Who won that baseball game?

My son, Kyle loves to play baseball.  He is currently playing in Little League on the Colorado Rockies team.  This team has had so many come-from-behind victories, we have somewhat of a reputation.  We are currently in the tournament, which means that the season continues until we lose two games or win the tournament.  Winning the tournament is probably not going to happen because there is a truly phenomenal team that plays with precision and has soundly beaten us every time we have played them.  Tonight, we played another really great team.  Three weeks ago, they were unbeaten and had beaten us soundly in our first face-off.  The second time, however, we tied them when our catcher tagged the winning runner stealing home for the final out.  We celebrated.  And then we won on our third face off.  So we came into this game with essentially a stalemate.

Now one of the reasons I believe in God is because He sometimes talks to me, though not in a physical voice.  Usually it is in little nudges of thoughts that I could never in a million years think of myself.  Tonight, as I was driving Kyle to practice before the game, a thought entered my head to pray with Kyle over the game (I know, if I was a REALLY good Christian, I would have been praying before every game.  I still need God's grace).  We talked about who REALLY decides the outcomes of games--us or God?  I told Kyle that I believed that it is God who ultimately determines the outcomes of games.

"The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD."  
Proverbs 16:33


So we prayed.  We prayed that the boys would play their best, that they would be safe and that, whatever the outcome, they would be satisfied with how they played.  Now I don't think God really cares about the outcome of any games, because they are so transitory and, in the grand scheme of things, inconsequential.  However, I do believe that He loves to remind us that He is there for us in little things as well as the big things and to provide concrete memorials of times when He showed us His love or His power or His grace so that later, when we are in a time of doubt, we can remember His faithfulness at that one time and remember that...

"I the LORD do not change...."  --Malachi 3:6a.


And now back to the game....
It is the top of the fifth inning.  The Rockies start the fifth inning in the hole 5-10.  They are up to bat first as the home team.  Under normal circumstances, the most a team can score in the inning is six runs.  The umpire has called "final inning," which sets the following rule into play:  Teams play and score until three outs are made.  We get four runs before a player gets a second out.  The kids in our bullpen start chanting:  "Two-out rally, here we go."  Seriously, so many times, whether it is our team or the opposing team, all the runs seems to happen after  that second out is made.  And it happens now.  A new pitcher walks four kids in a row, driving us one point ahead.  Then the next batter hits one that bounces over the pitcher's head AND over the second baseman's head and rolls way out into center field.  All four runners score.  Yay!  We have it!  It is in the bag!  Or so we think.  One of the parents remembers a rule that the inning has to finish before time is called at two hours from start time. If the game is called in the middle of an inning, the score from the previous inning is what is used for the final game results.  So even if we score more runs, if we can't get the other team out in time, they win 10-5.  Isn't THAT a crummy rule?  Yes, I knew you would agree with me.  I was very vocal in decrying that rule.  At this point, someone has told the coaches, so that the next batter is instructed to swing at all pitches to strike out as quickly as possible.  The top of the inning is over with only three to five minutes before the game will be called and all of the hard work of our boys will come to nothing.

How often has an inning lasted only three minutes?  Hardly ever.  And the other team worked very hard to be as slow as possible  until the umpire started calling them out.  Totally forgetting the prayer I prayed in the van, I stomped over to my friend, whose son had won his game 30 minutes ago, fuming at such a stupid rule.  I am in the middle of explaining it when our team makes its first out on a weak grounder to first base.  The player hit the ball on the first pitch.  Less than a minute later, our team caught a fly ball hit by the second batter for the second out.  Everyone holds their breath.  The third batter connected on his first swing and hit it to the second baseman, who made a gentle throw to the first basemen for the third out.  Everyone on the Rockies jump to their feet in astonishment and joy.  The "impossible" had happened!  I started shaking and crying and  felt pretty ashamed of myself for the little temper tantrum I demonstrated in front of everyone and my pitiful memory.

Once again, I don't think God really cared who won the game.  I don't think our team is any more deserving of winning the game than the other team.  However, am pretty sure that God did it because He loves to see the impossible happen because it builds up our faith.  Why do I think that?  He gave a woman her first child when she was 90+ years old (Genesis 18, 21); He defeated a city with high, strong walls by having His people walk around singing worship songs (Joshua 6); He had 300 soldiers whose qualifications were that they scooped water to drink it from a pond beat a much bigger, stronger army by breaking pots, lighting torches, blowing horns and shouting (Judges 7);  Heck, one time, He didn't even let His people do anything--He just had the invading army somehow go off the deep end and kill one another (2 Chronicles 14);  The Bible is full of stories of God making the impossible happen.  And He is still at work, whether it is dropping money in people's lap or making a determined atheist like C.S. Lewis into one of His children and one of the greatest apologists of the 20th century or having a little league team in a desert city come from behind and win against huge odds.  We see difficult situations and,  in our lack of faith, keep saying "Impossible!" and God turns to us and says, "You keep using that word.  I do not think it means what you think it means."

"Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”--Matthew 19:26

To God alone be the glory!

Oh yeah! The Boy can Play!

This year, Kyle joined Little League Baseball where the ball is thrown by a catapult-like machine. His team has done great, finishing second place overall in the league. He is currently in the 7-8 year old bracket, which is about the time you see them start to be able to actually catch and throw the ball. He just started playing last spring. Kyle is a great batter, rarely striking out. He is also a fast runner, thanks at least partly due to his oldest sister, Elizabeth and his competitive spirit. Ever since he was big enough to run, he has been trying to beat her in races. Of course, because she has always had longer legs, she only loses if I 'rig' the race. Until he started racing against kids his own age, I am sure he was frustrated at how slow he was in spite of my attempts to explain that longer legs give a person an advantage in running.


At the beginning of the season, the games usually involved more offense than defense, with the kids still trying to figure out where to throw the ball and how to throw the ball and how to catch the ball. In fact, on our team, some of the kids figured it was safer trying to outrun the runner to the base rather than risk the other kid dropping the ball. Sometime around the beginning of May, however, the practices and games paid off as the baseball instinct kicked in and you could see kids taking their time before throwing the ball to a base to make sure that it actually would be catchable and know that they could still be able to get the runner out. We have seen kids on all teams make awesome catches of fly balls, and awesome throws to a baseman to get a runner out. We have also witnessed some absolutely crazy plays, like the time one of our kids scored a run by running from third base when the ball was barely nicked into play and the catcher was holding the ball a foot from home plate as he ran behind her. That "miracle run" created momentum in last Saturday's game for us to be able to come from behind to win against the team who entered the tournament in first place, and, like us, lost their opening tournament game.


Last night, we witnessed a wonderful (for us), if not miraculous, come-from-behind victory. It was the last game before the championship game. We had lost the first round of a double elimination tournament because our bats went cold and our defense was a little on the sloppy side. This game, the third since our last loss, started out okay. It was pretty obvious, however, that the team we were playing was incredibly savvy at base running. In one inning, they had a guy on second base stay when the ball was hit to the third baseman and then run to third after the third baseman threw it to first to get the runner out. The first baseman made a beautiful catch, his feet just barely touching home plate, his arm and body stretched out as far as they could to catch the ball right before the runner's feet touched the base. There were a couple of other plays in favor of the other team during the game that seemed to be questionable, but the Little League commissioner was there and, of course, if he didn't object, we shouldn't either. The kids were getting frustrated and starting to miss plays. Our coaches who are really great at being laid back or even joking to break up any tension from a bad play or strike out, just kept encouraging the kids to play their best and not worry about being down. At the bottom of the third inning, as our team came up to bat, the other team was winning 14 to 3.


Most of the parents on our team were shouting encouraging things to our kids but secretly, most of them were thinking, like me, that it had been a good season and that finishing third was very respectable. Somehow, in spite of racking up two outs with no one on a base, we managed to get six runs, bringing the score to 14 to 9. The fourth inning passed with the score 16 to 15. Once again, we had scored six runs with two outs. We were really close to the time limit for ending the game. If it had taken a minute longer to end the inning, the game would have ended and we would have lost. However, we had one more minute and our team took advantage of the rule. The other team tried to protest, but the commissioner upheld the ruling and told them to get ready to bat. So far, neither team had been able to consistently make defensive plays to prevent the other team from racking up points. However, we managed to get the first batter out with a beautiful throw by the pitcher to first base. They put two or three runners on the base. The next batter hit a line drive that our short stop caught in mid-air. After taking a second or two to realize that he did indeed have it, he ran to second base to get the third out. No runs had been scored in the inning. All we had to do was make two runs to win the game.

At this point, all the parents on our team were beside themselves with renewed hope, jangled nerves, and a rush of adrenaline. I couldn't sit still. I had brought knitting with me, like I did almost every game because it helps me stay calm, but my hands were shaking too much to be able to knit. I suddenly realized that this was probably exactly how Eric felt each time the nurses told him that our baby was ready to exit the birth canal. He would get so excited and agitated that they would make him sit down for fear of him fainting with excitement. The first batter managed to get on base. The second hitter struck out. Kyle was next. As he was waiting for the first pitch, Eric called out, "Hit it and then run as if Elizabeth was trying to catch you." He hit the ball to first base and ran as fast as he could, even though he would most likely get an out. However, the first baseman bobbled the ball, causing it to bounce off the outfielder's glove and roll close to the fence. Kyle made it to first with no problem and then, because the fielder still had not gained control over the ball near the fence at first, ran to second base. Someone in on the opposing team threw it wildly, causing the ball to go over the third baseman's head, which allowed Kyle to advance to third automatically (one of the league rules). The runner on second had already scored and we had tied the game. The next batter hit a beautiful, uncaught line drive into the outfield, bringing Kyle home for the game-winning run. The parents were on their feet, jumping up and down, laughing and crying. The kids on the bench and on the bases were at first confused when their coaches told them to stop playing until they explained that they had just won the game. Then their excitement and joy matched that of their parents. So tonight, we get to go the the same ballfield, at the same time as last night and play the team that beat us in the first game of the championship series. If we win tomorrow night, we have to play them one more time on Wednesday night to be able to claim the championship. If we lose tomorrow, we will still be number two and the other team, who started out the championship series in last place, will be first.


I am so proud of how all the boys, especially my son, have grown in confidence, skills, and grace as the season has progressed. I have learned a lot from the coaches about how to stay cool and graceful under pressure. They rarely pester the kids, like some of the other coaches and when a kid makes a mistake, they gently give guidance, sometimes making it humorous, to help the kid learn from their mistake. Whatever happens tonight or even possibly, Wednesday night, everyone on our team can walk away proud of what they have accomplished.