Toughness Personified
During Tuesday’s game between the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays, Orioles backup catcher James McCann came up to the plate in the bottom of the first inning with the bases loaded. With the count 2-2, a terrifying moment then took place.
Blue Jays starting pitcher Yariel Rodriguez hurled a 95 mph fastball which struck McCann in the nose. The video of the incident is shown above. WARNING – the images are graphic.
McCann was bleeding and his face began to swell. But then the improbable took place.
As Rodriguez was being removed from the game and a new pitcher inserted and needing time to warm up, McCann went to the dugout, put cotton in his nose to help stop the bleeding, and then reentered the game making his way to first base. If this is not enough, astonishingly he caught all nine innings of the game.
Other than possessing astonishing toughness, why did McCann play the entire game after being struck in the face by a fastball?
This game was the first of a doubleheader. McCann was in the game to give starting catcher Adley Rutschman a game off. Because of this untimely injury, Rutschman would not only not have a game off, he would have to catch both games – a total of 18 innings. That is a lot of wear-and-tear on the body. Afterwards, he said in a postgame interview of the injury, “It stinks. I take a lot of pride in being tough and doing everything I can to stay on the field.”
I have often written the following three lessons about being a great teammate:
- A leader’s most important ability is availability, dependability, and reliability. Your team has to be able to rely on you to be there.
- A leader must be willing to pay a higher price than others are willing to pay.
- A leader must make great personal sacrifices so others can be successful.
James McCann took these principles to levels few have seen. Maybe not to that extreme, but may we as teammates do likewise.
A Humble Unicorn
Kevin Durant is one of the 15 greatest basketball players in history. At 7-feet tall with small forward capabilities, Durant is arguably the most skilled scorer we have ever seen. He is the NBA’s eighth all-time leading scorer and the number one scorer in Team USA history.
This is why Olympic basketball coach Steve Kerr’s decision to not start him and make him the team’s sixth man was so surprising. But even more surprising was Durant’s reaction to the decision.
In this article from The Athletic, Durant said, “I’ve (come off the bench) a couple of times in the NBA — three times. That’s enough for me to just kind of lean on those times. You know, that’s what I thought about as I was coming in, just staying ready mentally, staying focused on what the game plan is. And when I come in, don’t make the game about myself. Try to add to the team. And tonight I was able to (do that).”
Durant goes on, “I told Coach (Kerr), whatever he needs from me, I’m willing to do anything and adapt to anything. So it’s always been fun trying to figure out new roles and just adapt to whatever the game tells you to do.”
From the comments above, Durant teaches us seven lessons about being a great teammate:
- Great teammates are humble.
- Great teammates put the organization’s needs ahead of their own.
- Great teammates stay mentally ready and focused on their organization’s goals and objectives.
- Great teammates do not make things about themselves.
- Great teammates add value to the team however and wherever they can.
- Great teammates adapt based upon the situation.
- Great teammates are remarkable. In other words, people like Coach Steve Kerr, remark about what great teammates they are.
In each of their respective organizations, James McCann and Kevin Durant are extraordinary teammates. May you and I learn from their example.
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