The Yankees Lost The World Series But Not Completely

I think there's power in showing up the way a captain does, no matter whether the chips are up or down... and I think there's strength in showing up and embracing every opportunity for transformation. Music by DayFox on Pixabay. 

Chapters

• 0:00 Captain Conversations in Life and Baseball
• 12:40 Everyday Captains Finding Hope

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

I think about the ways that we're captains in our own lives, how we provide like a captain does, how we act when we're looked up to as the captain, and the standard we have the chance to set and how far those ripples reach. What's up, guys? Welcome back to Donations. It's your host, donovan, and today we're just going to jump straight into it, okay? So if you're not a sports fan, if you're not a Yankees fan, but you find yourself here out of curiosity, just stick with me. I promise there's something here for everyone.

Speaker 1: 1:15

So the World Series right, for those that don't know or aren't familiar, it's the championship of championships in baseball. Aren't familiar? It's the championship of championships in baseball, and this year the two teams battling it out for the top spot were the LA Dodgers and the New York Yankees. Now, my family and I have been die hard through and through Navy pinstripe Yankee fans since three centuries ago, so you can just imagine the buzz we felt leading up to the start of this year's series. And it's a best out of seven game series. So basically, the first team to win four games takes the title, and it's been a little bit since we've all collectively, as a family, been this excited for something and that's special in itself, right. Well, add to all that buzz the hour plus lead up to the first pitch of the first game. Right, it's where they show emotional, documentary style short film type things of the stories that have been developing for each team and some of their star players over the entire season and the history and the legacy that's being made by making it this far. And it's all really special and it adds a personal touch to the game that someone who has never watched a baseball game in their life still could feel deep in their spirit.

Speaker 1: 2:51

Now, one of those interview documentary style segments was called Captain Conversations. Derek Jeter, a decorated and celebrated, legendary, absolute baseball star, now retired, played for the Yankees for his entire 20-year career and was named the official captain of the team during his time in the game. And he was partaking as commentator for this year's series and was leading this special interview with now captain of the team, aaron Judge. But honestly, it just felt more like a genuine conversation and Judge has made more than a name for himself. He's an absolute giant, and I'm not just saying that literally Judge is 6'8 and 280 plus pounds but also metaphorically he's known as one of the team's most dominant powerhouse players. He's been with the team for a while now and has broken records and has set sky high standards and is well respected not just within the team but in the game, is well respected not just within the team but in the game, and I was literally glued to the screen watching these two captains engage in this conversation, because it was emotional and it was touching, and it was such a motivating and humble conversation and an incredible thing to see, to see these two players that are the epitome of legacy but that are just human beings like you and I be in such a position, not only in the game of baseball but like in life too, and it just touched my heart and, as everything does, got me thinking about life and legacy in general.

Speaker 1: 4:45

Well, long story short, the first game, the second game and the third game weren't the best outcomes. In a series where winning four games takes the title, we found ourselves with no wins. After the third game, we faced pitching struggles, we faced tough calls from umpires and our own coach and our home run giants weren't getting much hits and everyone was talking about Judge the captain and how he was facing a slump. He hadn't hit a home run for a while and it's what he's known for much less a string of solid hits for too many games, and I mean the whole team faced a slump when it came to hitting, but him being the captain, he's the one that will be remembered for it.

Speaker 1: 5:45

I think practically my entire TikTok feed all of a sudden became this string of videos, either making jokes on Judge's behalf or showing frustrated fans screaming at the TV or at him, and it was just a mess. I mean, yeah, even my frustration got the best of me and I did plenty of my own screaming and turning away from the TV screen in frustration and was told calm down, it's just the game, and like, yeah, chill out, sister, but also like no, it's not just the game, there's so much in it and it's got so much to teach us. But even after those three excruciating games and that excruciating slump and the tough spot we were in, there were still videos that I was coming across of people who still had hope and who were still trying to rally everyone around the team and people rallying behind Judge, trusting that our captain would break through, and just people who still had hope for the team and who were just trying to spread that as far as it would reach, because it's not over till it's over. And it wasn't over till it's over and it wasn't over. And it was those people and that search for and feeling of hope even still, that got me thinking back on that captain conversation at the start of the series and how being a captain is not just about being captain enough to find yourself in the World Series and to win every game, but to be captain enough to find yourself in a position where you're down three games to none and you still show up to the stadium and you still show up to the plate Because, chips up or down, captains still fight to get a bite, if not the piece of the pie. And so that's what the Yankees did. They showed up to game four and put on one of the most dominant shows of power and strategy in a game in that whole series and they won.

Speaker 1: 8:00

But it wasn't just a win that made the headlines, it was the stories that unfolded within that one win. One of our star guys, who had always looked up to the Yankees when he was a kid and who attended their games when he was just 8 years old, hit a grand slam in that do-or-die fourth game and it was pure magic. In those do-or-die moments like that and in life in general, when you're just looking for a way through, you hardly imagine it will be made in such a grand way. And it was like he took the position he and the team were in and he took the dreams and hopes of his eight-year-old self and he made moves the way only a captain does. And Judge made solid contact with the ball after too many strikeouts in the postseason and this series and contributed to that dominant game and that dominant score that led to the breaking of the team's losing streak. And it wasn't just a sigh of relief for the team or for the fans. It was like all right, judge is moving right again. Like I imagine, he was probably even more frustrated at himself than all fans combined because of his slump, if you can imagine that. But he knew he was this captain title and what it meant, and he knew he had earned it and that if he kept showing up and trying to break through that he eventually would. And in the fifth game of the series the Yankees found themselves eliminated and the World Series over. But even still, in that fifth game, judge showed us all what that breakthrough looks like, when he hit a hell of a home run and he showed us what captains still do, even in the face of adversity, even in the fifth game, when you're down 3-1.

Speaker 1: 10:01

Stories can be made every day, stories that stand the test of time. They may not always be the winning story, but that doesn't mean it can't still be a story of overcoming adversity, a story of hope and resilience, a story of even still, a story of fearlessness in the face of a beast, a story of what was pain now is gain. I think there's a moment in baseball where it's not about the teams or the love or dislike for them, it's not about the colors, the mascots or whatever jersey you're representing, and it's just about the player, what they've been able to accomplish, what they've been able to mold out of the clay that is their career and how, even through the adversity, there's still an undeniable truth to what they woke up this morning and did today. And I think there are moments just like that in life too, where what we've been able to do and overcome is commendable and undeniable, no matter who you are or where you come from.

Speaker 1: 11:16

I think about the ways like that that we're captains in our own lives and in our own teams or families, and what being a true captain looks like, whether win or lose, how we provide like a captain does, how we act when we're looked up to as the captain, and the standard we have the chance to set, and how far those ripples reach. I think about how, even as a captain, it can feel like not many chances come up for one to find themselves at the plate during a World Series or in front of the opportunities that we find ourselves in front of on a day-to-day basis, whether big or small, and how much we take those for granted, sometimes when the chance to be a captain is always within arm's reach. And yeah, I think about how it's so easy for someone on the outside to try and reach in and take away from our abilities or reputation or our captain status when we're losing. But even in the darkest of times or the biggest slump of slumps, a captain still shows up and still pushes forward and still swings, shows up and still pushes forward and still swings.

Speaker 1: 12:40

I think about the big and little wins people are having within their four walls, within their little space in this giant world, and I get a little choked up, I'm not gonna lie. I think about how hard people are working for just a bite of a piece of the pie, and it's what encourages me to turn my own lemons into lemonade. So many food references. It's so humbling and uplifting to think about the fact that we're all being captains in our own lives, in our own ways. Every dog has its day, yes, but every captain stays eating regardless. And so, whether it's on your team, in your family or just you in the driver's seat and your inner child buckled in the passenger seat, for every chance that the world gives hope that there will be another chance, keep showing up as a captain Until the next one. Go, yankees and be careful. Thank you.