere. All in all, Delmon Young tried his best to be repentant.

If only it were in his nature. It would be so much easier to believe in Young's mea culpa if he seemed to believe it himself.

Young did almost everything he was supposed to do when word of his 50-game suspension was handed down Tuesday, and somehow it didn't ring true.

Maybe I'm wrong. I hope I am. Maybe, a few years down the road, I will feel foolish for not recognizing this was the day Young's outlook and image began to change. And, if so, it will be my pleasure to apologize.

But, at this moment, I'm still not sure Young gets it.

He didn't complain about the length of his suspension, and that is good. He didn't try to make excuses, and that is important.

But to project regret, you must first experience it. And that is where I have my doubts. Young grasps that he did wrong, no question about that. It just appears as if he doesn't care about the cause of his problem.

He seems to treat it as if it were an isolated incident. A momentary lapse in judgment when his "emotions" got the better of him.

Young has had almost two weeks to consider his mistake, and the frame of mind that led to it. In those two weeks, no one has publicly come to his defense. No one has suggested this was out of character. No one in the Devil Rays clubhouse or organization acted surprised trouble had found him.

If you were Young, wouldn't that make you pause? Wouldn't you wonder about how others perceive you? Wouldn't you start to question if your behavior might have something to do with a rapidly disintegrating reputation?

From what he said Tuesday, none of that seems to have occurred to Young. He doesn't believe he has an anger management issue. And if people have the wrong impression of him, it's only because they don't know him.

It is as if Young wears a hard, outer shell that has yet to be pierced. Criticism has not gotten through. And neither has this punishment.

That should be today's greatest fear. Not that he committed a sin on the field, but that he hasn't used this occasion to take stock of himself.

He knows he is a tremendous baseball talent. But he should also know that talent is not the only factor in the breadth of one's success.

Josh Hamilton had as much, or more, talent. John Rocker once had a tremendous future. Jose Canseco was a physical marvel and Darryl Strawberry had been on the fast track to the Hall of Fame.

It matters how you behave. It matters how you treat people. It matters how much discipline you have off the field, and how much devotion you have on it.

For their part, the Devil Rays are doing what they can. They've made it clear to Young that his attitude has been a significant factor in his failure to make it to the majors in the speedy time frame he once envisioned.

Team officials came up with the idea for Young's community service work during his suspension, and that is a step in the right direction. They convinced Young to face the cameras and not hide behind a sterile statement on Tuesday, and that was the right move, too.

The Rays also have taken notice of the character issues of Young, Hamilton, Dewon Brazelton and Elijah Dukes, and have hired a sports psychologist to work with the organization's minor leaguers.

Yet, in order for this to have a meaningful impact, Young has to be willing to look at how his behavior has played a role in getting to this point.

Look, everyone deserves a chance at forgiveness. What Young did was wrong, but it was not the worst thing a ballplayer has ever done. He is, we all should remember, barely out of his teens.

Should he move on from this moment with a new outlook on life, this will become a footnote to what could be a monumental career.

He has wisely followed the advice of the Rays and his handlers and will try to repair his image by working with special needs youngsters in Tampa Bay. With any luck, they will have as much impact on him as he does on them.

They could teach Young about faith. About humility. About respect. They could teach him about the joy of the game, and the wonder of the human spirit.

I just wish I was more comfortable knowing his mental maturity has caught up to his physical prowess. I wish I knew for certain he was going to take this second chance and create something wonderful out of it. I wish I could see what was in his heart.

Because, as I said, maybe I have read too much into Young's tepid apology. Maybe I misinterpreted his attitude and the rehearsed way he seemed to answer questions.

For, ultimately, the measure of a man is not in his words. Or even in the contrived way he may deliver them.

It is in his actions. In the way he treats people. It is in his answers to adversity, and in his response to his mistakes.

So Delmon, we are waiting and watching.

Mostly, we are hoping.

[Last modified May 10, 2006, 01:08:16]