Baseball self-mastery

After interviewing baseball players for two decades, I’ve concluded that the players likely to make the most of their physical talents are Christians or idiots (which is what the Red Sox called themselves in 2004). Those who hold a bat or ball too tightly, chastising themselves for every poor swing, pitch, or play, often fail. Those who rest either in God’s sovereignty or their own childlike ignorance, not dwelling on how one game can make a million-dollar difference in their future earnings, are more likely to succeed.

Three years ago WORLD published a cover story on pitcher Justin Masterson, who since then has been on and off in pitching success but consistent in character. With all the negatives about Christians in the press these days, I’m glad that ESPN reporter Gordon Edes last week captured something crucial about Masterson’s vital faith.

The closing section of Edes’ report on Masterson’s first start began:

“While the Red Sox, like everyone else, had questions about whether he could regain his stuff, they have no doubts about the character of the pitcher that grew up before them. He knows this can be misconstrued a dozen different ways, but the son of missionaries who remains grounded in his faith said he is not afraid to fail.”

Edes then quoted Masterson musing about his baseball career:

“As bad as it may sound, this doesn’t define who I am. This isn’t my life. But to tell someone that doesn’t mean I work any less harder. I don’t have to be the best, the most-liked, this or that. I’m free to be me. I’ve been given the ability to work hard, I want to work hard, I want to represent my teammates well, represent myself well, but when success doesn’t happen, it’s not because time, work, effort weren’t there.”

Masterson, now 30, had a bad year on the mound in 2014 after several excellent ones. He concluded:

“Other people are good, your body’s changing, other factors are in there. But I’m not afraid of failure. If it comes, I can handle it. I don’t want it to come, but when it comes, that’s OK. I can stand up under it. I can take ownership, and I can go on with my life. It’s not going to tear me apart.”