Big-league success

MONTREAL – “Every 24 hours the world turns over on someone who was sitting on top of it.”

That quote still resonates with Jeff Petry’s father – former major-league pitcher Dan Petry – today, long after his retirement from professional baseball back in 1991. Those words were featured on a sign in Hall-of-Fame manager Sparky Anderson’s office in Detroit where Dan spent the majority of his 13-year playing career that included helping the Tigers claim their last World Series title 32 years ago.

The message of modesty within that saying is something the 57-year-old tried to share with both Jeff and his eldest son, Matt, as they entered the world of competitive sports while growing up in Michigan. It’s one of many virtues the one-time All-Star wanted his boys to internalize early on in their lives and apply both on and off the playing field – or the ice rink, for that matter.

“I wanted them to understand the importance of always being humble. In any kind of sports, but especially professional sports at the highest level, games are very humbling. When you get there, everybody is good, everybody has skill and talent. That means that you have to outwork the next guy. If he runs a mile, you have to run two. That was the biggest thing I tried to get them to understand,” said Mr. Petry, who also sported the colors of the California Angels, Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox while posting a 125-104 record, pitching 2,080.1 innings and striking out 1,063 batters along the way.

“Ultimately, it all comes down to what you have upstairs. I remember when I was coming up through the minors, I used to look at other guys and say – ‘How am I ever going to make it? They have way better stuff than me.’ But, it’s about self-confidence. How do you think? What’s in your heart? What’s in your gut? When you take that punch, can you get back up? On top of being humble, those things matter most,” added Mr. Petry, a California native who still calls the Great Lakes State home.

With those lessons in mind, Jeff went on to make his NHL dreams a reality. He chose hockey over baseball in the latter stages of high school, electing to leave Orchard Lake Saint Mary’s and forego his senior year to join the USHL’s Des Moines Buccaneers and work with head coach Regg Simon in late 2005. Dan still recalls a conversation with Simon confirming that big things were on the horizon for Jeff in the not so distant future.

“Regg and I had some long talks when it came to Jeff leaving high school and making the jump to the USHL [after beginning the year playing Little Caesars AAA hockey locally in Detroit]. Jeff wanted to do this and we agreed. That season, Jeff was named an All-Star and Regg called to ask if we’d already picked a family advisor. We hadn’t, and he told us to get one because there were a lot of scouts who were calling and showing interest in Jeff. Then, he was drafted by Edmonton that summer [in June 2006],” said Mr. Petry, a firm believer that Simon played a significant role in helping Jeff eventually get to where he is today.

“I knew that it was all because of Regg showing faith in Jeff and getting him on the team that this was happening for him. That’s where Jeff got a really good chance to make it, playing with guys like Trevor Lewis, Kyle Okposo and Matt Read. That was a very, very special time, travelling around the heartland of America and improving his game,” added Mr. Petry, who saw Jeff win a Clark Cup title in his first year under Simon’s tutelage, before …

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