A Playful Bet to Start the Season

I recently read about a story in the newspaper and then saw it on ESPN. At the beginning of spring training, Derek Jeter and Bobby Abreu made a bet between each other as to who would marry first. The loser has to pay the newlywed $1000. Jeter and Abreu started this as a joke but shook on it. Left-fielder Hideki Matsui heard about the bet and asked his teammates if he could join in and they agreed.

Last Wednesday, Matsui asked manager Joe Girardi for the day off. He told Girardi why he wanted the day off and Girardi kept it a secret for him. Matsui went off to be married with an unknown 25 year old woman from Japan. Jeter couldn't believe the news when he heard it, but soon learned that it was true. It was funny when Matsui didn't have a picture of his new wife, rather he had a sketch of her. Do you think Matsui really got married? Well, he did and did a good job of tricking Jeter and Abreu.

Its good to see these guys having fun with each other, in light of all the recent steroid problems in baseball. I don't see many things like this among teams because it seems like players today aren't as personable with each other as they used to be. I mean, of course the players get close with each other in any sport because they are always together and they work as a team. But, I really don't think teammates are as close as they could be. Since Jeter said he doesn't have a girlfriend, he has 1 year to marry to win the bet. Abreu, on the other hand, has a girlfriend so he only has 6 months to marry her.

This is the type of thing that makes a team and a player likable. There are definitely many other players in sports who are likable, but its always fun to see that the players joke around every now and then. I've always believed that when you are going through difficult times or facing problems, having a good sense of humor is always the best medicine.