Kurt Suzuki: Worth Looking Up To
by Technotofu on Nov 17, 2010 9:43 PM PST
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PrintMonths ago, my nine year old son sent a letter to his favorite ballplayer: Athletics' catcher Kurt Suzuki. After a few days he began asking me when I thought Kurt might write back. I assured him that Kurt was probably really busy with his workouts, games, and travel, and that he would write back when he had time.
Days turned into weeks, and after a few months, my son stopped asking when Kurt would write back. "Maybe your letter got lost in the mail, buddy," I told him.
Fast forward to today. I come home from the gym to find my son in bed crying tears of joy and holding a red envelope in his little hands. "Who's it from, buddy?" I asked. "Take a look" he tells me as he wipes his eyes on his pajamas. "KURT SUZUKI!" I exclaimed as I read the return address. "Yup," he said, nodding his head knowingly.
I opened the envelope and read the thoughtful hand written note inside. Kurt apologized for the delay of his reply, answered my son's questions about being a big league catcher, and encouraged him to dream big and believe in himself. I got chills as I read Kurt's note. I looked over to my son who was still teary eyed, and we exchanged a long, meaningful pair of smiles.
"I guess you picked a good guy to be your favorite player, buddy" I said. "I guess I did," he replied.
Thanks, Kurt. Thanks for being a beacon of light in a stormy sea of questionable behavior. Thanks for writing back to a boy who idolizes you. Thanks for being worth looking up to. It means more to my son than you will ever know.
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Aww......
that is a very cool story……kudos to Kurt for being a champ and good for your son that he was rewarded for waiting. I love it!
Go A’s!
"By the end of the year, I'll have Dallas throwing right-handed'' -Ben Sheets
I just cried.
Yeah. I did.
The funny thing about baseball is that people will believe what they want to believe. –Joe Posnanski 8/29/09
by pam5981 on Nov 17, 2010 10:09 PM PST reply actions 6 recs
Glad I'm not the only softie
will crosby spread his legs so far apart at bat that the games will have to be rated nc-17 -- emperor nobody
Yeah. I'm a sap.
The funny thing about baseball is that people will believe what they want to believe. –Joe Posnanski 8/29/09
thats what tree said
It’s not easy filling the shoes of fan favorite Bobby Crosby, but Cliff Pennington says he’s up to the challenge.
by DyeLongJustice on Nov 18, 2010 10:07 AM PST up reply actions 3 recs
Wow, this thing has 6 recs?
You’re ALL saps.
The funny thing about baseball is that people will believe what they want to believe. –Joe Posnanski 8/29/09
I flagged it, just to be a contrarian.
Official Athletics Nation Rotating Tagline Editor
Pam liked my old sig better.
Yeah right.
You cried, too.
The funny thing about baseball is that people will believe what they want to believe. –Joe Posnanski 8/29/09
boys don't cry
I'm here to talk about Don
by OptimistPrime on Nov 18, 2010 3:45 PM PST up reply actions
If The Cure says so, it must be true.
The funny thing about baseball is that people will believe what they want to believe. –Joe Posnanski 8/29/09
But not the Four Seasons?
Sweet is the lore which Nature brings; / Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:— / We murder to dissect.
He is a great guy
He is my favorite player too. I went to Fullerton with him, and my best friend was a pitcher with the Titans. Kurt was his catcher and he only had good things to say about him.
Thanks for sharing that
THIS is what being a baseball fan is all about. Now I want one of those Suzuki shirts with the puka shells.
D'AWEEE.
Kurt, you rock. So much.
"You're just jealous. You wish you had a rally animal..." -CardinalWraith
That is so cool.
I liked Kurt already, but this just makes me like him even more. Thank you for sharing this. You made my day.
Billy Beane... What have you done for me lately?
Wicked super awesome.
Couldn’t have happened to a nicer kid. _
Billy Hayes: His job is better than yours.
"ZIPS Is Indeed Supose To Science." --GRM
by delorean on Nov 17, 2010 11:01 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
Kurt
Walks it like he talks it. You aren’t surprised at all hearing this (although it’s still nice to.)
by supersugarCrisp on Nov 17, 2010 11:03 PM PST reply actions
This doesn't surprise me one bit
The man is a true class act.
He’s got to be one of the most liked and respected ballplayers out there.
Hell, the folks over at HH love him!
AN: Where you will be an A's fan or Dallas Braden will show you the repercussions of your actions.
He definitely seems classy
I wish he was a better ballplayer though.
Go A's
http://lesoaklandas.blogspot.com
That's awesome
He is a really great guy. He is always so gracious about signing, so my cousin and I have been fortunate enough to meet and talk to him a few times. Truly a class act.
"You ain't got nothin to say, it was perfect" -Dallas Braden, 05/09/10
I got something in my eye
Kurt Suzuki, Athletic for life please
I'm here to talk about Don
by OptimistPrime on Nov 18, 2010 1:20 AM PST reply actions 4 recs
I can see him with a role on the team post playing career....manager?
It's because he derived his torque from the buttocks -- cityplANner
by WaddellCanseco on Nov 18, 2010 5:01 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Maybe he can write letters to everyone to get more fans to come to the games
www.zekeishungry.com
by thejd44 on Nov 19, 2010 12:09 PM PST up reply actions
Thanks to the A's attendance, he'd actually have time to write letters to everyone!
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
There there OP.
The funny thing about baseball is that people will believe what they want to believe. –Joe Posnanski 8/29/09
More on the Athletic for Life....
Here is a multi-millionaire, a guy who could have easily, and understandably, just tossed the letter or had one of his “people” (hired off Craigslist ala Coco Crisp) just send out a form letter. He sits down and takes the time to write a hand written letter to a kid. Folks, they just don’t make them like this anymore. This man carries himself with a level of class and decorum that transcends professional sports, in an era where guys are sleeping around on their wives and spending all their money on bling and strip clubs. He goes about his job with the utmost level of professionalism on the field, never complains or is a media whore, and always is supportive of his team and team mates. We have a rare commodity in Kurt Suzuki.
I'm here to talk about Don
by OptimistPrime on Nov 18, 2010 12:52 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Don't Jinx It
The last who said he wanted to be an Athletic for life is playing RF for the Yankees now
He did that whole Adenhart thing, too.
Kurt is awesome awesome.
Sweet is the lore which Nature brings; / Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:— / We murder to dissect.
Awesome!!
And hand-written, at that. Thanks for sharing, technotofu.
I have NO rooting interest. It simply become[s] a process of elimination of who I dislike less. - 67MARQUEZ
!#%&$#@&%&% antioxidants! - pam
Cool,
now change your swing back to normal.
A's Fan in Sweden
"Some of us know him as the a-hole who piled into Ray Fosse in an All-Star game (it's why Ray is the way he is folks)" - OptimistPrime
Awesome story!
This reminds me of a story from when I was 9 years old-ish. I used to do a similar thing. I sent out letters to my favorite players with baseball cards asking for autographs. About half sent them back without an autograph and a boring form letter and sometimes information about joining their fan club, especially the big guys like Canseco and McGwire. I did get the autograph from many, but it always took awhile. Only once did I get an autograph in less than a month. That was from Luis Polonia (he was a Yankee at the time, but that was before the Evil Empire and I had loved him on the A’s), who days after I sent my later had been arrested for statutory rape. I suppose he had little to do in prison other than answer fan mail (either that or fan mail ceased once he was arrested for this horrible crime and I was the only one that sent him anything). I was happy by the quick response, and was too young to really know what statutory rape was, and I certainly can’t say he was worthy of looking up to like Kurt Suzuki.
by Henduland in Texas on Nov 18, 2010 7:19 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
Let's hope Suzuki puts up a Joe Mauer like season for 2011 and beyond...
:) Go A’s!
Every man for himself...
by MMunoz33 on Nov 18, 2010 9:06 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
This is what makes baseball so special.
I believe most ball players are just as kind as Zook. Its too bad that the media tends to report the worst behaviors( like Bradley and others gesturing crudely to the fans, or the fans spitting on Mrs Lee). Zook has shown that we still have heroes we can look up to, both our children and us as adults. Truely a great intangible for the A’s.
I still have my reply letter from the A's
I was about 8, and wrote wanting to help the team, ala Eddie Gaedel. The kindness and encouragement given to me by the A’s front office made me an A’s fan for life.
I also want to add
we have a lot of really quality guys on this team. The first that comes to mind is Brad Ziegler. Never once have I seen him pass up signing a ball or cards for anybody. What makes me love him the most is the day he sat and talked to my 12 year old cousin for about 10 minutes about what plane they’d want to do a fly over the most on Military Day. It was funny and touching at the same time.
"You ain't got nothin to say, it was perfect" -Dallas Braden, 05/09/10
I grew up idolizing a complete jerk
Namely Jose Canseco. I wrote him several times but he never wrote back. I asked him once at a card convention if he ever got my letters and he said something like, “Kid, I get so many letters I don’t remember them all.” If I ever got the chance to meet him again, I’d give him my prized possession as a kid, something I’ve had my entire life, a binder full of about 400 of his cards. And then I’d tell him what an ass he is.
I’m glad your son chose a good guy to look up to. Zooks has always been a class act and I hope he’s a career Athletic.
by Jimmy McSquiggins on Nov 18, 2010 2:06 PM PST reply actions
If you want to rip him at all, he has a Twitter account
And he’s as big an ass there as you’d expect.
Last of the Ninth - Photography
But you are a bigger man than he is Jimmy, without taking steroids
I'm here to talk about Don
by OptimistPrime on Nov 18, 2010 3:47 PM PST up reply actions
He'd Probably Respond
“My pinky toe has more athletic ability than you kid”
by Geronimo Berroa on Nov 18, 2010 3:48 PM PST up reply actions
After reading a few pages of his twitter account
I can say with no hesitation that I have no desire to ever have any type of correspondence with this person.
by Jimmy McSquiggins on Nov 18, 2010 4:12 PM PST up reply actions
Canseco was my favourite player growing up too
I try to keep my memories of him seperate to my opinion of him now. By all accounts he is a douchebag and not a very nice person but I prefer to remember him as I did back then as an 8 year old – an amazing exciting hitter who really boosted my interest in baseball and the A’s to a new level.
Glad to hear Kurt is a down-to-earth guy
but it’s not surprising, since he’s from Hawaii. One cannot generalize about an entire population, but more often than not, people I’ve met from Hawaii have been generous and caring. Not those that moved there so much….they still have what they have. But those who grew up in the islands seem to have a innate goodness.
And my nephew is still awaiting his return letter and autographed baseball card from Miguel Tejada! Well, maybe he isn’t waiting, since he went from 12 to 18 …currently, other interests!!
Officially awaiting the 2011 MLB season
by One won lost won on Nov 18, 2010 8:03 PM PST reply actions
Awwww
Thats awesome!! Im 15 now, but when i was little i would have been so happy if that happened to me. Go A’s!! And go victory court stadium!!
by section119a'sfan on Nov 18, 2010 8:41 PM PST via mobile reply actions
This is one of those stories that makes me wish I was a kid again.
I want to write a letter to one of my favorite athletes after this, but that would probably be really creepy coming from an adult.
“So, Derrick Rose, I know I’m a few years older than you and all, but I sure wish I could play basketball like you…”
I’m sure his return letter would come with a restraining order.
Yay for Kurt Suzuki.
www.zekeishungry.com
by thejd44 on Nov 19, 2010 12:13 PM PST reply actions
Isn't it so unfair how children can get away with stalking and we can't?
The monster at the end of this blog.
I probably wouldnt have half
the autographs that I have if it wasn’t for my little cousin being by my side all the time..
"You ain't got nothin to say, it was perfect" -Dallas Braden, 05/09/10
by MissOakland on Nov 19, 2010 10:50 PM PST up reply actions
Didnt take much
but Kurt is now my favorite A’s player. It’s funny how something like a letter can be so much to a kid. Bravo Kurt.
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