Idiots Write About Sports

While melting into the Modesto soil on Saturday, one of the gents sitting in my section had very few nice things to say about Jason Kendall’s worth to the A’s. And it was very hard to disagree with him — that Kendall’s batting average and on-base percentage .272 and .352 put him in the top five of Oakland batters says more about the team’s offensive impotency than it does about his particular prowess at the plate. That he commands an eight-figure salary for this output is probably not improving his standing among A’s fans, either.

All that aside, I call your attention to this item from the usually-quite-grumpy T.J. Simers’ column, which Bay Area fans probably did not see, since it’s from that L.A. paper.

Jake Field is 10, and lives in L.A. with his family, including his father, George, a supervisor for the Department of Homeland Security. Jake has been a big-time fan of the A’s, and a catcher, just like Oakland’s Jason Kendall.

In October, Jake began treatment for brain cancer. When he requested a Kendall jersey, Kendall showed up at the youngster’s L.A. home with it.

Oh, and…

When the A’s were made aware of [Jake’s worsening condition], they immediately reacted and invited Jake to join them for Monday’s game in Oakland.

The family arrived Sunday, and “Jason called Jake at the hotel and said we could use his suite for the game and Jake could eat whatever he wanted and not pay,” George said. “Jake got real excited about that.

“Jason told him all the players would be waiting for him on the field, and then he told me to cancel our airplane reservations because he was chartering a private jet to take us home.”

You really should read the whole thing, which is on page two of the article, past the usual brickbats tossed at the Dodgers ownership. It’s an important reminder that on-the-field performance should not necessarily be conflated with a person’s character.

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