Some Thoughts About Baseball

It's been no secret on this site that I am a huge baseball fan.  I love the sport.  I played it when I was a kid, and I continue to follow the local nine into my adulthood.  I particularly enjoy listening to baseball games on the radio (which, as it happens, is the only way for me to have access to baseball games, since I don't have cable television).  Today in my Facebook feed the Minnesota Twins posted the above image, noting that Santana's number equaled the amount of days until opening day, and I got excited.  I can't wait for another year of baseball.  Aside from my general excitement about baseball, it seems as though the sport has come up in my life in a few ways over the past week or so, so I thought I'd put fingers to keyboard to keep track of them for posterity.

1. Last week I called the commissioner of the local city baseball league and asked him if there was still time to sign up my son to play baseball this summer (sign ups were in early January - oops).  He said there was, and I should meet him at the local community center to get signed up.  The commissioner of the league also happens to be my coach from my 1993 team, when I played for the White Sox.  I enjoyed getting together with him again - and he even remembered me!  It was fun to see him, and I'm excited that Jamie will get to play in a league that he's running, since he's a great guy and was a great coach for me.  He really helped me grow as a player.  I especially remember one time when I was in a slump (which was odd for me, as I was - in my own humble opinion - the best hitter on the team), he made me practice bunting.  He wouldn't allow me to swing the bat, but just hold it out there to make contact with the ball.  It was incredibly humbling and I felt like such a loser just having to practice bunting instead of swinging away.  But he knew what he was doing, and it got me out of my slump.  If I could go back and relive a year of my life, it would be that year, and it would be for the purpose of playing on that team again.

2. I read an article just today that Challies linked to that gave 10 reasons why parents should have their kids play city ball rather than traveling ball.  Based on my experience as a player when I was a kid, and a bit in high school, and now as a parent, I think he's absolutely right.  City ball is where kids can grow for their love of the game and actually have fun instead of having to perform or to work to the extent that the game isn't fun anymore.  Before my fabled 1993 season I tried out for the West St. Paul traveling team.  I didn't make the cut, and I was told after that there was some discrepancy that was due to the fact that I wanted to play baseball in West St. Paul but actually lived in St. Paul.  Anyway, I was cut from the traveling team and relegated to a city team.  This was the best thing that could have possibly happened to me, for several reasons, some of which I've described in point 1 above.  But also, the city team I played for that year was absolutely phenomenal.  It was coached by John Pelano (the aforementioned current commissioner of the West St. Paul league) and was made up of (presumably) all of the kids that didn't make the traveling team.  For whatever reason, we were an unstoppable force.  We annihilated every other city team.  Coach Pelano even entered our city team into traveling league tournaments around the Twin Cities (this was not part of the city league program, but we were so good that he shopped us around to traveling tournaments), and we won every single game.  We were undefeated in city league play and even in the traveling tournaments.  In hindsight, I'm grateful that I didn't make the traveling team.  If I had, I almost certainly wouldn't have had as good a year as I had with the White Sox.  I hope my son will have a similar experience some time in his childhood.

3. Last week I started reading listening to the book Moneyball by Michael Lewis.  A movie of the same title was later released.  I realize I'm extremely late to the game when it comes to this book and its subject matter, but I just happened across a copy of the audio book, and I figured that it's about baseball so I would probably enjoy it.  I saw the movie when it came out too.  If you're not aware, the book is about making baseball decisions via an "objective" standard such as statistics rather than on impressions of talent, and how this process played out in the Oakland A's baseball club in the early 2000's.  It's a fascinating read, although I have to admit that I am not totally sold on the idea of saber metrics as being a reliable method for managing baseball teams (in fact, I'm not convinced that an "objective" method for managing baseball teams is even possible, as so much of the game is psychological - even though I know there are many who disagree with that).  I'm also aware that I'm very late to the party when it comes to this discussion, but who cares.  For one, I don't see the formula developed by Billy Bean as having paid off in the long run.  The A's still aren't that great, and haven't been.  And many of the players that Bean drafted as a result of his formulas haven't panned out - not even by a long shot.  I'm sure there are counters to these arguments, and I'd be interested to know them.  Sure, there are some benefits to using saber metrics (such as infield/outfield shifts), but I can't see operating the whole game by them.  There's just too much psychological unpredictability, and that's part of what makes baseball so unique and such a great game.

4. Finally, related to the item above, is this interesting article I read a few weeks ago.  It talks about the decline of the use of pitch-outs, sacrifice bunts, and intentional walks in major league baseball, arguing that, statistically speaking, none of these things is worth doing in the long run - that is, they serve no advantageous purpose to a baseball team.  I read the article, and I understand the statistics, but it seems to me that the statistics fail to take into account (in the case of pitch-outs) the psychological affect it has on the runner: perhaps he's less inclined to run if he knows a pitch-out is possible.  There's only so much statistics can do and predict.  Baseball is a very psychological game (consider, for example, the incredible "mind game" played by the pitcher and the batter over each pitch.)  Also, if teams begin to not us the pitch-out, sacrifice bunt, and intentional walk, soon nobody will sue them, and then using them would become sort of a "trick play," catching the offense/defense off guard, thereby creating an advantage (such as the famous "Eephus Pitch" - it's ridiculous, but nobody expects it, so it works!)  My prediction: pitch-outs, sacrifice bunts, and intentional walks will always be a part of the game even if they aren't statistically advantageous.  They're still part of the incredible mind game that is baseball.

Bring on opening day!

Questions @ RBC

NOTE: This post originally appeared at my blog site at riverviewbaptist.net.  

Each week we encourage people at Riverview to engage the scripture and sermon by submitting questions via questions@riverviewbaptist.net or on the blue slip.  The sermon this week was on Luke 2.22-40.  Listen to the sermon here.  Questions and answers from this week are below.  

What does verse 23 mean: “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”?  Is this for Jews only?  Are Gentiles are included?

This command for the first male to “open the womb” to be dedicated to the Lord is one that God gave to his people in the book of Exodus.  “Consecrate to me all the firstborn.  Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast is mine.” (Ex. 13.2, 12, Num. 18.15-16, etc.)  This practice acknowledged God’s sovereignty, ownership, and provision in the lives of his people.  It is not clear what this consecration entailed, and it seems as though it meant different things for different people.  What is clear, is that this consecration specifically set aside the firstborn male to the Lord’s service in some way, shape, or form.  How that played out, however, differed from person to person.  This command was given only to God’s people in the Old Testament who were living in covenant relationship with him (to the Jews – not Gentiles) and applied only to them.  The dedication of the baby Jesus to the Lord is significant because he – unlike all other babies born before him – will be on a mission to completely fulfill the will of the Father for his life.  He will be dedicated to the Lord in a way that only he is able to be dedicated to the Lord as the Son of God.

We at Riverview practice infant dedication of both boys and girls – and not just the firstborn.  In this dedication, parents commit themselves to raising their children in the fear and instruction of the Lord to the best of their ability, and the rest of the church commits to supporting the parents in this endeavor.  While this is a different practice that what was commanded for Israel, it is a significant commitment and one that we take seriously, both as parents and as a body.

Why does it say that Zechariah was “waiting for the consolation of Israel”?  Is this referring to Jesus?

Luke 2.25 says “Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.”  In a general way, this refers to Simeon’s expectation that God would keep his promises to his people – particularly to save and deliver them spiritually (see Genesis 12.3 for the promise which Simeon undoubtedly had in mind as he was waiting for the “consolation of Israel”).  So as the text says that he was waiting for the consolation of Israel, it is most likely that he has a general idea of God being faithful in view, rather than a specific person.  At the same time, we look with hindsight that informs us that Jesus was indeed the “consolation of Israel,” but Simeon was probably thinking more generally – he was generally looking forward to God keeping his promises.  Christians should have this same general attitude toward God’s promises today, and particularly to the second coming of Christ.  We are looking for consolation – the fulfillment of the promise that Christ will return.

Simeon tells Mary that Jesus will be “a sign that is opposed.”  What does that mean?

As he tells Mary that Jesus will be “appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel…” he also tells her that Jesus will be “a sign that is opposed.”  This phrase is more literally interpreted as “a sign that is spoken against.”  In other words, Jesus will be a sign of God, and people will speak against him.  They will actively oppose him in everything he does.  Jesus is a sign from God – a sign of his love, mercy, goodness, justice, and righteousness – and people will hate him for being that sign from God.  So they will speak and act against him.  Of course, in Jesus’ case, this opposition led to his death.

Free to Forgive

There are many verses in the Bible that command Christians to forgive one another.  Jesus himself emphasized the importance of interpersonal forgiveness in order to restore relationships and demonstrate the spirit of Christ to one another (see, for example, Matthew 6.14-15, Luke 6.37, Matthew 18.21-22, Mark 11.25, etc.).  Moreover, the New Testament is full of commands to members of the early church to be characterized by a spirit of forgiveness.  But perhaps the most important verse in the entire Bible when it comes to forgiveness is Hebrews 9.22: “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”  While this verse does not command forgiveness in any particular context, nor does it expound on the peace and wonder of having been forgiven, it is foundational when it comes to our own thinking on forgiveness.

Hebrews 9.22 reveals to us that in order for there to be forgiveness of sins, something else has to happen: blood has to be spilled.  In the Old Testament, God’s people achieved temporary forgiveness through the shedding of the blood of animals.  In order for them to be forgiven by God, something had to die as a penalty for their sins.  New Testament believers find themselves in a similar situation.  They likewise have sinned against God and need to be forgiven, and as it was with Old Testament believers, blood still needs to be shed in order to obtain forgiveness.  Except in the case of New Testament believers, the blood that is spilled is not the blood of animals, but the blood of the Son of God himself.  He sacrifices himself; he sheds his own blood; he receives the punishment for sin that is required in order for forgiveness to be possible.  And so, Christians rest in the security of the forgiveness of their sins because atonement has been made through Christ – the perfect God-man sacrifice.  And his atonement is made permanent because he is alive eternally.

This is the glorious truth of Hebrews 9.22: blood has been shed and we can be forgiven on account of that shed blood.  But this is not the end of the implications of this reality.  Additionally, Hebrews 9.22 explains the means by which we as believers can forgive one another, thereby fulfilling the commands of Jesus and the apostles. 

Usually when we are offended, our first response is to desire vindication – revenge.  This is a natural inclination.  After all, Hebrews 9.22 says that in order for there to be forgiveness, blood has to be spilled – there has to be some kind of justice served for the wrong that has been done.  So when we are wronged, we want to get the person back as good as they got us before we consider things to be even between us.  Forgive someone who has wronged me?  Not until I level the playing field; not until they get what’s coming to them.  Then, once we’re even, then I can forgive.  The glorious truth of the gospel, however, is that blood has already been shed so we don’t need to exact vengeance or seek justice when we are wronged.  Rather, we can and should simply forgive because justice has already been satisfied through the cross. 

For example, when my wife sins against me, my natural inclination is to get her back in some way – to make her pay for how she has wronged me.  Whether I use harsh words, lose my temper, or just avoid her and give her the silent treatment, what I am doing is punishing her for her sin against me.  I want her to feel bad because she has made me feel bad.  The cross, however, instructs us that her sin is already paid for.  God has forgiven her for the sin that she committed against me.  So any punishment I inflict on her not only implies that the punishment that Jesus suffered for her sin wasn’t enough (it implies that I need to give her a bit more), but it completely forgets the reality that instead of being bound to justice, I am free to forgive.  Blood has been spilled – Jesus’ blood – and so forgiveness is possible.  I am free to forgive her because her sin has already been paid for – justice has already been satisfied – when Jesus suffered for her sin on the cross.  Therefore it is not necessary for me to exact justice from her in order to give her forgiveness, and in fact, to demand more punishment for sin that was already paid for by Jesus on the cross would be sinful and wrong, and incredibly short-sighted.  The question now becomes: since justice has been satisfied on the cross, why wouldn’t I forgive?  It is in this sense that the justice-satisfying sacrifice of Christ on the cross gives us the freedom to forgive. 

If you think about it, the Christian freedom to forgive is an utterly counter-cultural, revolutionary thing.  Think of how strange the command to “turn the other cheek” sounds on its face.  “But Jesus, that guy slapped me!  I need to get him back!”  Jesus’ response: “No you don’t.  His sin has already been paid for.  Blood has been spilled.  So now, you are free to forgive.” 

And this is why the unity of the church is a witness to the unbelieving world: not only can we forgive those who have wronged us, but we desire to forgive because Christ has forgiven us through his shed blood, and we forgive others through that same blood.  

An Orderly Account

This week at Riverview we began a new sermon series in the gospel of Luke (listen to the first sermon in this series here).  We looked at the first four verses of Luke’s gospel in which Luke guarantees his readers that the content of his gospel is trustworthy and reliable to the extent that a person can feel confident entrusting his or her eternity to it.  This claim is well-founded, as Luke describes that he has done the necessary research to be able to make such a guarantee.   He’s looked into written sources and talked to eyewitnesses in order to give the most reliable account possible of Jesus’ life and ministry.  There is no reason to doubt the veracity of his research and the finished product of the gospel that bears his name that is included in the New Testament.  This is an account of the life of Christ that you can trust and bank your eternity on. 

The same is true for each of the gospel accounts that exist in the Bible.  Luke is the only author who gives a written guarantee about his information, but Matthew, Mark, and John are all trustworthy as well.  In fact, from a strictly analytical perspective, they would probably be considered even more reliable than Luke’s account, as Matthew, Mark, and John were all eyewitness of Jesus’ life and ministry.  In other words, they don’t need to add a guarantee about doing the proper research and interviewing the relevant eyewitnesses, because it’s understood that they were there – they were the eyewitnesses.  They are a first-hand account, whereas Luke’s is a second-hand account (albeit it was constructed with the most vigorous of research methods, which should not cause us to doubt Luke’s account at all). 

In spite of the reliability and historical accuracy of the gospels, there are some who doubt that the gospels got it right, or that they are even close to the actual historical truth.  For instance, Richard Dawkins has said “Nobody knows who the four evangelists were, but they almost certainly never met Jesus personally.  Much of what they wrote was in no sense an honest attempt at history…. The gospels are ancient fiction.”  Aside from all of the presuppositions and undocumented claims that are loaded into Dawkins’ assertion, certainly Luke would disagree that what he wrote about Jesus was not an “honest attempt at history.”  In fact, Luke claims that his account of Jesus’ life is not only accurate history, but history that was vigilantly studied, researched, and fact-checked.  I wonder how Dawkins deals with Luke’s own claim that his gospel is reliable history.  What makes Dawkins more authoritative than the author himself?  Nothing that I can see. 

If Richard Dawkins is correct and the four gospel writers were all wrong about their account of Jesus’ life and their accounts of him are ahistorical, then Dawkins and his ilk have some serious questions to answer.  For instance, how did each of the gospels come to be so similar? (And not just regarding historical events, names, and places, but in the character and nature of Jesus and the central theme(s) of his teaching?)  What about all of the people who were purported to witness his miracles and even his resurrected body?  Was it a conspiracy?  If so, it would have been the most successful conspiracy in the history of the world.  What about the apostles, 11 of whom died for the things that they either made up or believed as unsubstantiated rumors or hearsay?  How do we explain that if this story isn’t true?  Maybe one of them would be crazy enough to die for rumors and hearsay, but 11?  In order to accentuate the problems with Dawkins’ disbelief that the gospels are not historical accounts of actual people and events, a writer at the Gospel Coalition wrote this poignant yet humorous hypothetical conversation between Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John as they sat down one day over drinks to cook up the Jesus story.  Take a look.  

As I write this post, it’s the beginning of the first full week of 2016.  Many people make resolutions for the new year, and many Christians specifically make resolutions related to Bible reading.  These are noble and admirable goals to set for ourselves, and it is a good practice to make these kinds of commitments.  But it’s important to note that the only reason resolutions to read the Bible are worthwhile is because of the kind of book the Bible is – namely,  the word of God.  If the Bible were just a bunch of fairy tales or collection of rumors and hearsay, there would be no value in reading it.  But because it is an historical book that accurately gives the account of the interaction between God and his people, chiefly through his Son Jesus Christ, it becomes the most precious thing we could ever read. 

In summary, Luke believed the accuracy of what he was writing, so much so that he encouraged his readers to stake their eternal destinies on it.  And so far there has not been one reason to doubt the accuracy of his writing, in spite of what Richard Dawkins would like to think.  So then, can you be certain about what’s written in the gospels in particular, and in the Bible in general?  Luke thought you could.  Is he wrong?  No one has been able to convincingly show that yet.  So look to the Bible, see what you find, and believe it.  

Follow the Evidence

In the sermon for this week we examined how we are to respond to the word of God by looking at Zechariah’s response to God’s message for him, found in Luke 1.5-25.  In sum, the angel Gabriel appears to Zechariah and announces that he will be having a son – fulfilling his prayer of many years – and that this son will be great in the eyes of the Lord, and that God will use him as an instrumental part of his plan of redemption for the whole world by having him prepare the hearts of the people for God’s Messiah.  Zechariah’s response to this wonderful news was: “Prove it to me.”  Listen to this week’s sermon here to find out why this was the wrong response.  

In effect, Zechariah was telling God that the evidence he had already provided wasn’t good enough, and that he needed more.  Skeptics of Christianity fall into this trap all the time, as they reject the evidence of God’s word and demand some kind of miraculous display before they will espouse belief. People often  will say they would believe if God would appear to them and show himself, implying that the first time God did this through Christ wasn’t good enough.  God must do more in order for me to believe, in order for me to obey.  The problem is, how much proof will be enough?  

Sometimes Bible-believing Christians fall into this trap as well. They know what God’s word says; they know the commands and instructions; they know what they must do to be obedient; but instead of following through and acting on what they know, they demand more proof.  In my experience, Christians often mask this unbelief as “waiting for the Spirit’s leading.”  Rather than simply obeying what they read in the Bible! Many Christians are waiting for a spiritual nudge, or divinely ordered “right” circumstances, or a sense of peace before they will move forward in obedience.  To me, this is the same as demanding more evidence – more proof – that God actually means what he says.  

Think of it like this: God supplied proof to Zechariah that his word was true, in that he sent an angel to deliver the message.  What could be better proof than receiving the word of God directly from the mouth of an angel?  But this wasn’t enough for Zechariah, so he asked God to prove it again.  Similarly, God has supplied Christians with proof that he has spoken: the Bible.  This should be all the evidence we need to motivate our obedience to his word.  But instead of acting on what the word says, we look for more proof that the word is true; we wait on the Spirit to give us that special sense of direction or contentment then we will obey what the Bible already says to do.  God has already told us what to do.  If we wait for the Spirit to confirm what he has said through a special feeling, isn’t that the same as asking God for more proof?

For instance, I have talked to many, many people who have a desire to share their faith with others, and who readily affirm that God has commanded them to do so in his word, and they have a sincere desire to be obedient to that command.  But at the same time, these people also feel that they need to wait for the Spirit to lead them into the conversation, or the “right time,” or to create the exact right circumstances for this faith-sharing encounter with their friend to take place.  Regardless of the reality that interpreting signs and feelings from the Spirit is a completely subjective matter that is open to wide interpretation, I think this misses the point of trusting God at his word.  

God has told us what to do in the Bible, and we should be about the business of doing it.  Don’t be like Zechariah – don’t ask for more proof of what God has already told you in his word.  To do so would be to falter in unbelief, like Zechariah.  Instead, take God at his word, and just do something.  

There’s another important lesson that we learn from the story of Zechariah.  When Zechariah asks for more evidence that God’s word is true, God grants it to him.  After Zechariah asks Gabriel for more proof, he’s struck mute, and stays that way for close to a year.  Do you think that extra measure of proof convinced him that God’s word was true?  I bet it did.  So maybe the extra measure of evidence you’re looking for won’t be very comfortable. It’s always better to believe God at his word – the first time – and then to move forward and get busy with the work of obedience.