Sports and Faith Story: New Beginnings Happen for Baseball Players Too

Drug Addiction.

Alcohol Addiction

Broken Relationships. 

Jesus Christ.

Reads like a classic faith story. But this one includes championship baseball at legendary levels. 

Through intersecting various pieces of our lives with His work, God weaves a fresh and new picture. And today we hear it in a sports and faith story. With it being baseball season, it’s a great time to hear about a player’s life transformed. 

And stepping more into that ourselves.

A Baseball Sports and Faith Story

A story in USA Today Sports catches up with baseball celebrity Darryl Strawberry and how his life has changed. But his path to faith is one that has taken him down some very difficult paths, including causing “pain and shame” to six children through two divorces, drugs, and alcohol. 

But it doesn’t end in the deep shadows of a valley. His life turns around with a new sense of purpose and to a new calling as a pastor. 

Living in a humble home now, it’s noted that “there is no evidence Darryl Strawberry the player ever existed”. 

• No pictures of Strawberry in a baseball uniform.
• No trophies. No plaques.
• None of his four World Series rings.
• Nothing from his eight All-Star Games.
• None of his 335 home run balls.

Surprised? Me too. What’s going on?

Why He Left It Behind

Those momentos represent his early life well. What changed? When asked about why they are no longer prominent, he notes

“I got rid of it all. I was never attached to none of that stuff. I don’t want it. It’s not part of my life anymore.”

He describes how baseball, despite his accomplishments and the way his name will always be linked to the game, does not hold his identity. He said, 

“I love the game, don’t get me wrong, but I love the Bible more. I want to help people save their lives, and have the responsibility of leading people into following Christ.” 

What a simple but visionary picture of what we are all called to in Jesus. 

Does it call for casting some things overboard? Yes. But when God calls us to give up something, our obedience will always give us a more fulfilling life. Sometimes others may not see it but we will. Sometimes we may not see it right away but we will in the future. What can it look like?

• Possessions are no longer a focus, driving us in what we do.
• Reputation or recognition are not required to do what is good.
• Relationships stop being used as tools for what we want.
• Children and their futures stop being the “salvation” for parents. 
• Power and influence are no longer for the person’s benefit or comfort but are used to lift those with little or no power or influence.

How to Start Your New Beginning

A fresh start may happen in a ripping away but more likely it is a question of attractions. When our lives are attracted most to Jesus, we are drawn to him and away from less life-giving things.

When our lives are attracted most to Jesus, we are drawn to him and away from less life-giving things. 

And Jesus’ identity refreshes our own identity or sense of who we are. Strawberry’s story of his (renewed) life has powerful themes. And it’s not hard to hear ancient messages echoing forward in time into Strawberry’s life. 

• No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God. (Jesus in Luke 9:62). 
• Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:17)
• But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,… (Paul in Philippians 3:13)

Isn’t that the freedom Darryl Strawberry, legendary baseball play…

…ooops, sorry, Mr. Strawberry….

…Darryl Strawberry, follower of Jesus, has found? 

It is the freedom to release the anchors of your past, positive or negative, and to have Jesus be the center of a new identity. One that can tie all of our parts together.

It doesn’t mean change will be easy. But it can offer a fulfilling, vital life. 

Questions to Get You Started

How can you get started? Yours might not be a sports and faith story but it is just as important as Darryl Strawberry’s. Here are a couple ideas:

• What spiritual practice or habit helps you be drawn to Jesus? 
• When do you find your identity tied to other things than Jesus? (When it’s not there, you feel down on yourself?)
• Are their treasures (like Strawberry’s) that God is inviting you to throw out of your life — whether literally or in a way that makes them less central? 

Wherever you are in life, change can happen. Happy treasure throwing!