by arthur Weinreb, associate Editor,
October 8, 2004
Those words were spoken by Paul Godfrey, President and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays upon learning of the sudden death of John Cerutti. The former Blue Jays hurler and colour commentator for Rogers Sportsnet was found dead in his hotel room at the age of 44 after he failed to show up for a pre-game production meeting last Sunday.
There is no doubt that Godfrey was genuinely shocked by the untimely death of a colleague at such a young age and his response was an emotional one. after all Cerutti was more than just a baseball personality. He was a human being with a wife and three children and had a life outside of baseball. But his sudden and tragic death had absolutely nothing to do with winning or losing baseball games. If winning ball had been important to the Blue Jays head honcho, he never would have said winning or losing is not important.
This could explain why, that on the same day Cerutti’s body was found, the Blue Jays finished their season firmly ensconced in the basement of the american League East.
as Vince Lombardi once said, "If winning isn’t everything, why do they keep score?" This "I’m so happy just to have been nominated" attitude that Godfrey seems to have will not win ball games. There is no purpose in professional baseball other than to win; to excel; to be better than everyone else. There is no room in this endeavour for the attitude that winning doesn’t matter, even during tragic circumstances like the death of John Cerutti. The sportswriters got it right. They devoted more ink to the Carlos Delgado’s obituary than they did to Cerutti’s. Delgado is still very much alive but the day that Cerutti left this mortal world was the same day that Carlos played his last game as a Blue Jay.
There was a time when baseball was a real sport in Toronto. That changed in 1989 with the opening of Skydome. Gone were the days when true baseball fans would remain in their uncovered seats when it was raining as hard as it could without causing a stoppage in play. Once the Dome was erected, a baseball game became someplace to go to be seen. What was once a sport became a Yuppie pastime. One spectator who was interviewed coming out of the Dome after the first game remarked in amazement about how you could see the sky when the roof was open. Imagine that — going to a baseball game and being able to see the sky.
People complained about the high price of hot dogs but they got off cheap. The club could have just as easily sliced the hot dog up, thrown it on a plate with a couple of small boiled potatoes, called it medallions of wiener and gotten $17.99 for it. and when the Blue Jays fell into decline after winning the World Series, the beautiful people stayed away in droves.
Godfrey’s attitude about winning and losing is not to be confused with the philosophy of the late Toronto Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard. Ballard understood the credo of professional sport — it matters not whether you win or lose or how you play the game; it’s how big the gate is. Ballard never professed a desire to have a winning team over the desire to sell out the Gardens.
In one way Godfrey’s statement following Cerutti’s death was typically Canadian. In this Oprafied country, showing that he cares is more important that winning baseball games. The reality is that truly mourning the sudden death of a man in his prime who appeared to be in good health has absolutely nothing to do with winning baseball games. a true competitor, as John Cerutti was, would have understood this. Godfrey doesn’t.
It’s sad that there is no desire to "win one for Cerutti".