'I would enjoy it more'; Ricciardi, panelists reflect on life in pro ball.

Byline: Bill Ballou

WORCESTER -- When J.P. Ricciardi looks back on his eight years as general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, he knows exactly what he would do differently.

"The first thing I would do -- I would enjoy it more,'' he said. "The first thing I realized is, it's not life and death, and enjoy it. It can be hard to enjoy, like a 10-game losing streak, and I'd still take it hard, but I wouldn't take it like it's the end of the world.

"I realize that, you work as hard as I can, you put all your time and effort into it, but there are some many things you can't control. So I would try to enjoy it more.''

Ricciardi, a St. Peter-Marian alum, was Blue Jays' GM for the 2002-09 seasons and is currently an assistant to Mets general manager Sandy Alderson. He was a guest here on Thursday night at the Heart Stove Reception, presented by the Worcester Bravehearts to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Worcester. Ricciardi was joined by Hall of Fame baseball writer Peter Gammons and local pros Chris Colabello and Tyler Beede.

When Ricciardi was hired by the Jays at the end of the 2001 season after years working in Oakland, he really had no idea what to expect from his new job. That made sense, since he did not think he would get it.

"I never applied for the job,'' he said. "(Toronto) called me, I interviewed, and they offered me the job the same day. I was like Ralph Kramden -- 'hum-una-hum-una' -- because I never expected it.''

It is, of course, a job that pays well, but that wasn't the only benefit.

"I miss running a club, being in charge and overseeing everything,'' Ricciardi said, "but what I miss is small compared to what I don't miss. But being in charge is great, and in Toronto, we had a really nice family atmosphere, and that was a lot of fun. It's really nice to be part of a team that way.

"I don't you can ever be prepared for it, though. Especially the media today, which is really, really hard. I remember when we signed (A.J.) Burnett to a five-year deal, and we had a state of the union event, and a fan got up and said, 'Why'd you give him five years?' And I said, 'Because he didn't want six.'

"Why you like the job, why you want to do the job, you get pulled away from all that stuff. There are so many expectations, so many people asking for things. You don't have a chance to enjoy anything. Somebody always wants your time, and if the phone rings 20 times, 19 of them are bad.''

Ricciardi still roots for the Blue Jays, who have players...