Deep fly balls...

It’s certainly been awhile since I last updated. Perhaps it was procrastination that held me within its clutches?

Just a heads up... this post does have a "moral to the story" but you'll want to read it all the way through to fully comprehend what it is.

Anyhow… my family and I traveled to Cincinnati this summer to see the home town reds take on my beloved Chicago Cubs. Anyone who knows much about baseball knows that the cubs have not won a world series since 1908. It’s simply a well known fact amongst most baseball enthusiasts. Now, I’m no math major, but if my calculations are correct, that means that the cubs have not gone all the way in a “gazillionyears.” “Gazillionyears” being a new statistic thought up by baseball statisticians to help describe just how long it’s been since the cubs won a World Series title. On the way home I began thinking about the game. It may sound strange but the highlight of the game for me was when the cub’s best middle infielder, #2 shortstop Ryan Theriot, was put in the game in the top of the 9th inning to pinch hit. Lou Pinnela, the cubs manager, planned to give Theriot the day off because Theriot had played many games consecutively, but in the ninth inning with the cubs trailing 4 runs to 0, and Theriots replacement coming to the plate to lead off the inning, Pinnela saw fit to insert Theriot into the lineup in hopes that he would provide some spark. Theriot quickly fell behind in the count and was forced to protect the plate with 2 strikes against him. As it often occurs during a two strike count in major league baseball, Theriot used his tremendous bat speed, while exemplifying stellar plate discipline in order to foul off several pitches. He even let a pair of off speed pitches go by the plate for balls. (*For those of you who are not familiar with baseball, a “ball” is called by the umpire when a pitcher throws a pitch that does not pass through the “strike zone” of the batter; after four balls are called a “base on balls” occurs. This allows the batter to go to first base.) He had battled back from a 0-2 count in a critical at-bat by successfully fouling pitches off and into the stands, as only the best contact hitters in the game of baseball could have done, and now the count was even at 2-2. One may wonder, “what makes Theriots ability to merely hit foul balls so great”? Well, when a batsmen falls behind no balls to two strikes in an at-bat they are saddled with the responsibility of “protecting the plate” to prevent themselves from striking out, (striking out, has not once in the history of baseball helped a team achieve victory.) Due to Theriots persistence in the batter’s box he was likely to get a much more hittable pitch now with the count even at 2-2 rather than 0-2. ScottbEyre (the Reds pitcher) delivered, the ball sailed smoothly but quickly towards the plate, a fastball, around 89 mph, the pitch was elevated too high for any pitching coaches liking and was left over the inner half of the plate. Theriot swung on, the pitch hit well, very well, a deep fly ball. The pitch sailed and sailed towards the left center field fence, forcing Reds centerfielder and speed-demon Willy Tavares into an earnest sprint. Finally he began to gather his lower body as he slowed his pace, which in turn signaled to the fans that rather than a homerun, Theriot had merely slammed a deep fly ball to left center. Tavares secured the fly ball in his glove as Theriot’s at bat proved to be nothing more than a very loud out number one. The next two batters were retired easily and the cubs began their journey on to another city to battle a different team. On the way home, I couldn’t help but think about what it was that made Ryan Theriot so much different than many other baseball players, who seemed to be much more interested in taking huge swings, hitting the long ball, daydreaming while playing defense, and just plain showing off, rather than doing every single thing possible to help their team win, regardless of whether or not they had to lay out in order to catch a tailing line drive, lay down a sacrifice bunt to help advance a teammate to the next base, or lean into a inside fastball to draw a walk. While I was thinking these things I thought about the cubs left fielder. In his earliest years in the Majors he was heralded as a “five tool player” (a truly great “all around player”) but after receiving recognitions as one of the games top players, Soriano began playing careless defense and began to lengthen his swing sacrificing his ability to hit the ball consistently in hopes of hitting more homeruns. After Soriano’s inadvisable ego boost came a team change; a trade to the Chicago Cubs. Long Story short, as crazy as it may sound, I decided to pray for Cubs left fielder Alfonso Soriano. No can truly be content with that much apathy, and pride in their life. After I prayed I really felt God beginning to speak to me. As silly as it sounds I felt that God was pointing out the differences between players (and people) like Soriano and people like Ryan Theriot. I believe He was telling me that Soriano didn’t understand that it wasn’t all about him, that he didn’t understand that he was in position to be apart of something so much bigger than just a quest for personal glory; a pennant race. I thought about how Theriot had played, and I believe God began to speak to me again. I believe God was provoking me to think about how Theriot understood his small role in something that was so much larger than just himself. I thought about how hard he always battled in the batters box, if only to just foul off as many pitches as he could to wear down the opposing pitcher. I thought about how Ryan Theriot never took a play off, while players like Soriano stood with their hands on their hips, daydreaming about their next plate appearance. I pray that God helps me to never take a play off in life, to never stop battling. Ryan Theriot swung his heart out in the at-bat I mentioned previously, and ultimately he failed; but life is full of failure (thank God). Because life is full of failure should we just pretty much give up, or merely attempt to squeeze as much personal glory out of it as possible? I don’t think so, I think God wants us to keep fighting, even whilst we fail, because you never know when your efforts, although they may seemingly fall short, will ultimately wear down evil. If you’re reading this I challenge you to live life fervently, to speak and ACT OUT the love of Christ fervently, EVERY TIME you get the chance. Surely you’re aware that you are apart of something bigger than yourself, but are you aware of the power Christ has given you to wear down on all types of deception, all types of discouragement, and all types of hatred? We all are going to hit some deep fly balls that don’t clear the fence, but it’s the understanding that we are apart of something bigger, something eternal, that will keep us going. We all are going to take stands for Christ (I hope!) that don’t resonate with everyone who witnesses it, but sometimes, it’s the willingness to take the time to wear down evil that God will honor in the end.