Kansas City Royals pitcher Gil Meche retired last week. In itself, this wasn’t a big deal. He was a good, but not great, starter for a bad team. Players like him retire all the time without much fanfare. What was remarkable about Meche’s decision, whoever, was that he walked away from a guaranteed $12 million.
As a result, The New York Times tracked the pitcher down for a story. It’s a remarkable tale of morality and honor.
“When I signed my contract, my main goal was to earn it,” Meche told the Times. “Once I started to realize I wasn’t earning my money, I felt bad. I was making a crazy amount of money for not even pitching. Honestly, I didn’t feel like I deserved it. I didn’t want to have those feelings again.”
That narrative arc sounds familiar. Oh yeah, it’s because Joe Posnanski wrote that story… more than a week ago.
Poz didn’t interview Meche for his version, but the take is the same: Meche’s decision was remarkable and admirable.
We doubt he would be bothered by the NYT article – he’s one of the nicest journalists around – but we think it’s still worth mentioning that he was there first.