I think the Players Tribune site, started by Derek Jeter following his retirement, is just terrific. It gives the opportunity for players to write some thingsthat they want to.

 

Today, Michael Cuddyer penned (typed?) an article discussing his decision to retire and thanking so many. It's a great read...

 

Click here to read.

 

Well, that was pretty great.  Thank you.

 

I enjoyed the Bautista piece that followed it, too.

I like how he mentioned magic twice right at the beginning. What a dork  Cuddyer always was a class act and it was fun to cheer for him over the years.

Cuddy's a class act.

Being a picky person, I noticed that it hadn't been through a professional editor's pass, which somehow makes the piece even more authentic. A nice read.

Good for Cuddy. Great guy I followed since he first signed with us. There was something about him that just drew me toward him. I watched him grow and got to know him some. It was enjoyable.  My, how time flies!

I've always discounted proclamations about what a great clubhouse guy a pro athlete is, especially if the source is the media. And I'm both skeptical (and mostly ambivalent) about a player's life outside of their sport. Occasionally though, the accolades are too frequent to ignore. Cuddyer is such a case for me.

 

I also can't help recalling the venom spewed towards Cuddyer by a couple of frequent commenters here, some of it pretty hateful and vicious in nature, more than just gentle ribbing about his magic tricks. Too bad a little of Cuddyer's class won't brush off on his critics.

Cuddyer was one of my favorite Twins, he had a hell of a career and will be remembered fondly here. His versatility and "late bloomer"type career make it that much easier to like him and what he brought to the Twins. Looking back, the Twins would have been best served if they would have kept him around a couple more years.

 

Re: Players tribune, I am a bit disappointed on what it ultimately is, when it was pitched it was supposed to be an area for players to connect with fans on a more personal level(real level). 99% of the stuff on the site is just PR fluff IMO, it would be nice to have a platform where athletes could be more "real" but that is what twitter is for I guess, plus they all have to "protect" their brands.

Edited December 12, 201510 yr by DaveW

Great read.  Reaffirms why I choose to be a Twins fan.  Love reading about the bottom to top culture.  And I can relate at this point in life to what he says about leaving my dreams behind to be with my kids as they start chasing theirs.

 

Looked through his photo article as well, also excellent.

Fantastic story. I encourage everyone to scroll back up and read it.

 

Great read.  Reaffirms why I choose to be a Twins fan.  Love reading about the bottom to top culture.  And I can relate at this point in life to what he says about leaving my dreams behind to be with my kids as they start chasing theirs.

 

Looked through his photo article as well, also excellent.

There some very nice photos in there.