Fame can turn into Boo's in an instant.

 

I never attended a lot of baseball games but one from the mid 1960s sticks in my memory.

My uncle owned each McDonalds franchise on the Baltimore Beltway, and he had a box at the Orioles field. One night he invited our family to attend a game with him.

What I remember is that the first time Brooks Robinson came up to bat he hit a home run. Frank Robinson was next and he too hit a home run. Then Boog Powell followed with another home run.

The next time they came up to bat, Brooks, Frank and Boog hit home runs again.

They came up a third time. Brooks Robinson hit a home run. The crowd went wild. Frank Robinson hit another home run and again the crowd roared. Finally Boog Powell came up but he only hit a triple. The fact a triple is more difficult to hit meant little. The crowd expecting another home run, just booed Boog.

I have kept that memory for a very long time, and it gave me a large lesson. Don’t do things for the crowd. Do them for yourself. Celebrate what you can do.