And now the end is near
And so I face the final curtain...

My friend I'll say it clear
I'll state my case of which I'm certain.

The day that no one thought would ever come has arrived. 

It’s a day full of conflicting emotion for the Massachusetts Maritime family.  For there is joy and sadness mixed together, a veritable conundrum for Buccaneer faithful near and far.

Imagining the third base dugout at Commodore Hendy Field without Bob Corradi pacing back and forth like an expectant father is something so out of the realm of possibility that no one has even dared to give it a thought.

But the day that no one thought would ever come has arrived.

I've lived a life that's full
I traveled each and every highway

And more, much more than this
I did it my way

To say that Bob Corradi has lived a rich, full life would be the understatement of the century.  Or at least the first 15 years of it.

The numbers speak for themselves.  43 seasons.  578 victories.  Over 800 student-athletes coached.  Three championships.  Three Coach of the Year honors.

And one lasting impact.

Anyone who has enjoyed success at their chosen profession, as a parent, as an advocate or as a good citizen always has a role model that they will point to as “the one” who made the difference in their life.

We could spend the rest of the year, and quite possibly the decade, counting the number of lives that Coach C has touched during his tenure at the Academy.  But the best metric to measure that would be to just look around today and see who has ventured to this bucolic ballpark to be a part of history.

Regrets I've had a few
But then again too few to mention
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption

He has always put people first.  Young men and women who arrive fuzzy faced and nervous are taught the values that will make them successful in the classroom, in competition and in the community.

Mistakes?  Yeah, they’ll be made.  But they’ll be corrected too.  He can tolerate that.

Unless, of course, you miss a sign.  Or fail to drop a bunt down.

And would he ever go back and change a thing that has happened over the last 43 years?  Not a chance.  Bob Corradi is not a man who dwells on “what if’s”.  He is driven by the premise of “how are we going to make this better?”

I planned each charted course
Each careful step along the byway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way

There’s only been one way to do things as part of the baseball program at this institution:  The Buccaneer Way.

Which means you better be able to do three simple things.

Be on time.  Hustle.  And RESPECT THE GAME.

The fundamentals of the game aren’t just important to Bob Corradi—they are the premise on which he teaches and preaches.  And if you so much as even think about trampling on the basics, chances are the best view you will have of the field is from the bench.

For that, he makes no apologies.  Never has, never will. 

Yes there were times I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew
But through it all when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out, I faced it all

In the midst of building a perennial championship program just 12 years into his tenure at the Academy, Coach C was thrown a curve ball with the change of Sea Term from the spring to the winter.

That meant less practice opportunities for the rigors of the season.

Most coaches would have bailed.  But not Bob Corradi.  He embraced the change, accepted the challenges and continued to do things the way he always had.

And he expected nothing less from his players.  Education has, and always will, come first in his book—whether those lessons are learned on or off the field.

And I stood tall and did it my way

I've loved, I've laughed and cried
I've had my fill, my share of losing
And now as tears subside

As you read this and look out on his beloved ballpark, there are undoubtedly tears being shed in the dugout.  You may be a little misty eyed yourself.

You’re not alone.  There isn’t anyone who has come in contact with Coach C that hasn’t howled with laughter at a joke, a mispronounced name or something else that has caught his fancy.

After all, we are talking about Bob Corradi—a man who will cry when a new store opens down the street.  It’s that raw emotion that makes him most lovable—there isn’t a fake bone in his body or his makeup.  To paraphrase a rather famous head football coach in these parts, “he is who he is.”

And if you don’t like it, too bad.  He isn’t going to change now.

I find it all so amusing

To think I did all that
And may I say not in a shy way
Oh no, oh no, not me
I did it my way

Bob Corradi says what he means, and he means what he says.  The game of baseball and the game of life are comparable in so many ways.  Executing the fundamentals and overcoming the challenges presented on the baseball diamond are no different than facing life and death situations on the open seas.

If you listen, you will learn.  And those lessons will serve you well as a professional, as a parent and as a member of your community.

Look around and you will see the testament to Bob Corradi’s legacy.  It’s not about wins and it’s not about losses.

It’s about people.  And the countless lives he has touched.

For what is a man what has he got
If not himself then he has not
To say the things he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels

Shakespeare penned the immortal words “to thine own self be true” as advice that Polonius gave to Hamlet.

He must have had Bob Corradi in mind so many centuries ago as well, because there is no more apt way to describe a man who has never wavered from his core beliefs and philosophies.

Integrity, discipline, leadership and hard work are what this baseball program has been constructed on for 43 years.

They are the same principles that have molded this program’s leader throughout his life.

The record shows I took the blows

He may have lost more than he won over the years, but that doesn’t really matter.

Wins and losses are numbers that history compels us to record.

Anyone who has donned the blue and gold for 43 springs will tell you the same thing.

He won because they played.  And listened.  And learned.  And passed that knowledge along to their children.  Or someone else’s children.

And did it my way

The day that no one ever thought would come has arrived.

Happiness and sadness intertwine.  It’s the end of an era.  One that will be hard pressed to be replicated again.

Today we come together as a community to pay tribute to a man who has given us far more than we can ever repay.

And make no mistake.  Bob Corradi will always be a part of the indelible fabric of this institution.

For he did indeed do things his way.

Yes I did it my way...

(“My Way” lyrics written by Jacques Revaux, Claude Francois, Gilles Thibaut and Paul Anka)

(Photo courtesy Assistant Athletic Trainer Colleen Nolan)