Strikeouts, Foul Balls and God’s Grace

We are a few weeks into baseball season. I have to admit, growing up in Texas, baseball was always secondary to football for me. Then I had kids and I got tricked into being the 4-year-old Tball coach and somehow was not able to retire until my kids moved into middle school. Honestly, I would not trade all the bad umpires for the joy that I experienced in coaching my kids - even baseball and softball.

As a matter of fact, the longer I coached my kids the more I fell in love with the sport. Baseball/Softball is a hard game. Failure is expected. A really good hitter is failing 7 out of 10 at bats. What other job in our world allows you to fail that much and keep it? We now see hitters hit .250, but hit 30 home runs in a season and they get paid lots of money.

I even recently heard some commentators talking about how it is harder to hit a baseball now more than ever. Why? Because the pitchers are routinely throwing the ball at 90-95+ miles per hour. They can now throw pitches with more rotations per foot. They can now throw pitches with more bend and arc than ever before - making the hitting of a ball almost impossible.

So, you’d think that baseball is an individual sport. It is not. There are individual battles between a pitcher and hitter, but the rest of the team depends upon their teammate winning. If the hitter makes contact and puts the ball into play, the pitcher is dependent on his 8 other teammates making a play on the ball.

If a hitter gets on base, he needs a teammate batting after him to get a walk, a hit, or sacrifice his at bat by bunting to help his teammate score, because the goal of the game is to win. You do not win a baseball game as an individual, but as a team. You do not lose a baseball game as an individual, but as a team.

When I think of baseball as a pastor I think of a few lessons: One, failure is a regular part of life. God’s grace, through Jesus, allows us to learn from our mistakes. Two, I’m not just playing for myself, but for my teammates. I’m accountable to them, because when I win, we all win. Three, sometimes I have to sacrifice my own stats for the better- ment of the team. My team’s success is more important than my own. As a matter of fact, my team’s success makes my success more possible.

When I think of baseball as a community member I think of a few lessons, too: One, we need each other to be successful. I need the 70+ year olds and the 7 year olds in my life. They each bring worth and value to my community. I stand on the shoulders of my seniors and I have a future because of our kids. Two, I’m accountable to my community. To me that means that I honor my elders’ previous contributions to my community even if I think I would have done differently. It means that I seek out opportunities to invest in my community for those that are coming after me. Third, because I live in a community, I sometimes have to sacrifice for the betterment of that community - I mow a neighbors’ yard who is physically unable. I give a few dollars to assist a family during an unexpected health situation. I treat people with respect even if they have different perspectives than I do.

I can pull all kinds of life lessons from the game of baseball, but I would be remiss if I did not remind you that those who sit in the stands do not have an impact on the outcome of the game. You are merely a spectator. You can boo, you can yell, you can cheer, you can buy a hotdog and soda and enjoy the entertainment, but you have no impact on the game. It does not matter how loud you raise your voice, you are not in the game.

What am I trying to say? I love my kids. I love baseball (& all sports for that matter). I love my Jesus. I love my La Grange and Fayette County community. Folks, we are on the same team. We are all trying to win the same game - better schools for our kids, better drainage, better downtown, better sidewalks, parks, and family friendly options, and on and on it goes.

So, put on your jersey and ask what your role is in making this community better - for yourself and those who come behind us. Don’t yell from the sidelines, but get in the game. You might be surprised by all the work it takes to prep for, play in, and recover from the game.

Did I tell you that you can find baseball in the Bible? In Genesis 1 it says, “In the big inning . . .”