Former MLB World Series MVP David Eckstein’s newly released memoir, “Just Enough,” offers a story of hope for sports fans.
Eckstein beat the odds to enjoy a 10-year playing career.
With two All-Star Game appearances, sipping champagne in jubilant clubhouses after being on two World Series championship teams, Eckstein disappointed his naysayers.
At 5 feet 7 inches and 170 pounds during his career (2001–2010), the native Floridian continuously battled for professional respect.
As a Boston Red Sox 19th-round draft selection in 1997, he almost immediately had his future cast in coaching.
Being small was a challenge the infielder faced early in his sports life, and it would be his toughest hurdle.
Growing up, baseball seemed manageable given the health issues in Eckstein’s family.
His older brother Ken and two sisters Christine and Susan all received kidney transplants.
Baseball was Eckstein’s escape from real life disappointments.
Whitey and Pat Eckstein, parents of David and his four siblings, gradually become known as true heroes in “Just Enough.”
Their commitment to keeping their family together when others may have divided it deserves a standing ovation.
“Nothing came easy for me. All I know is to battle. I don’t know if I would have built the character that I had if I hadn’t seen what my brothers and sisters went through.
“How hard they fought for life made my fight on the field easier. [Brother] Rick stepped away from baseball so I wouldn’t have to step away,” Eckstein said during a phone conversation with The Epoch Times.
Armed with a $1,000 signing bonus and a no-failure attitude, Eckstein was excited about his future with the Red Sox.
From playing in Single-A all the way up to making the Opening Day roster of the Anaheim Angels in 2001, Eckstein was determined to reach his dream of being a big-leaguer.
His route to being a standout player at the University of Florida was thought to be impossible. As a walk-on, Eckstein was the pest that wouldn’t quit.
He went from being an outsider to an insider with the prestigious program.
Emotionally, the feisty infielder had to overcome early the perception that his future lay in coaching.
Then, there was the coach in Double-A who flat-out didn’t want him on his team.
When his hitting coach at Triple-A Pawtucket messed with his swing and strutted around Eckstein as a drill sergeant, brother Rick came to his rescue.
Eckstein’s career timeline, from college ball to working his way through the minors, is well explained in “Just Enough.”
Released by Boston, picked up by the Angels, experiencing the cold business side of baseball in free agency, to being a postseason hero with the Cardinals, the details Eckstein offers are riveting.
Along with his coaches, Eckstein’s father was always his toughest critic.
At every level of play, Eckstein tells of his father’s influence that allowed him to make it through some of his career’s hardest days.
“Dad expected perfection. I thrived in negativity to prove people wrong. When everything went down with the Angels (being granted free agency in December 2004), it was almost like breaking up with a girlfriend. The business side of the game takes a toll on you.”
After ignoring multiple contract offers for the 2011 season, Eckstein dishes details in “Just Enough” about why he was content to exit baseball after a decade of service.
Being able to be just a fan allowed Eckstein to fall in love with the game all over again.
When the Cardinals requested him to throw out the ceremonial first pitch for Game 6 of the 2011 World Series, the former shortstop/second baseman tells of feeling like a kid again.
No pressures. No expectations. For Eckstein, his view now was from a box seat. He, like tens of thousands of other fans in the ballpark, would guess what would happen next on the field.
The cover of “Just Enough.” (Courtesy of The Blue Box Press)
While he was writing “Just Enough,” David’s wife Ashley Eckstein suggested more emphasis on Whitey and Pat’s influence on his career.
How they kept a roof over the family’s heads and made ends meet was nothing less than amazing. David agreed.
“This is a story people need to hear. It’s not just about me and what I did on the field but what they did, and how they attacked life. I just wanted to convince my family to trust me with the book.”
From being a player who was always the first to be let go, combined with the love of baseball dating back to when, as a 5-year-old, his dad took him to Yankee Stadium for his first exposure to pro baseball, Eckstein simply wouldn’t accept failure.
He was able to thank his parents for their enduring support at the end of his rookie season in 2001.
Aside from living expenses, Eckstein had saved his rookie salary. When returning to Sanford, he presented his parents with a check. This was more money than they had ever had at any one time.
“Just Enough” offers more than enough stories about a celebrated ballplayer—and his family’s travels through life—to satisfy sports fans’ interests of all levels.
And it will leave you hoping for a sequel.
