THE EMPATHY OF TED WILLIAMS

Ted Williams was one of the greatest baseball players of all time; rivaling athletes such as Babe Ruth and Joe Dimaggio. And, of course, his batting average was consistently ‘second to none.’

Ted was, as you might expect, a ‘big hit’ with his fans. For whatever reason, however, when he would hit a homerun, or achieve some other exploit on the field, he refused to tip his hat to the crowd. Even when he stepped up for his ‘last at bat’ on the final game of his career, managing to drive the ball into the stands, he jogged into the dugout; without acknowledging the cheers of the crowd.

In spite of his Ted’s unwillingness to practice that long-observed tradition, and in spite of other frailties, he had a heart of gold.

Speaking of ‘last to bat,’ and a ‘heart of gold,’ yesterday was the final session for a couple of my interns. During this particular meeting, I happened to give Kavan and Eric the definition for Empathy.

Following are the approximate words I shared with them.

“You know guys, there’s a significant difference between Sympathy and Empathy. And I don’t know about the Webster’s Dictionary definition, but at least to me Sympathy is an expression of regret, as the result of an unfortunate occurrence, loss of a loved one, etc., but is limited to words.”

“However, when it comes to Empathy, that’s a ‘whole ‘nother ballgame.’ I define Empathy as, ‘Sympathy with the ability to come along side.’ Thus, Empathy goes way beyond words, and must, by definition, include action.”

As a counselor, I particularly like my own definition of Empathy, and I attempt to put that definition into practice every chance I get.

Pt. 2

But to return my account of Ted Williams.

I was watching a documentary about this great baseball player last night, and the narrator of the program provided a couple of remembrances regarding this wonderful man.

In one case, Williams was involved in collecting money for some worthy cause, and as he went about contacting retired players and soliciting funds by telephone, occasionally one of his old teammates informed him that they were indigent, and unable to contribute.

To which Williams would say something like,

“C’mon, I know things are pretty bad for you right now, but you can at least give $10.”

No doubt, Ted’s former teammate felt a bit resentful and misunderstood at that moment, but almost without fail the man on the other end of the line would agree to mail a small check on behalf of the charity.

Of course, if this was the end of the story, one might wonder if Williams had been born without a heart. However, as it fell together, when the $10 check arrived in the mail, Ted would write down the bank account number, and deposit $1,000 in the former teammate’s account!

As the television program continued, the narrator told another story which served to accentuate the innate Empathy of this baseball player.

Ted Williams was visiting a children’s hospital, and had spent some time chatting with a few four and five year old’s. Having ‘made the rounds,’ he stepped up to a little fella who grabbed him by the forefinger, and refused to turn loose.

Ultimately, “Bobby” drifted off to sleep. However, Ted’s forefinger was still held captive in the toddler’s tiny hand. As a result, his hero lost no time requesting a cot, and once a nurse obliged him, he gathered the boy in his arms, and lay down next to him.

Empathy - Sympathy with the ability to come along side.

I think Webster’s Dictionary would do well to put Ted William’s photo next to the first word in the previous definition.

By William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from (Mc)Donald's Daily Diary, Vol. 85. Copyright pending