The responsible reaction

Jarred Kelenic's reaction to his mistake is ultimately much more telling and way more important than the fact he made it.

Kicking an inanimate object is perhaps the single most relatable reaction to this Mariners season.

That didn’t make it any less damaging for Jarred Kelenic. You’ve probably heard about this by now, but the Mariners left-fielder suffered a broken left foot after he kicked a cooler on the floor of the dugout following a strikeout in Wednesday’s game.

When I saw Ryan Divish’s Tweet reporting the injury, I immediately wondered how fans would react. I suspected they were going to be furious because he had shown such serious lack of judgment, and honestly, I think that might have been what happened if Kelenic hadn’t spoken to reporters.

But he did speak, and the impact of not just what he said but how he said — fighting to hold back tears and failing at a couple of points — provides a lesson in the power of true accountability, which is so often lacking in our present society.¹