A few days ago, I had the chance to share a stage with Bronson Arroyo. Great guy. Great songwriter. Great storyteller. And one of my all-time favorite baseball players.
We talked about the intersection of music and sports. Eddie Vedder and Roy Halladay’s cutter (RIP). He did a spot-on impression of El Duque. He told me what it was like pitching against the 2004 Yankees (seriously, go look at that lineup). We talked about Greg Maddux, and Tom Browning (RIP), and what it takes to take control of the moment when the nerves hit and the lights come on.
This is the intersection of live music and athletics.
The Reds Hall of Famer spent time talking with us musicians about performance - about calming your mind and body so you can deliver when it matters most.
He’s dropping life lessons backstage.
What I loved most about Bronson as a pitcher was that he played very differently than everybody else (I really relate to that). Everybody else threw gas. Not Bronson. He threw cotton candy that made big leaguers look like amateurs. His career taught me that you can build something special by being yourself.
There’s art in throwing a baseball, just like there’s art in singing a song.
This is the intersection of live music and athletics.
My favorite story of the night had nothing to do with his 148 MLB wins. It had nothing to do with the World Series ring in Boston or the Reds Hall of Fame.
Bronson told me that one of the accomplishments he’s most proud of is the 84 games he won in the minor leagues.
Because those 84 MiLB wins represent the years on the bus. The grind. The years when nobody was watching.
Those 84 wins were earned in the trenches - when people were telling him there was no room for a cotton-candy-throwing right-hander from the Florida Keys “bc everyone else throws gas”.
Those 84 minor league wins represent the years of hard work before the spotlight.
Before being a world champion.
I learned a valuable lesson from Bronson Arroyo this past Saturday:
Don’t wait until the big leagues to celebrate.
Celebrate the road that’s taking you where you’re meant to be, today.
And, be yourself.
Wanishi (thank you),
The Bronson Arroyo Band
Go Reds!
And thank you Matt Waters for organizing this show.
We talked about the intersection of music and sports. Eddie Vedder and Roy Halladay’s cutter (RIP). He did a spot-on impression of El Duque. He told me what it was like pitching against the 2004 Yankees (seriously, go look at that lineup). We talked about Greg Maddux, and Tom Browning (RIP), and what it takes to take control of the moment when the nerves hit and the lights come on.
This is the intersection of live music and athletics.
The Reds Hall of Famer spent time talking with us musicians about performance - about calming your mind and body so you can deliver when it matters most.
He’s dropping life lessons backstage.
What I loved most about Bronson as a pitcher was that he played very differently than everybody else (I really relate to that). Everybody else threw gas. Not Bronson. He threw cotton candy that made big leaguers look like amateurs. His career taught me that you can build something special by being yourself.
There’s art in throwing a baseball, just like there’s art in singing a song.
This is the intersection of live music and athletics.
My favorite story of the night had nothing to do with his 148 MLB wins. It had nothing to do with the World Series ring in Boston or the Reds Hall of Fame.
Bronson told me that one of the accomplishments he’s most proud of is the 84 games he won in the minor leagues.
Because those 84 MiLB wins represent the years on the bus. The grind. The years when nobody was watching.
Those 84 wins were earned in the trenches - when people were telling him there was no room for a cotton-candy-throwing right-hander from the Florida Keys “bc everyone else throws gas”.
Those 84 minor league wins represent the years of hard work before the spotlight.
Before being a world champion.
I learned a valuable lesson from Bronson Arroyo this past Saturday:
Don’t wait until the big leagues to celebrate.
Celebrate the road that’s taking you where you’re meant to be, today.
And, be yourself.
Wanishi (thank you),
The Bronson Arroyo Band
Go Reds!
And thank you Matt Waters for organizing this show.
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