Mother of Magic

Good Authority

Vanessa: You know what Pat? I love Stephanie Santiago so much. Not just because of her stance on her contract: She will play nowhere else. Not just because of her team leadership. One year in and there is no doubt who fronts the squad. But offseason? She donated most of her bonus to upgrade the cancer ward on a hospital up in Fort Collins! She lives what she says.

Pat: That young man sitting in the first row? With the computer? He was a patient there. Stephanie donated bone marrow to him.

Vanessa: Really Pat? I think that is probably private information.

Pat: (sounding embarrassed) Yeah. Sorry. I was just really impressed when someone told me that. That's Stephanie. She doesn't blow her own horn about being the person she is. It's like you said. She walks the walk.

Vanessa: Well, I have it on good authority that when Stephanie re-signed for this year, the team management offered her a huge contract. Maybe the biggest one in the major league. She went from one month to one year last year, but this year? She stayed at one year. Would not do the deal even though it probably would have made her close to being a billionaire. She upped her bonus structure, but won't take a dime more in base pay than the lowest-paid player on the team. She could sign that contract, get hurt, and still make out like a bandit. But she won't.

Pat: Way I hear it, she took most of the millions she kept out of her bonus to buy land in the mountains, West of Fort Collins. She doesn't drive a fancy car or live in a fancy house either.

Vanessa: She told me in an interview once that her dad would never have tolerated her letting fame go to her head. That her goal in life was to teach a very simple idea. Do what you love. She was giving a talk at a high school last week and said that exact thing to the kids there. They were there because she is a sports star, but she was telling them the people she admires the most in the world are scientists. The people that discover better ways to see the stars, or cures for diseases. She mentioned that young man in the stands. Here he is, at a ball game, but he is a physics major. He has that computer because he is interested in the physics of baseball. Stephanie is encouraging him to pursue that, which is why she gave him a season ticket to that exact seat.

Pat: I think when I grow up, I want to be like her.

Vanessa: Right. You are never going to grow up.