New York Times

The New York Times

February 20, 2009

By Doug Glanville

I had messed up.

The New York Times

Feb 9, 2009

By Doug Glanville

For most of my life I wore a number on...

But there was one clear moment when I wanted to be treated like a number. It wasn’t when I was opening up a new bank account, or looking to renew my license at the D.M.V. It was the day in 2003 that I went in for a drug test as a member of the Texas Rangers. And not only did I want to be treated like a number, I was supposed to be.

The New York Times

January 26, 2009

by Doug Glanville

O.K., you got me. I didn’t get voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame the other week. A .277 batting average with 60 career home runs is cool, but it won’t garner you any votes unless you led the world in some other category.

But I often wonder whether a player who gets into the Hall should be automatically considered successful. And whether one who doesn’t should be seen as unsuccessful.

The New York Times

January 12, 2009

By Doug Glanville

Every holiday season, after getting our fill of egg nog, my family and I enjoy a tradition of watching one of our favorite movies: “A Few Good Men,” starring Jack Nicholson, Kevin Bacon, Tom Cruise and Demi Moore. Its most famous line is Col. Jessup’s “You can’t handle the truth!” But the one that always sticks with me is Lt. Kaffee’s parting words to one of the defendants, Lance Cpl. Harold Dawson: “You don’t need a patch on your arm to have honor.”

The New York Times

December 22, 2008

By Doug Glanville

I remember my father telling me the story of when he first landed in New York, having emigrated from Trinidad, West Indies. He was proud of his spanking new suitcase until he reached customs and couldn’t find the key to the lock, and they had to break it open to search his belongings. My father’s heart sank. After all, he saw the opportunity in this new world and wanted to make a good impression with the best he had to offer.

Will Venable
PETCO Park
100 Park Blvd
San Diego, CA. 92101

Dear Will

The other day I received an e-mail from a writer who had interviewed me a couple of years ago for Black History Month. We’d kept in touch, and he was writing to inform me of your promotion to the major leagues.

He also told me that you are the second African-American Ivy Leaguer to make it to that level. And he confirmed something I had suspected but had never fully explored: I was the first.

The New York Times

December 10, 2008

by Doug Glanville

I’m Doug Glanville and my wife approved this message.

Being a major league baseball player has its perks, one of which is the wide-open access you can have to celebrities in all industries. I’ve met Mia Hamm, I’ve met “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, I’ve met Josh Grobin, I’ve met Michael Jordan. If you added up all the stars I have encountered, the sum of their 15 or more minutes of fame could make a heckuva grandfather clock.

The New York Times

November 10, 2008

by Doug Glanville

The season is over; my old squad, the Philadelphia Phillies, have been crowned kings of baseball; and all is well throughout the land. But the champagne will eventually go flat, or maybe you didn’t even come close to drinking champagne. Either way, there’s a journey back home, wherever that may be.

The New York Times

November 1, 2008

by Doug Glanville

For Game 5 (Part 1) of the Philadelphia-Tampa Bay World Series, I had the pleasure of bringing out the ball for the first pitch, to be thrown by former Phillies great and current United States Senator Jim Bunning. The world did not know what I knew at that moment: The Phillies were now ordained to win this game, no matter how many days it took. Because in my world, that moment was the convergence of all the magic in my life.

The New York Times

October 16, 2008

by Doug Glanville