As long as I can remember I have always had a love for baseball. Even now I enjoy watching a game, although my playing days have changed into slo-pitch softball and an occasional game of Wiffle ball.
Growing up, I always wanted to pitch, but seldom got the opportunity in a real game. It wasn’t that I couldn’t throw strikes. It was that I lacked a fundamental pitch in my arsenal. I lacked a fastball. Now, I knew how to throw a two seam fastball or a four seam fastball. I could throw them for strikes. What my version was missing was the “fast” portion – velocity. My fastballs came in at batting practice speed. They didn’t blow by anyone.
I began to study and learn how to throw other pitches to keep my pitching dreams alive. A change up, a slider, a forkball, and two different types of curves. I could get them all over for strikes. They served me well in scrimmages and recreational games. Finally one night I got to use them in a real game.
My Pitching Debut
I took the mound, ready to use my repertoire of pitches to baffle the batters and cement my place as one of the team’s pitchers. I promptly walked the first two batters I faced. Then the next batter got a hit, scoring one of the players I had walked. This was not the pitching debut I had been dreaming of. I was imploding on the mound. All those practice sessions and backyard games where I pitched well seemed like they were a thousand miles away. I knew how to make the pitches, and throw them for strikes. I even knew the batters I was facing, and what their approach and weaknesses were. Somewhere along the way I had lost my composure, my focus, and my ability to execute what I knew.
It was at that time I saw my coach call time and head out to visit me on the pitcher’s mound. I expected him to take the ball from me and send me on my way. Instead, he smiled, shook his head, and said the following:
“Its pitch and catch Mike, pitch and catch. You’re in a real game now and this one counts, but don’t let it get to you. Just play catch with your catcher, that’s all you need to focus on. Pitch and catch.”
He patted me on the shoulder and headed back to the dugout. I was still on the mound, and the ball was still in my hand. The next batter came up and I went back to work. This time I didn’t look around in the stands to see who was watching, or around the field to see how my teammates were handling my pitching debut. I simply looked at my catcher, got the sign for the pitch I was to throw, and went into my windup. Then I threw him the ball. It was a called strike. I threw the next pitch, and the next, with my control now back. I didn’t strike anyone out, but I was able to get the next three hitters out with no further damage. I had found my focus and made it through.
In my adult years I’ve coached T-ball and later, Little League. Some kids could throw well in practice, but would come unglued once they were pitching in the game when it counted. I’ve watched major league players have the same issue.
When the pitcher got on the mound in the real game, the surroundings and circumstances changed his level of peace and concentration. He would begin to overthink the throwing motion he had done successfully thousands of times before. His awareness of his surroundings began to overwhelm him. His confidence in what he knew and how to do it would wane and collapse.
It was then that a wise coach would come to him on mound, put his arm around him and say…
“Pitch and Catch. It’s just pitch and catch. Play catch with your catcher. Focus on him, not everything else around you. Your job is to play catch and make sure the ball goes where you mean it to. Pitch and catch.”
I can’t tell you how many times over the years I’ve gotten into a situation in life where my surroundings and circumstances began to chip away at my peace and confidence. Things that I knew to be true began to get drowned out by the noise of life and what was happening around me. Then in my heart I would hear these words…
“Pitch and Catch”
Focus On Jesus
Those words would take me back to that lesson I learned all those years ago. Just like that night when I first pitched, it was about what was going on between me and my catcher. That was what my focus was to be. Now it was pitch and catch, me and Jesus. I needed to remember what I knew about Him – who He was, who I was to Him, what His Word said about me. Pitch and catch.
At the game, the yelling crowd, the other players, the heat or even the sprinkling rain – they were all background noise. What mattered was the ball I threw and the fella who was catching it. He needed to be my focus and we needed to be in synch. It is the same in life. The yelling crowds, the circumstances around you, the situation you face all have. You need to be in synch with Him. When things get in their proper perspective, your attempts no longer go astray. You are able to hit the zone in your life and throw strikes. You can get out of the jam you are in, or keep from getting in one. Pitch and catch.
Hebrews 12:1-2:
…let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.
We each have a race, or a path set before us that God has ordained. We were created purposefully for that path. There are plenty of distractions along the way that can weigh us down or trip us up. We keep from losing our way or becoming ineffective by keeping our eyes on Jesus. It all comes back to pitch and catch, and when we regain and maintain our focus on Him, we keep moving forward. We’re meant to finish the race, not just participate in it. He is there to not only help us start the race, but finish it.
If you’ve been facing tough times, slow your mind down and focus on who is your answer. Tune out the TV, social media, circumstances, and other people. Focus on Jesus. Remember who He wants to be in your life, and trust Him. It’s the same principle – pitch and catch. What has happened is not the end. Finish your inning strong.
