Bigger Than Baseball

“Winning is important.  It will never stop being important.  But how you treat people along the way will always be more important.”  ~ Kevin Vest

 

On Tuesday afternoon, August 9, 2922, the Little League Southwest Region championship game took place in Waco, Texas, with teams from Pearland, Texas and Tulsa, Oklahoma competing.  Both teams came into the game with hopes of advancing to the finals in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.  Kaiden Shelton was first to pitch for the Texas East team.  During the first inning, Kaiden let a fastball pitch get away.  The ball struck Tulsa’s batter, Isaiah Jarvis, on his helmet.  The helmet immediately flew off Jarvis’ head and the force of the ball caused him to fall to the ground at home plate.  As he clutched his head, coaches and medical personnel ran to check on Isaiah.  Shelton was quietly pacing the area between home plate and the pitcher’s mound.  The Pearland players took a knee and soon Shelton did, too.  After being checked out, Jarvis was able to get up, steady himself, and make it to first base.  Standing on the pitcher’s mound all by himself, with his head looking down and tears falling, it was obvious that Kaiden was shaken up about the play.  Noticing this, Isaiah called for a time out, tossed his helmet to the side, walked to the pitcher’s mound, hugged Kaiden, and assured him that he was OK.  He then encouraged Shelton and ended his conversation with, “Hey, you’re doing just great.  Let’s go!”  There were tears of relief as Shelton’s coach and teammates soon surrounded him on the mound.  In an interviewer after the game, Kaiden was asked what that moment meant to him when Isaiah came out to the mound.  “I felt really bad.  And so, whenever he walks up to the mound and hugged me it really helped me.  And that’s when I realized that baseball like it teaches life lessons.”

Les Strech commented:

This only happens when a player has been coached for years that who they are matters more than how they play.

Your opponent is not the enemy.  You can compete at the highest level and still honor your adversary.

Remembering that you are raising boys and girls to be men and women keeps us focused on the long game for player development.

Isaiah Jarvis’ team did not advance to compete in the Little League championship game in Williamsport, but in the game of life, Isaiah is already a champion.  And may we remember that who we are and how we respond matters, too.

 

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.  1 Timothy 4:12

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Colossians 3:12