Autism and baseball trades: what a relief!
by Beth
The July 26 sports section of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch had a story about a possible baseball trade that – get this – has a human element to it.
In the story “Human element enters into any talks about dealing Springer,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa is quoted as saying, “There will be a humanity to any Russ Springer deal.”
Russ Springer, a righthanded reliever, is 4-1 with a 2.92 earned-run average. He has held righthanded batters to a .165 batting average while striking out 45 hitters in 37 innings.
As tonight’s Major League Baseball non-waiver trade deadline approaches, the story reports Springer is one of the “most attractive pieces the Cardinals have to move.”
The issue? Russ Springer’s son has autism. One reason Springer signed a one year deal with the Cardinals in the first place was that the Springers prefer the school their son attends in the St. Louis area. Springer says he “came back here for more than the baseball; it was best for my family.”
I’m a Chicago fan, but I gotta say: GO CARDINALS!
August 27th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
I am thankful for Russ Springer and his family who have chosen to make a difference in the world by helping others to see how special autistic children are. All children are a blessing and children with autism are no exception. They help us to see the world through different eyes and to realize that every child is precious and needs to be cherished.
May the Springers continue to be a blessing to others and, in doing so, be richly blessed with true quality of life.
July 31st, 2007 at 7:30 pm
This is an amazing story, Beth. Russ Springer is a civilian and humanitarian at heart. He reminds me of former NFL quarterback Doug Flutie (who played for the Bears, Patriots, and Chargers) who has a son with autism. I give Russ Springer props of what he’s doing. This is not just staying with the St. Louis Cardinals to help his team win and make postseason (I don’t know what the odds are), but he’s giving hope for his son, along with other individuals who have loved ones with a diagnosis is very high.
I encourage whoever, who may participate in a sport or work in a job, to contribute of donating to Easter Seals! Easter Seals and autism needs you out there to give a helping hand in life.
July 31st, 2007 at 3:50 pm
They were discussing this during the game on Sunday night. Apparently, Springer is fending off trade offers from other teams by pointing out that he’s late in his career and isn’t doing this for the money any more. If he’s traded, he might just retire rather than take his soon away from St. Louis.
And people say that professional athletes don’t have values!