Keynote by Andy Neary (former professional baseball pitcher) that uses his baseball experiences and anecdotes to frame the problem employers face in healthcare: unlike baseball where both sides play by the same rules, employers compete with insurance companies under different—and unfair—rules. The opening establishes the metaphor and Neary’s credibility with a personal story about pitching for the Helena Brewers.
Chapters
So the game of baseball is a series of battles between pitcher and batter. But despite the differences in talent levels, the outcome of the battle can never be disputed because the pitcher and batter are playing on an even playing field, and they're playing by the same rules. However, in the game of healthcare, not only are employers fighting an uphill battle, the teams are playing by different rules. It reminds me of one particular moment in my career pitching for the Helena Brewers. During our first road trip to Missoula, Mont. I was fortunate enough to spend a year, or as some people say, a cup of coffee, pitching in the Milwaukee brewers organization. In fact, this is the hat I wore and this is the glove I used while I was pitching for the brewers in Helena, Montana. And it's funny, when I tell people I pitch professionally, it's usually followed up by this look.
You.
Really. Come on, man. Because when people picture a pitcher in professional baseball, they see someone standing about six' two, six' three. I'm up on stage in front of you guys today, all of five' nine.
In fact, I'll never forget one particular game I was pitching for the Helena Brewers. It was our first trip to Missoula, Montana. Has anybody ever been to Missoula? Couple of you. It's a cool, hip college town, and the students love to attend a game to cheer on the Missoula Osprey, an affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. So we received fair warning that the crowd tends to drink a bit too much and it gets pretty rowdy. So here we are, it's the first game of the series, and our starting pitcher is getting shelled. So by about the third inning, the call comes down to the bullpen, get Neary up. Get him loose. You see, I was a relief pitcher assigned the task of long relief, which meant I would come in for a starting pitcher having a rough day. And my job was to go a strong four to five innings with the goal of keeping us in the game. So I jump up and down, I get my legs and my arms loose, and I pick up a ball and I start warming up. Now, I don't think I had thrown more than 10 pitches in the bullpen, and I'm already jogging right into the mound, right into this loud, obnoxious, drunk crowd. And I get to the mound and I grab the ball from Dan Norman, the Helena brewers manager, and I look to the on deck circle to see who I'll be facing right away. Sure enough, it's Andres Torres, one of the top prospects in the Diamondbacks organization at the time. So Now I'm jacked, right? Here's my chance to make a statement, and here's my chance to shut this crowd up. So I start warming up. And as I start warming up, the crowd starts chanting. And little by little, the chanting gets louder. And by about the third warm up pitch, I now can hear what they're chanting. How can you pitch when you're 5 foot 6? How can you pitch when you're 5 foot 6? So, no, I was not the prototypical size for a pitcher. In fact, most scouts didn't think I had what it took to play pro ball because of my size alone. And I share that story with you guys because that's how your clients feel about their health plans. So in my battle with Andres Torres, I had to break out of my comfort zone. I had to disrupt my own status quo. But I knew I had what it took to win this game. It wasn't about my size. It was about my desire to overcome the odds. And employers have that same opportunity right now, and they know they have what it takes to win this battle against rising healthcare costs.
