If you have read two or more of my blogs, you know by now that I love sports. You also realize the irony of that love since I am not an athlete at all. Maybe my love comes from having a coach as a father and raising two sons who played every sport known to the state of Mississippi.
Yep, this ol’ girl has attended and enjoyed watching my boys play football, baseball, basketball, soccer, and participate in various track and field events. And as the grandmother of a very athletic young lady, I added an appreciation of volleyball to my sports repertoire.
But if I had to choose my favorite sport, it would be baseball. The quintessential American game, it requires such a perfect mix of defensive and offensive skills, personal and team accountability, as well as innate and learned skills. It’s totally unpredictable.
One simple action or inaction can change a game in an instant. Even in high school baseball games, there is no telling what will happen. The truth is, each game depends on the talents and the tenacity of its players, individually and as a whole. I have seen one determined, unrelenting kid (my own, to be exact) turn an impeding nine-to-nothing defeat into a 9-10 victory in one inning.
I think that element of the unknown is what makes baseball so perfect. It teaches us to hope against all odds – and to never give up, no matter what.
And for our family, the baseball diamond has always been the place where God met our sons and taught them lessons about their inadequacies in light of His unmatched strength. In every practice and every game, through good times and bad, our boys witnessed biblical principles played out in their own actions and the actions of teammates, coaches, opponents – and even fans.
Granted, some of the lessons our kids learned through baseball were fun; others were heart-wrenching for them and for us as parents. But it never failed, that when given time to reflect (or to repent, in some instances), both of our sons found the truth of Scripture played out on those baseball fields, from T-ball games all the way through Little League, high school, college, and on to a few semi-pro games as well.
In fact, we were discussing this the other day with one of our sons who is an assistant coach at a nearby high school. We reminisced and laughed about a few of the funniest lessons he had learned from baseball. I also admitted that we were probably too tough on them when it came to requiring their best efforts in school and in sports.
My son grew quiet and said, “No, Mom, without those lessons, I could not have endured and overcome some tough times. Because of sports, I learned a long time ago that when I give my all, God will always do the rest. He used those games to prepare me for life and teach me to never give up, no matter what. I learned early on to go ahead and swing for the fence, every single time.”
I smiled, remembering all the times he swung for that fence and hit it out of the park. Though I know they were numerous, I could not even recall the other times he swung and failed. Evidently, his successes obliterated the failures from my memory.
Which brings up some memories we stored up this summer.
I readily admit that my husband and I have watched way too much MLB baseball this summer. We had a lot going on, and those games, especially the ones with our beloved Atlanta Braves, gave us a respite from some tough times.
But as the season progressed, we began to cheer for a player who was not in the National League or even on our Braves’ roster – Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees.
If you are unfamiliar with this young man, do yourself a favor and read about him.
At 6’ 7’’ in height and weighing 282 pounds, Judge is one of MLB’s largest players. And not only is he a fierce competitor, but the 30-year-old young man is also a great Christian role model for our kids. His love and respect for his family is also impressive. His wife and parents attend most games, and they are his biggest fans.
Looking at his picture-perfect family, most people would never guess that Aaron Judge was adopted at birth. His birth mother loved her baby enough to give him life and then provide him with a set of parents who would love and care for him better than she was able to do. What a picture of sacrificial love!
Albeit a proverbial grand slam homerun story about adoption, that was not the Aaron Judge story we followed this summer. It was an entirely different homerun saga.
And this story ended a few nights ago when Judge broke the MLB American League’s single-season home run record. In fact, Judge broke the record of 61 homers set by Roger Maris 61 years ago in 1961.
Ironically, Judge knocked his 62nd homer over the left field fence of the Texas Rangers’ Globe Life Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in the 161st game of the season. I read that the ball left his bat at 100.2 mph and flew 391 feet, meaning that it would have been a home run in 29 of MLB’s 30 stadiums.
Pretty impressive, right?
And … get this … the closest league contender for single-season home runs lagged almost 20 runs behind Judge. Plus, Judge is also sitting in first place for RBIs, on-base percentage, runs scored, walks, and total bases. And he is currently in 2nd place for league batting average, with 1st place super close.
It doesn’t get much better than that!
But a lot of people tend to forget about Judge’s very unimpressive debut major league season in 2016. He only hit .179 with nine walks, 42 strikeouts, and only 95 trips to the plate. Considering that he had been a first-round draft pick in 2013, it was a disastrous experience.
In that situation, lots of people would have made a bunch of excuses, blamed things on others, or even given up. But not Judge!
He hired a personal batting coach with his own funds, listened to that coach, and worked himself ragged. He was determined to get better, and he did. It was not easy, and he had to prove himself over and over again. But now, the world can see the fruit of his efforts.
And therein lies a dozen biblical lessons, ripe for the teaching. Take your pick!
My personal favorite is one that even those who have no clue about the Bible can understand: We reap what we sow. It’s that simple. If we plant watermelon seeds, we will get watermelons. We won’t reap tomatoes or cucumbers or prickly pears. We will reap watermelons.
And the same goes for baseball – and for every walk of life. We reap what we sow.
When we work hard, we will see the fruit of our hard work. But if we slack or procrastinate or expect others to do the work for us, we will never reach our full potential, we will never enjoy the best life has to offer from our labor.
That is scriptural, but it is also just good, common sense. Yet, sadly, it is a lesson our children may not be learning in a world that openly propagates both the victim mentality and the entitlement mindset.
So, my hat’s off to Mr. Judge, and to his parents and his coaches from T-ball upward. They helped build a work ethic in this young man that is worthy of notice. The truth is, Aaron Judge worked for every single one of those 62 hits. Granted, some came easier than others In fact, his last two hits were very hard to come by.
Yet, when it was all said and done, home run #62 was no more important for Judge than his first hit this year, his 16th hit, or his 32nd one. Each trip to the plate was simply one more opportunity for Aaron Judge to do his best and give it his all.
It’s the same for us! In every season of life, in every metaphorical at-bat, we have the choice to do our best or not. No, we may not always win, but unless we give it our all, we will certainly fall short – and possibly even fail.
Maybe Babe Ruth explained it best when he said, “Baseball is the greatest game in the world and deserves the best you can give it.”
Ruth also said it was hard to beat a player that never gives up. This is sage advice that works well in baseball – and in life.
So go ahead and swing for the fence!
