Carlos' Corner: The perfect poem
'It came to me at a great time'

Carlos Peña, a 23-year-old rookie heralded as one of the top young
prospects in the game, was acquired by Oakland during the offseason
in a six-player trade with Texas. He's replacing Jason Giambi as the
A's first baseman and is providing for MLB.com an exclusive daily
diary for the 2002 season.

Before Thursday's series finale against the Texas Rangers, Peña taped
a poem inside his stall in the A's clubhouse, then explained why it
means so much to him.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The poem that I'm keeping in my locker this season
is called "The Man in the Glass," and the reason I want to see it
every day is because it represents what everybody's goals should be.

It was sent to me from a fan during Spring Training. I had read it
somewhere else before this fan sent it to me, but this time when I
saw it, it really hit home.

It came to me at a great time. I was struggling mentally, trying to
deal with the pressures of expectations, of being with a new team and
a new organization. And when I read this poem again, I realized that
the message is so precise, so clear. It's truly all you need. So for
those of you who don't know it, I want to share it with you. Check it
out:

THE MAN IN THE GLASS

When you get what you want in your struggle for self
And the world makes you king for a day,
Just go to a mirror and look at yourself,
And see what that man has to say.

For it is not your father, or mother, or wife
Whose judgments upon you must pass;
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one staring back from the glass.

You may be like Jack Horner and chisel a plumb
And think you're a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum
If you can't stare him straight in the eye.

He is the fellow to please; never mind all the rest,
For he is with you clear up to the end,
And you have passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the man in the glass is your friend.


You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get pats on the back as you pass,
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
If you have cheated the man in the glass.

--Anonymous

You see what I mean? It's so simple. Yet so true, so pure.

To me it's about how to achieve true happiness. They say that a clear
conscience is the softest pillow, and I really believe in that.
Because if you're at peace with yourself -- if you know deep in your
heart that you're being the best possible person that you can be --
that's when you sleep the best.

Only when we're satisfied with who we are can we reach our full
potential, and this applies to everyone. I can apply this to my
career as a baseball player, but I can also apply it to my everyday
life. Everybody can, no matter what they do -- or want to do.

You have to be love yourself to be at peace. You have to be your own
best friend. So when I wake up in the morning and look in that glass,
my goal is to have my best friend looking back at me. That's when I
know I'm doing things right.

Carlos Peña's diary appears as told to Mychael Urban, who covers the
Oakland A's for MLB.com.