Introduction (Pre-game Warmup)

I have played for both teams.  Well, not really. I have never played for the Catholics professionally, but I have practiced with them on many occasions and have come to respect the members of their organization. I was born and raised on a Protestant team and have remained on the team. I was raised Methodist, but I married a Baptist and have been on that team for over 40 years now. However, I have good friends and family on the Catholic team that have been strong influences in my life, and I have a great deal of admiration for the team.  I have master’s degrees from Houston Baptist University and Augustine Institute, a Catholic seminary in Denver, Colorado. I think I have a knack for seeing the good in both teams, and my desire is that players on both teams be able to see the good in the other team that I see.

I grew up in church and I grew up playing baseball. I have often compared the two.

Annie Savoy, Susan Sarandon's character in the movie “Bull Durham” echoes this sentiment in her own way during the opening voice-over monologue in the movie:

"I believe in the church of baseball. I've tried all the major religions and most of the minor ones. I've worshipped Buddha, Allah, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, trees, mushrooms, and Isadora Duncan. I know things. For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic's rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance. But it just didn't work out between us. The Lord laid too much guilt on me. I prefer metaphysics to theology. You see, there's no guilt in baseball. And it's never boring. . . . It's a long season and you gotta trust it. I've tried 'em all, I really have, and the only church that truly feeds the soul, day in, day out, is the church of baseball."

One of my first memories of childhood is watching, through the chain link fence from my back yard, boys playing baseball in a sandlot field.  I was too small to climb the fence.  I don’t know how many times I stood there at the fence and watched them play, but I remember the day that Mike Erlanson (Big Mike) lifted me over the fence and told me that I could play.  My Dad eventually built a set of steps over the fence and I spent almost every non-rainy day playing baseball on that sandlot. 

I am so glad that Nintendos and Play Stations didn’t exist when I was a kid.  I played baseball every day that I could.  When I got a little older, I rode my bicycle to the “real” baseball fields that the city of McGregor, Texas had built, stopping along the way to recruit potential players. As years passed, it became more difficult to find guys to play baseball.  Some got interested in cars; some in girls; but my interest stayed focused.  I played baseball with anyone that would play with me.  Of course, I, too developed interests in girls and cars, but they would never surpass my love for the game.  Baseball was my life.

One can learn a lot about life on a baseball field. I did. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Charlie Brown said, “It doesn’t matter whether you win or you lose….until you lose.” Sometimes the umpire’s decision doesn’t go your way. He might be wrong and it might not be fair, but his decision is final. (Unless the video replay proves him wrong – something that will be discussed later.) Both institutions – baseball and church – have rule books and interpreters of those rules. In both, the rules have changed to some extent over the years – for better or for worse. Many would advocate more changes, many less, and the debate will continue.

A fierce rivalry has existed between the Protestant and Catholic teams for centuries. Each thinks it has the better program, and the games go on between them. Each believes the other misinterprets the Rule Book. This writing will not settle the multiple issues between the two teams. There will always be a competition and each will play by its own rules to some extent. Facts and opinions will be voiced in this book that might possibly upset many players on both teams.  I have observed that many people become defensive when their interpretation of the Rule Book is questioned or even merely discussed.

I have learned not to take too many things seriously on a baseball field or in church. My goal is to take a sometimes light-hearted and sometimes semi-serious look at both teams – not to divide but to unite – to give each team a little insight into the other. If the Catholics better understood the Protestants and the Protestants better understood the Catholics, the games might be a lot more fun. I think it is possible that the two could unite into one league.

We will play nine innings or longer. There is no time limit. The game could be shortened by inclement weather or some other act of God.

Play ball.