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When he talks, you listen.

Ideas flow from his outdoor, underground faucet. Lights flicker in your mind. You get excited, inspired and amused. You develop a new way of thinking about something because of something he says.

Sparks fly around your head. Talk more, please. Say something else. Fire at us another colorful, never-heard-before analogy or phrase to describe what's on your mind.

You pull us towards your mind and heart. That which concerns and uplifts you matters. What you say and what you do are rare. This is all compelling. It's theatrical. You are a person who has that ability to mesmerize anyone who sees or hears you. When you walk into a room, your presence fills it. People know you are there and admire everything about you. It is impossible to dislike you.

You are Joe Maddon, manager of the Chicago Cubs. Your team defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in the Major League playoffs. They now move on to the National League Championship Series.

As this playoff season continues, you will be interviewed by more press people. Americans who have never heard of you will ask "Who is this guy, Joe Maddon?" When they listen to you speak, they will get their answers. The sound and content of your answers will appeal to them. You are a curious man with an adventurous mind. You are not just about baseball although you excel at leading your teams to victories. Of all baseball managers anywhere, you are among the best.

Most people can't quip well. You can. Most people aren't funny. You are. Most people in your position are caught up in baseball and only talk about the sport, which is predictable and uneventful. You may talk baseball though you may not. You are a reader of classic writers such as Ernest Hemingway. You read that guy, Joe. A baseball manager who reads Hemingway is a maverick.

Unlike most men in sports, you don't need it to be energized. You could be a stock broker, head of a pharmaceutical company, a priest, or a forest ranger. You have that type of personality. Most baseball people are seam heads. You know baseball - your teams win. But by the way you act and talk you communicate that life is about reading, thinking, exploring, tossing around ideas, tinkering, and doing the less obvious.

You believe in having a drink of hard liquor with your players once in a while. You don't do this to impress people. You do it because it's who you are. You take chances. You do not follow conventions.

You are an original man. The world needs more of these.

I could spend hours talking with you about religion, politics, the infield fly rule, life in Tampa and Chicago, jazz music, America's educational system, and the importance of being whimsical.

You would offer your opinions about all of this. It would be entertaining and enlightening. Your thoughts would be those only you could create. Your name might as well be Joe Original.

Because of who you are and the situation you are in, you will lead the Cubs to their first World Series title in more than 100 years.

You're the guy, Joe. Everybody who knows you and the history of the Cubs feels the excitement building.

This team has been waiting for someone like you. For 100 years they didn't know who that person was. Now they found him. You have something in your character that no other baseball manager does. It's elusive to describe. But it's there. It's charisma. It's charm. It's wit. It's worldliness. It's daring. It's winning. It's wonderful.

Cubs fans know it and so do I. Seam heads are sure of it also.

When you have a feeling about a person that they are special - I mean truly special - you know they will achieve the extraordinary. These types make their mark on history. Who else but you, Joe Maddon, could bring a World Series championship to Chicago? This would not be ordinary.

The answer is no one.

You are the wild card of baseball. In a few weeks when the Cubs have their championship parade, the best part will be when you speak to the masses.

Everyone - not just Cubs fans - will want to listen. And they will never forget what you say because it will be come from your mind.

- Charles Hartley

Charles Hartley is a freelance writer who has had more than 1,000 articles published in a wide range of media outlets focused on humor, sports, business, technology and consumers. He has earned master's degrees in journalism and business administration and a bachelor's degree in English and communications.