Relationships

Babe Ruth--one of the greatest baseball players in the history of American baseball--who had hit 714 home runs during his baseball career--one afternoon was playing in one his last major league games.
On that day the aging star was playing for the Boston Braves against the Cincinnati Reds.
But he was no longer as agile as he once had been. He fumbled the ball and threw badly.
And in one inning alone, his errors were responsible for five Cincinnati runs!
As the Babe walked off the field after the third out, the fickle crowd turned on their aging hero and boo's and catcalls descended from the stands. The Babe dropped his head and kept on walking.
Just then a young boy leaped over the railing and onto the playing field. Racing toward the Babe with tears trickling down his little cheeks, the boy threw his chubby arms around the stocky legs of his big hero, as if to say: "Never mind the crowd, I love you, Babe!" And Ruth didn't miss a beat.
He reached down and scooped the little tyke up into his arms, threw him in the air, gave him a giant bear hug, and placed him back on his feet.
Then with a playful pat on his head the two of them walked hand in hand back to the dugout.
The reporters there that day said suddenly the booing stopped and a hush fell over that entire park.
Why?
Because in those brief moments the crowd saw a different kind of hero.
They saw a man who in spite of dismal day on the field could still care about a little boy.
And now he was no longer being judged by his accomplishments.
Neither his past successes nor his present failures mattered.
For in the end it was a relationship that made all the difference in the world.