Anthony Rizzo's emotional speech Thursday in Florida at the vigil for victims of the Parkland school shooting continued to reverberate a day later.
Manager Joe Maddon texted his first baseman afterwards, telling Rizzo how proud he was after watching a video of the heartfelt speech on his iPad.
"What he said and how he said it, and the manner in which he said it, was really impressive," Maddon said Friday. "It's awful that a moment like that is the kind of moment a young man needs, in a sense, or enables him to grow.
"There's a growth moment right there that any of us would benefit from, but horrible circumstances to have to grow.
"Wow. I texted him immediately afterwards. We went back and forth. I just wanted him to know how impressive it was, what he did. And I wanted him to know how important his presence was (at the vigil) to the people there _ his hometown, his teachers, his friends, his family.
"They had to be impressed with him taking the time to get there, and speaking the words he did the way he did it. I told him 'I can never be more proud of you than I am at this moment.'
"So give him a lot of credit. What they're still going through there, who knows how long it's going to take to overcome? But talk about contributing where you came from is really important.
"And it also speaks to leadership. There's a lot of leadership that should occur there _ boots on the ground. People need to be there that are leaders, or supposed leaders, to possibly give that same kind of speech in advance of him."
