A
Higher Call
1941…There’s
never been a year like it nor will there ever be. Of
course, I’m referring to baseball as the boys of summer turned a triple play
that has been pursued but never equaled in the 70+ years that have
followed.
The first belonged to Joe DiMaggio.
On May 15th of that year, Joltin’ Joe, the future husband of
Marilyn Monroe, but more famous as the New York Yankee Clipper, started a
hitting streak that has lasted in the record books until this day. For 61 straight games, DiMaggio got a hit in
every game in which he played. And
imagine this fact, after Joe went into a one game slump on July 17th
to stop his streak, he started right back up and hit in 17 more. Most people believe the streak will never be
broken.
The second came from Bob Feller.
Through that special summer, the 23-year-old-pitcher won 26 games. The young right-hander would go on to throw
several no hitters including a “gem” in the World Series that would later leave
him as an uncontested Hall of Famer.
While that number is still attainable, the specialized nature of the
game and juiced baseballs is making that number harder and harder to reach.
The third was recorded by Ted Williams
himself. Williams had a season that no one has seen in
the 70+ years following, as he hit for a batting average of .406. Add to that, the fact that on the final game,
he had a double –header in which he was batting .401. To sit out would have insured his mark but to
play and fail would have dipped into the high 300’s. Ted chose to play and hit 6 for 8. Talk about prime time.
What
a year! But if that is where it ended, it
would be nothing more than a great footnote in baseball history. But there is much more to the story. The year included a certain event that
extended past the sports page and onto the political page…World War II. While a less noble group of individuals might
have rested on their laurels and watched the events from afar, these men were
quick to enlist and sacrifice years of their prime to fight for a greater
cause…our country. DiMaggio served three
years in the Army, Feller served four years on the Battleship Alabama, and
Williams flew fighters for three years (plus two more in the Korean War).
Furthermore,
as Sports Illustrated recorded, Hank Greenberg, the 1940 MVP spent the 1941
season as a sergeant in the U.S. Army. He was released on
December 5th, and the Press reported on December 6th that
the slugger would join his team at training camp. Greenberg wouldn’t play for the next three
years as the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7th and he
re-upped on December 8th saying, “Baseball is out the window as far as
I’m concerned. I don’t know if I’ll ever return.”
The
apostle Paul could identify with that kind of commitment.
While he had a record to rest on, he found a higher calling than
anything he had ever accomplished. He
wrote, “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing
greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all
things. I consider them rubbish, that I
may gain Christ and be found in Him.” (Philippians
3:8, 9)
Our
relationship with Christ should bring a reality check which establishes new
priorities. In some cases, even things held most dearly
go “out the window” in comparison.
Terry Risser
Consider reading the Word today:
Copyright - Terry Risser 2014
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