Satchel Paige's Last Baseball Contract, A Rural Japanese Train Route, And A Scathing Letter From Abraham Lincoln: Why People-Focused Decisions Are Critical - And Courageous

The 3-Word Quote: ‘Kindness Is Courageous’

1.

He is a baseball legend.

He had a rocket for an arm and a huge personality - these two items combined to make Leroy 'Satchel' Paige one of baseball's true stars.

Most of Paige's career was spent in the Negro Leagues - the league where African-American stars played before Major League baseball's integration in 1947.

He was a dominant pitcher gaining notoriety with the Pittsburgh Crawfords and Kansas City Monarchs, winning pennants with the Monarchs in 1940, 1941, 1942, and 1946.

Many of his stats can't be confirmed, as Negro League stats were incomplete. However, some estimate he pitched in 2,500 games and had nearly 2,000 victories.

Today, you are an automatic Hall of Famer if you have 300 wins as a pitcher.

Much of his career is shrouded in lore. One article on baseball's Hall of Fame website discusses Paige: 'Did he really have infielders sit down before striking out batters? (Yes). Did he really intentionally load the bases in the 1942 Negro League World Series to strike out Josh Gibson on three pitches? (According to accounts, yes). Was his stuff - the bee-ball, jump ball, two-hump blooper and incredible fastball - really that good? (According to numerous Hall of Famers including Joe DiMaggio, Dizzy Dean and Bob Feller, yes).’

He was loud, brash, and according to many, the best pitcher who ever played the game.

Most of his career was spent in the Negro Leagues. Still, Paige made his Major League debut in 1948, a year after Jackie Robinson integrated baseball.

Satchel Paige was a rookie at the age of 42.

He played a few seasons and then spent several years barnstorming - playing games and making appearances around the country. He was even a Harlem Globetrotter for a brief time.

In 1965, at the age of 59, Paige returned to the majors for a one-game stint with the Kansas City Athletics.

He became the oldest player to play in the Majors at 59 years, 2 months, and 18 days old.

He sat in a rocking chair between innings but pitched three innings and gave up just one hit.

He still had it. The 'Strike-Out King' could still play, even at 59.

That night, he walked off the mound to a standing ovation.

But oddly enough, that one-day contract in 1965 was not the 59-year-old's last major league contract.

He signed one more.

And the reason for the contract can be a lesson to those who lead.

2.

Kana Harada was a young girl living in rural Japan.

Her small town was isolated, and she lived far from her school - so far that it was almost a 90-minute walk.

The long walk would have made it nearly impossible for Harada to attend school regularly.

However, a small train station served the few people in the area.

One route went from the small train station to one near Harada's school.

So Kana Harada took the train to school daily, but the train times and schedule weren't ideal.

She was never able to participate in after-school clubs or activities because she had to race from her school at the end of the day to catch the only train that went back to her village.

She often had to leave her last class early to avoid missing that train.

However, education was important to her, and that train ride was critical to getting her to school. So she made the schedule work, getting up early to leave her house and leaving school early to get to the train station.

Day after day, Kana Harada took the train from the Kyu-shirataki station.

She was often the only one on the train route.

But after years of riding, the Kyu-shirataki station closed.

Kana and her family panicked.

She understood she'd likely have to drop out or miss many school days without rail service.

Kana Harada was devastated.

3.

Eight thousand soldiers had just died.

There were over fifty thousand casualties.

The battle involved over 150,000 men and is considered one of the bloodiest of the Civil War.

Fought between July 1 and July 3, 1863, The battle of Gettysburg is considered a turning point of the war.

But in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln was not happy despite the North earning a violent victory.

Lincoln was livid.

Union General George Meade had just delivered that victory against Robert E. Lee and the Confederate forces.

But Lincoln was furious.

At the conclusion of the battle, General Lee and his remaining forces scampered away from Gettysburg.

General Meade did not give chase.

And this is what so angered Lincoln.

Lincoln and others believed the war might have ended with Lee's capture and complete defeat if General Meade had pursued General Lee.

Instead, Lee was left to leave, and Meade and the Union troops stayed put and recovered from the vicious battle.

And the Civil War raged on for two more years.

When Lincoln heard about Meade's decision not to continue to attack Lee, he grabbed a piece of paper, snatched a pen, and wrote a 'fiery letter explaining his disappointment and frustration.'

Lincoln knew Meade had made a crucial mistake.

In his letter, Lincoln wrote:

'My dearest general, I do not believe you appreciate the magnitude of the misfortune involved in Lee's escape. He was within your easy grasp, and to have closed upon him would, in connection with our other late successes, have ended the war.'

The President continued, 'As it is, the war will be prolonged indefinitely. Your golden opportunity is gone, and I am distressed immeasurably because of it.'

Lincoln did not hold back.

There, in just a few words, the President of the United States blamed his general for the continuation of the Civil War.

This was unlike Lincoln. He was known to control his temper. He was a man who rarely raised his voice in anger or disappointment. He did not belittle others.

So, his words to General Meade were exceptionally harsh and out of character.

Upon finishing his fiery letter, he folded it and put it in an envelope.

On the outside of the envelope, he angrily wrote in large letters, ‘To General Meade.'

He got up from the desk, grabbed the letter, and stormed out of the room.

The Takeaway:

So what do Satchel Paige's last contract, a Japanese girl who rode a train to school, and an angry letter from Abraham Lincoln all have in common?

All were leaders who made people-based decisions rather than bottom-line decisions.

In other words, these examples show leaders or organizations making decisions based on the dignity and respect of people.

Behavioral psychologists in one workplace study found that behaviors such as 'treating people with support and consideration,' having dignity and showing compassion were far more highly rated than being process-oriented, having exceptional industry knowledge, or having superior financial acumen.

In short, employees value and respect a leader who is 'people-centered and guided' above being an expert in their field.

These findings may not be surprising. But every decision a leader makes is a people decision. Everything decided impacts someone. Some seem to think about this impact more than others.

These are the leaders that people often want to work for rather than the ones they have to tolerate.

Of course, these are not mutually exclusive sets of skills - good leaders are a complete package of all those items.

Let's look at some decisions.

Satchel Paige seemed to defy Mother Nature.

Recall that he pitched several innings of Major League baseball at the age of 59 - and dominated in his three innings of work.

Paige's 1965 appearance at 59 was a publicity stunt - he was paid $3,500 for his three innings of work.

You see, Paige needed money. He had eight kids, and despite having a long career, he didn't have a pension.

The Negro Leagues didn't have a pension program, and he hadn't pitched long enough in the majors to qualify for their pension - he was 158 days shy of qualifying.

He needed to be on an active Major League team roster for 158 days earn a Major League baseball retirement.

Paige was aware of this number, and he needed money.

He reached out to nearly every Major League baseball team looking to get signed - just for 158 days - so he could qualify for that pension.

Surprisingly, teams were not looking for a old pitcher.

He made 19 requests to teams to see if they would sign him. Each team replied promptly with a 'No.'

There were 19 requests. He received 19 no's.

But one team decided they would like to add a sixty-two year old pitcher to their team - the Atlanta Braves.

On August 12, 1968, Atlanta Braves President William C. Bartholomay signed Satchel Paige as a 'part-time pitcher and adviser' for the team.

Did Bartholomay see something in the elderly Paige that made him think Satchel might have some pitching magic left?

Absolutely not.

Bartholomay was very blunt about his decision to sign the pitching legend.

He told The Washington Post, 'We hope we can use him as a pitcher, but frankly, we want to make him eligible for a place in baseball's pension.'

So the Braves signed Satchel Paige at 62 and added him to the roster.

Despite being on the roster, Paige never pitched another inning in the Majors.

However, he became eligible for a pension because of the Braves (baseball changed the rules to allow him to become eligible earlier than 158 days).

The pension was said to be $250 a month.

It seemed like an easy decision - help one of the game's legends earn a pension from the sport he had spent decades in.

But for 19 teams, it wasn't an easy decision; it was a courageous one.

The teams couldn't afford a roster spot; they knew Paige couldn't contribute; it was a bad financial move - there were probably many good reasons to not sign Satchel Paige.

But all those good reasons were wrong.

Leaders can make good and seemingly sound decisions and still be wrong.

Most of these instances are when people are involved. Leaders don't want to seem weak or seem like they don't make good business decisions, so they make choices that often hurt people in different ways.

There are always hard choices.

However, signing Paige was an easy decision - for Bartholomay.

The president of the Braves said of the signing, 'Baseball would be guilty of negligence should it not assure this legendary figure a place in the pension plan.'

'Guilty of negligence.'

Good things often happen when leaders try to make decisions to assist people.

***

And what about Kana Harada, the Japanese student whose only way to school was the rare train route that stopped in her village?

The station where Harada boarded the train to school was a 'tiny, worn-out wooden shed with a single bench.'

There was no need for more than one bench as Harada was often the only rider.

In fact, the train company, realizing that the route was seldom used, closed it down.

And the young girl's way to school was suddenly over.

The school was too far, and the journey was too arduous to walk.

But the company that operated the Kyu-shirataki station and route got word of Harada's story - that she needed this train to get to school - that it was her only way to get an education.

And after hearing Harada's story, the train company did something unusual - it stopped its plans to close.

They reversed course and made the choice to stay open.

The company promised to keep running the route and keep the station open to accommodate their one lone passenger - Kana Harada.

The company vowed to stay open as long as she needed it.

And the company kept their word.

The route stayed open years after its planned closure.

And for most of those years, its only passenger was the Japanese girl who just wanted to go to school.

In 2016, the train rattled through the Kyu-shirataki one last time, never to return.

The route was finally closed.

Why?

Kana Harada graduated from school.

One article said of this company's choice, 'When the Japanese railway company remained open for this one schoolgirl, they proved the power of connecting people - and particularly the importance of education.'

The article concluded, 'The company's decision is a powerful statement about the commitment the community has to empowering its next generation of thinkers and leaders.'

A powerful statement indeed.

Was it an easy decision? Probably not.

A costly decision? Likely so.

A courageous decision? Certainly.

A good decision? Definitely.

Decisions are usually good when they are made by considering their impact on people first.

***

And what of President Lincoln?

Satchel Paige was a legend; it was easy to decide to help him (at least if you were the Braves).

And it was noble of the Japanese train company to remain open to help its one passenger, a schoolgirl.

But President Lincoln had a general who Lincoln felt had just prolonged the war.

Lincoln knew General Meade's choice not to finish the attack against Lee would prolong the war and likely cost thousands of lives.

Lincoln was incensed.

And he let Meade know about his anger in a letter.

The president wrote those fiery words, sealed the envelope, scrawled General Meade's name in large letters on the envelope, and stormed out of his office.

Except what Lincoln did next was unusual.

He didn't send the letter.

On the front of the envelope under General Meade's name, Lincoln wrote, 'never sent, never signed.'

Meade's eyes never saw the letter.

Lincoln made sure the letter remained with him. He placed the letter among his personal papers.

General Meade had just won a significant victory for the Union.

And Lincoln understood that sending his angry letter would do no good.

The letter would only anger the general, and Lincoln couldn't afford to lose more leaders - especially ones delivering victories on the battlefield.

Lincoln also understood that if word got out that he had harshly scolded the general, it would damage morale among soldiers and citizens.

So, Lincoln did not send the letter.

'Never sent. Never signed.'

Historians say this was a common coping mechanism for Lincoln - writing letters but not sending them.

He would often look back over his words in the letters, and if he felt they were too stern or off-target, he would not send them.

But his venting on paper helped him. It helped him release his anger, and it helped form his thoughts on challenging topics.

He was careful with his words. He was not loud. He did not do or say things for show or for spite.

He tried to lead with people in mind.

One book said Lincoln '..could write an angry letter, with hard names and hot epithets - and then throw it in the stove. He advised it was a help sometimes to write a hot letter and burn it.'

Lincoln knew people made mistakes and could act irrationally - but he always tried to lead with dignity and respect.

***

There’s a phrase that says, 'You can't read the label from inside the jar' - meaning we are often too close to a situation, at times, to see everything we need to see to make informed decisions.

Every leader can suffer from this - making decisions without seeing essential elements. We are often too close to the situation to see how the outside might view it or react to it.

Leaders often make hundreds of decisions that impact thousands of people.

But those who make them with dignity and compassion toward people are wise.

3 things before you go:

1. watch: always liked this one

2. listen: a good live version of this Killers song

3. listen: a little more mellow song than the one above

Thanks for reading. See you in 10 days.