Bob Welch
After I met Bob Welch, after I'd been told he'd won a Cy Young Award and then asked him what position he'd played, I wrote an essay about him. I knew he wouldn't like this, and so I never published what I wrote. I just wanted to record a special time, to be able to remember what it felt like to spend time with him.
As I prepared for my book launch Tuesday night, I saw on the Facebook trending news that Bob had died. It was shocking. He was five years older than me, and fit, very fit.
I searched on my computer for what I'd written years before, read it over quickly, and sent it to Glenn Stout, an editor at SB Nation I love working with and who I trusted to know if there was anything there. He's a truth-teller, Glenn, and I needed to hear the truth.
Then I went to do my first reading from the novel, shaken, uncertain, propped up by a glass of wine and a good friend.
Glenn and I worked on the piece about Bob for the next 36 hours.
Today it was published.
Bob Welch died on my publication day.
This is my tribute to him.
As I prepared for my book launch Tuesday night, I saw on the Facebook trending news that Bob had died. It was shocking. He was five years older than me, and fit, very fit.
I searched on my computer for what I'd written years before, read it over quickly, and sent it to Glenn Stout, an editor at SB Nation I love working with and who I trusted to know if there was anything there. He's a truth-teller, Glenn, and I needed to hear the truth.
Then I went to do my first reading from the novel, shaken, uncertain, propped up by a glass of wine and a good friend.
Glenn and I worked on the piece about Bob for the next 36 hours.
Today it was published.
Bob Welch died on my publication day.
This is my tribute to him.
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