LESSONS
FOR SPARKY

Topics: Adversity; Character; Winning and Losing

References: Romans 5:1–5; James 1:2–4; 1 Peter 4:12

Hall of Famer Sparky Anderson is the only manager in history to win World Series titles in both the National and American Leagues. He led the Cincinnati Reds to the top in 1975 and ’76, and the Detroit Tigers to the top in 1984.

But even Sparky can’t win ’em all. In 1989, the Tigers finished a miserable 59–103. Sparky suffered such mental and physical exhaustion early in the season that he had to leave the team for seventeen days. Looking back on that time, he says, “If you think you’re destined never to fail, you’d better keep one eye open when you fall asleep at night.

“For my first nineteen years as a manager, I was blessed by so much good fortune I thought maybe the devil had forgotten where I lived. In 1989, I found out that Sparky Anderson has to pay his dues too. I never got over the point of bleeding a little bit after every loss, but I finally learned to let go. I can’t say I’m happy with the pain I went through in 1989. But I’m grateful for what it taught me.”

—Sparky Anderson and Dan Ewald, They Call Me Sparky (Sleeping Bear, 1998)