Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be a professional athlete. Or rather a Christian who is a professional athlete. Christ's lordship applies to everything we do. There is nothing that exists outside Christ's Lordship for the Christian's life. Nothing.So I often wonder how I would, or at least should, act in specific sporting situations. Especially in the 'unwritten rules of the game.' For instance, retaliation in baseball. Retaliating against a neighbor or enemy is one thing. But is retaliation in baseball entirely different?
Recently the Tampa Bay Rays went to Fenway Park for a series. One evening a dirty Red Sox player named Coco Crisp, slid hard, high, and late into the Rays 2nd baseman. The next night, James Shields, drilled him with a fast ball in the hip. Crisp didn't take kindly to it.
He charged the mound, and Shields swung hard at him and missed. A melee ensued and several folks got thrown out with several more getting big suspensions.
The Rays 2nd baseman, a Japanese player, said that he felt like his team really "had his back." They don't do that kind of stuff in Japan (strangely enough the place that brought you Kamikazes) he said. I guess you could say that the retaliation pitch was really showed love to Aki. I mean, that pitch really showed Akinora Iwumura that Shields cared about his safety and well being. He would risk being thrown out of a game to protect his teammate.
As a Christian pitcher, I don't think I would have a problem throwing a retaliation pitch. Its just part of the game. If someone charged the mound, I guess I wouldn't have a problem defending myself either. But would a more godly approach be a tackle instead of a punch? How should one react to a brawl? Is it more loving to sit on the bench or to charge the field? What do you do when you're out there? Pull people off? Tackle folks in order to protect your teammates?
If you want to check out the video of this brawl-and as far as brawls go, this one is solid-click here.
5 comments:
Hey Geoff,
I linked to your blog today from my spots/faith blog, thought you raised an interesting point about retaliation in baseball.
My site is called Prayers For Blowouts, and it looks at the frequent collisions of sports and faith. Check it out, I think you might like it.
Prayers For Blowouts
Bryan
This is an issue that I have thought a lot about and have come to very few conclusions. I played college baseball and to be honest only had a couple "scuffles" happen in my career and non of which amounted to an all out brawl.
One summer in college I played on a team that was with a Christian organization and we were strictly ordered to not retaliate in ANY manner at anything. The problem is that in any competitive sport there will and should be some fire and I felt like the reasons behind our ordered abstinence were they wanted to protect our "witness" which of course was a bunch of junk that was really centered on trying to make people believe that we were a "good" Christian team and it had little to do with Jesus or the other team or with loving or protecting our teammates. I honestly believe that you could have an argument on both sides of the aisles. With that said there is a difference between "likes to fight guy" and a guy who falls into a fight... I remember a seminary team who got in a brawl in a flag football game... I am sure the people most offended by situations like that are not the non christians but the christians who "know better"... All that to say I think the answer to what I am saying is yes and no
Ande,
Thanks for your response. Since I'll never be a professional baseball player, its more of just a speculative inquiry. And there probably shouldn't be retaliation in church league softball. I wonder who was on that seminary flag football team that actually got into a brawl....Not one of RTS' finest moments!
By retaliation of any sort it meant even disagreeing verbally with anyone or anything... that is a little much for me... fighting out of self defense is something and starting a fight or looking for a fight is another. I think Jesus would do the exact opposite of what I would expect him to do. he would probably confront people face to face and also get pegged and run to first at times because his pride isn't preeminent like most every athlete that I know. The reasons people have to fight typically is to save face and so the guys on the team won't think they are a wimp. So fear of man is driving most all of fighting scenarios... at the same time the gospel is freeing us up to play boldly and to be wimps and to not be wimps.
RTS brawls are super cool!
Clay Aiken
Ande,
Thanks for your insight. Jesus would definitely surprise us if he were a pitcher or if he got hit by a pitch. He always surprised folks in the 1st century.
I really appreciate it. I told Rob Bangs to post a comment. Hope to get some more dialog.
I wonder what Oprah would do.
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