My Baseball Story

Because this blog is open to the public, it is possible people may read this blog without knowing me personally.  This blog serves several functions:  to glorify God, as a vehicle to express truths God impresses upon me, to communicate thoughts, and to bless others.  As a pastor I am always looking to relate and apply biblical truth through common things.  Though I am called to be a pastor, I also have the privilege to be a Christian, husband, dad, brother, teammate, and gaming enthusiast.  I am a regular human being, not some self-proclaimed spiritual master.  Sometimes a story is a descriptive way to introduce people to yourself.  Well, here goes.

As a kid, I played baseball for about six seasons.  My best years playing ball stretched from age 12 to 14.  Pretty depressing that my best days were over by 14!  I was known around the league for my pitching, relying heavily upon a devastating overhand curve that gave people fits.  I hit for a decent average but never with much power.  My dad would yell, "Down and hard!"  My swing was built for contact, and I never swung for the fence.  In the snack bar there was a board that listed all the players who had hit home runs during the season.  Some guys hit 10 or more, but I was fortunate to bounce one off the top of the fence.  Hitting the fence didn't put your name on the board.

Me and my brother would play home run derby for hours in the back yard.  We would choose our three favorite players and see who could hit more homers.  A telephone line ran high through the air in the center of the yard.  Over the line was a home run but over the fence was an out.  My brother would be Andre Dawson and Don Mattingly while I was partial to Fred McGriff and Chet Lemon.  The funny thing is, Chet Lemon wasn't really a power hitter and I never saw him play because he was in the American League.  But I had a baseball card of him with a picture of his amazing swing.  Like most kids, I always fantasized about what it would feel like to hit a home run.  In practice I had hit some, but it wasn't the same as in a game.  When I was 15 I tried out for JV and was cut.  It was in the tryout that I felt something go wrong in my shoulder when throwing from the outfield.  My pride and shoulder were hurt, and I was glad to put an end to my baseball career - or so I thought!

I worked construction for a large part of my adult life and shoulder pain was a constant companion.  It would hurt worse some days than others, but I did my best to ignore it.  Most of the time I was successful.  Last year about this time was when the pain was at the worst.  I was so weakened by the pain that I could not do a single push up!  For years I had done 40 - 50 push ups in a row right before bed.  But the pain was so overwhelming that push ups were impossible.  I prayed, "God, please heal this shoulder.  I know it's your will to heal.  Please be merciful to me."  A couple months after this our family moved to Australia.

Slowly, very slowly, the shoulder began to feel better.  Five months ago I bought a barbell and 70 kilos of weight and started working out with low weight and high reps.  The shoulder still hurt, but I was able to do what I had not done for over a year.  It wasn't long after I started exercising that a brother from church suggested that we play in a seniors baseball league.  I was intrigued at the thought.  But what about the shoulder?  Would I be able to play with any amount of proficiency?  After Laura and I discussed the opportunity, it was settled:  the Grisez boys and dad would all play baseball.  Of all the sports available in Australia baseball was the sport we had all played most.

Now what were my honest expectations?  I needed to remind myself I am 36 years old, not 14!  22 years had elapsed since I put a ball off the top of the fence.  I would have to be patient, build arm strength, work out my mechanics at the plate, have fun and do my best.  Pitching was out of the question - well, maybe I could pitch if I limited myself to one inning.  My goal was to hit a home run.  Laura and I were talking one day and I mused out loud, "You know what, Laura?  I've got this giant gorilla on my back.  To this day I have still never hit a home run over the fence in a real game.  I've had in-the-park homers and some messing around with friends, but never in a real game.  But I know I've got it in me.  I know I have the power - I just have to execute!"  She said without hesitation, "Well if you've never done it before when you were young and fit, what makes you think you can do it now?"  I feigned insult, of course.  "Are you saying that I'm old and fat?"  We both laughed hysterically.  And then I proceeded to tell everyone what a tactful wife I have! :)

The first game I pitched one inning.  The second game I pitched two innings.  My shoulder was pretty sore, but surprisingly I was still able to pitch and started to improve.  My velocity was nothing special but my accuracy was improving.  Fast forward to the seventh game of the season.  We were playing the Castle Hill Knights, the team that thumped us hard the first game of the season.  I started the game, pitched almost 5 full innings, and earned the win.  But that's not the reason why I'm still smiling about it right now:  I hit a home run!  It was a no-doubter to left field, easily clearing the six-foot fence.  I absolutely smashed it on the screws, perfect trajectory, and saw the ball fly into the bush of Fred Catterson Reserve.  I haven't felt that much adrenalin in a long time as I circled the bases, probably acting like I had never hit a home run in my life.  Oh wait, that's right - I hadn't!  It was amazing and I'm still praising God for that moment.

As our family drove home from church the next day I told Laura, "You know, I think I might go back to the field to see if I can find that home run ball."  After lunch the boys and I hopped in the car and headed back to the field where dreams became reality to a 36 year-old washed-up ballplayer.  I stood at the plate and envisioned where we saw it go into the bush.  Did I expect to find the ball?  I figured we had little chance but it would be worth it.  A bunch of kids had looked for it without success.  Zed, Abel, and I walked to the spot and started our search.  Within a minute, we found the ball!  Since I was pitching I knew the kind of balls we were using and the ball had a fresh grass stain on it.  I put the ball in my pocket and then we decided to keep on looking - maybe we could find a few other souvenirs.  It turns out we found 9 baseballs in total (quality ranging from good to very poor!) and a golf ball.

It struck me that we came to the ballpark hoping to find a single ball and we found 9!  I started the season thinking that I would have to limit myself to one inning maximum (if I pitched at all) and I pitched almost 5 innings in a single game!  There was a day when I could not do a single push up, and months later I hit a home run over the fence in a real game.  I thought my baseball career was over at 15 because of a shoulder injury and now my career has seen an unfathomable resurgence!  Ephesians 3:20-21 reads, "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, ²¹ to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."  That is the God I serve, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, the One who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think!  You know what?  My shoulder still hurts - and so does my left hamstring, calf, and ankle, and my right wrist!  But glory to God!  He's given me the great blessing and privilege to be a teammate and fulfill a silly childhood dream of hitting a home run in a country where I never dreamt I'd live and love as my own.

The application?  Give God the glory and never place limits on what He can or will do.  He does exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the same power which raised Christ from the dead and has regenerated us by grace.  Taste and see!  Isn't grace the sweetest thing you've ever tasted?