One of the many things I love about the MLB All-Star game is seeing all these big shot baseball players in awe of each other. They are there with their kids and their cameras, taking video of the home run derby. These professional athletes act like kids at the ballpark watching and playing their favorite game.
But baseball is a lot more than just a game too. The All-Stars enjoy the moment because they know they are part of a history that many take very seriously. This history and the game of baseball is more than about stats or wins and losses; it's about life lessons.
In
And God said, "Play Ball!" Amusing and Thought-Provoking Parallels Between the Bible and Baseball, author Gary Graf uses the American pasttime to teach readers about faith, drawing 9 innings worth of connections (each half an inning is a new chapter).
Graf starts with the creation debate--both between how the world began and how the sport of baseball began--and moves through history of baseball and Christianity until he reaches the Resurrection--of Jesus and of the White Sox. (The book was published in 2006, after the Chicago White Sox won their first World Series championship since 1917. As a Cubs fan, I'm still riding with the last theme of Graf's book: hope.)
Graf's knowledge of baseball statistics and anecdotes is great, and his connections to Christianity range from silly to insightful. In one chapter he takes phrases from the Bible our of context and makes them refer to baseball (i.e. "strike the rock," "cover it inside and out with pitch," and "from now on you will be catching people"). And later in the book he uses baseball to explain the parable of the workers in the vineyard who all get the same pay better--and I'd say it's the best explanation I've ever heard!
Other themes he covers are sins (or errors), Babe Ruth and the Biblical Ruth, miracles, discrimination, talent, confession, forgiveness, the Holy Trinity, prayer, and frustration.
