(DON THOMPSON / iNFOnews.ca)

OPINION

I don’t want President Joe Biden to end his political career the way Babe Ruth closed out his storied baseball career.

Hollywood turned out two movies about what many fans still consider the greatest baseball player of all time, one in 1948 starring a hopelessly miscast William Bendix, and another in 1972, starring John Goodman, an actor well-suited to the role.

The two movies had more in common than the central character, neither let facts get in the way of a good story. Both movies had a story book ending about Ruth’s game on May 25, 1935 in Pittsburgh. His final home run - one of three that day - was the first to clear the right field roof at Forbes Field, something no other player had done.

In the movies, Ruth rounds the bases…tips his hat one last time before entering the dugout…the crowning glory on a 20-year career. It all sounds good…had it been true. Oh, Ruth’s performance that day was accurate…he hammered three home runs and a single, driving in six runs, even though his Boston Braves lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-7. The truth is…it was his next to last game.

Ruth ended his career four days later in Philadelphia. Ruth was 40 years old and not in good physical condition, but perhaps sensing the old magic was back after his heroics in the Pittsburgh game, Ruth took the field at Baker Bowl, home to the Philadelphia Phillies and arguably the worst stadium in Major League Baseball. 

His only at bat resulted in a slow rolling ground out to the first baseman. When he took his position in left field, a pop fly that years before would be an easy out, dropped before Ruth could catch it…Philadelphia scored three runs that inning.

Ruth left the game after the first inning…returning not to the dugout…but exiting to the locker room in centre field. The Philadelphia fans gave him a standing ovation…knowing this would be the final day in uniform for one of the game’s greatest players.

Joe Biden, a man as beloved among Democrats and old-school Republicans as Ruth was to millions of baseball fans, deserves a better goodbye than losing an election to Donald Trump. I am a huge fan of Biden, a man I have known for 44 years. He is intelligent, decent…a wise old owl in American politics.

And there is the rub…like Ruth in 1935, Biden is past his prime. Any movies about Biden’s life could portray a true story book ending. After all, he will likely be viewed as one of the most successful presidents in U.S. history. But Biden risks losing to an existential threat to American freedom and democracy - Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans - by simply staying too long.

It took me some time to come to this conclusion. After all, It’s hard to admit - much less tell a hero - that he can no longer do the job as well as others. I’m sure that’s why the owner, manager and other Boston Braves players couldn’t face Babe Ruth with the truth that Spring day in 1935.

This past week, a lot of people I respect, had the courage to tell Joe Biden…you shouldn’t run for re-election…you’re not the player who can win this game. When Nancy Pelosi, Jamie Raskin, Adam Schiff, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries took a tough message to the president…I’m certain they were heartbroken. But, this is far more important than any baseball game.

Whether fair or not, Biden’s age and his abilities have become factors in the minds of voters in the most important election in American history. You can’t cede victory to a serial-lying, twice-impeached, convicted felon and rapist because - despite being one of America’s greatest statesmen - you want to play one more season.

I believe Joe Biden - unlike Babe Ruth - knows that staying too long is no way to end a great career.

— Don Thompson, an American awaiting Canadian citizenship, lives in Vernon and in Florida. In a career that spans more than 40 years, Don has been a working journalist, a speechwriter and the CEO of an advertising and public relations firm. A passionate and compassionate man, he loves the written word as much as fine dinners with great wines.

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