Reading between Innings

Now that the baseball season is under way I put away my books about baseball because I can enjoy the real thing. I have an extensive library of baseball books. These are my current Top 5:

Joe Morgan: A Life in Baseball by Joe Morgan
a remarkable story about a Hall of Fame player and if you find an orginal copy of the book you get a baseball card too! Doesn't hurt that he is my all time favorite player

Stolen Season by David Lamb
you would have to be crazy to spend a summer in an RV traveling the country to watch minor league baseball. David did it and it makes a great read!

Sparky! by Sparky Anderson
Manager of the Big Red Machine. That should be enough to make the book interesting, but the story is much more than that.

The Numbers Game by Alan Schwarz
The game has always been about the stats, but the stats have not always been the same. The history behind the numbers is a fascinating read.

What I learned from Jackie Robinson by Carl Erskine
Carl tells the stories of baseball's bygone days through the eyes of a great friendship. This is more than a baseball book this is a book about life, friendship, and love for the game

Honorable Mention (because Top 6 would sound silly)

The Game by Robert Benson
A short read but filled with great insight to why we love the game

And for Cartoon Fans

Scroogie by Tug McGraw and Mike Witte
Charlie Brown baseball humor for adults - It's classic!

Batter UP and let the reading begin . . .

And now we begin . . .

Spring Training has finished. All the games played up to this point do not matter. Players have spent the spring working on the fundamentals and learning. Now the long season begins and everything counts and everyone starts equal.

What you did last year, this spring, yesterday, doesn’t matter. What you did yesterday will not determine the game today. Each game is a do over in this long season of baseball. Every spring optimism is abundant within every player and every team. Scott O’Connell, director of new ballpark development for the Minnesota Twins, told me recently, “Optimism is what every team has during spring training. Reality is what every team knows by July.”

Every player strives to get ready during spring training, but at the same time the veterans know that the games don’t count and the real season begins with Opening Day. Players that have struggled all spring will play like All-Stars today. Players with great springs will struggle today. The Good News is that today, like each day stretched out this season, will offer the opportunity for redemption. An at-bat following an inning with an error. A fielding chance after striking out. And a game tomorrow after today's loss.

The day after Easter is the beginning of season as Christ-followers. What will you do with the resurrection? Everything up to this point was a dress rehearsal for this moment. God’s plan for salvation and relationship was finished and now it is up to us to respond. What will you do in this season after Easter?

It doesn't matter what has taken place in the past.

Today everything is new. So, Batter up!