Jerry Dipoto remembers two lessons he references frequently.
The first dates back to his own playing days, when he was a reliever for eight seasons between the Indians, Mets and Rockies, but he embraced it when he first transitioned from wearing jerseys to sport coats following the 2000 season, only because he broke his neck and spinal fusion effectively ended his career.
The scout that signed him, Roy Clark, who noticed Dipoto pitching at Virginia Commonwealth University, reached out.
“He said, ‘I’m going to give you one bit of advice: The day that you look back and realize that you never asked anybody to do anything on the field that you weren’t willing to do yourself will be the day you know you got it right,’ ” Dipoto said.