They Were My Heroes

Baseball players that is; growing up as a little boy in the sixties my heroes were baseball players. Oh yeah, astronauts too.

But I loved baseball players. I read so many biographies of baseball players: Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Harmon Killebrew, Al Kaline, Dizzy Dean, Mickey Mantle, Joe Dimaggio, Bob Gibson…just to name a few.

I have a new baseball hero; his name is Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers outfielder:

Now he doesn’t look like a sixties throwback player, but it’s not his looks or even his play that matters. Karen and I were watching the Homerun Derby tonight and ESPN’s Erin Andrews was interviewing Josh Hamiton about his tremendous performance in last years derby at Yankee Stadium. Here’s how the interview went:

Erin: “What memory will you have from that night?”

Josh: “To be honest with you, out of everything that happened, sharing Jesus Christ with people is the most important thing to me. It was great having my family there; it was great how New York and the crowd accepted me. But being able to witness to so many millions of people was the ultimate thrill.”

Erin: (Somewhat uncomfortably) “And of course chanting your name at Yankee Stadium.”

Josh: (Smiles politely) “That’s a close second.”

After that interview Joe Morgan said:

“I think not only the home runs he hit were special but his life story made it even more exciting for the fans in Yankee Stadium and around the world.”

You see, like Mike Huckabee, Josh Hamilton is second…

Tags

Christian Activism, Christianity, Culture, Media, Morality