AS AN ATHLETE, YOU SHOULD NEVER REPRESS YOUR FEELINGS. CASE IN POINT: JOE TORRE’S NEW BOOK “THE YANKEE YEARS” AND HIS REFERENCE TO GARY SHEFFIELD

In the March 9th, 2009 issue of The New Yorker Magazine, writer Roger Angell reviewed Joe Torre’s new book, “The Yankee Years” and wrote the following: “Gary Sheffield, an established veteran outfielder with a muscled, violent swing, sulks and slumps in his first two weeks with the Yanks, then approaches Joe Torre to ask whether he’d really wanted him for the team, and not, as he had heard, the Expos’ slugger Vladimir Guerrero. Torre tells him that he preferred him for the short-term contract that he had signed, because of his bat, but might have picked Guerrero over a longer span, because he was younger. ‘Okay,’ Sheffield says, ‘I’m committed. That night, he has four hits, including a homer, and six runs batted in, and he goes on to bat .406 with seven homers in seventeen games. Torre calls him a great team player.” Had Sheffield not approached Torre to clear the air, he more than likely would have had a poor season. This is an example of why I believe teams need to have a built-in program to allow players to air their grievances rather than bottle them up inside themselves and sulk.