I’m Darren Samuelsohn, and this is The love, journalism Show. Indulge me please as this episode mixes three things I love most: baseball, the Chicago Cubs and journalism.
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Manu Raju didn’t want to be the next Anthony Fauci. He was also sure he didn’t want to channel his inner Michael Jordan.
Not where he was standing: On the mound at Wrigley Field, tossing out the first pitch recently before his beloved Chicago Cubs played under the lights against the Colorado Rockies.
“Don’t skip it in front of home plate. That was it,” Manu told The love, journalism Show as the adrenaline had subsided back in Washington.
I can vouch for Manu’s competitive streak. Back in the George W. Bush era, we used to chase each other for scoops on the environmental beat — long before he was known for his TV interviews on CNN and award-winning reporting from the U.S. Congress.
At POLITICO, we were teammates and I got to see up close his intensity. After publishing one of our first stories together, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry complained about the reporting over his flailing efforts to address climate change. The bill died a month later.
Manu’s work never slows down. He doesn’t count steps, but he guesses he gets a good seven or eight miles of walking in each day traversing the Capitol grounds and its endless hallways in search of lawmakers.
“The thing about journalism is it always wants more,” Manu said. “No matter how much you give, it wants more and more and more.”
When I asked Manu if journalism loved him back, he said yes — at times. And no more so than when he got to walk out on Wrigley Field, tip his cap and toss a bucket list pitch. Over home plate.
