All-Star Qualities

I tuned in for the start of US Baseball All-Star game, forgetting there'd be at least half an hour of American-style pomp and ceremony before the game actually started. Howevere, i did enjoy the pre-recorded message from President Obama. He described the qualities that determine greatness - for baseballers and for everyone else..

Hard work, Leadership, Passion and Teamwork.

Tomorrow's Game

Yesterday i caught some baseball action between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Cincinnati Reds. The Phillies took it out 22-1 (the largest defeat in the Reds' history). The result was obvious at 16-1 in the 7th inning, when the commentators made the following observation:

The beauty of the game of baseball is that you play tomorrow. If you're a football team and you get shellacked the way the Reds are tonight - you gotta wait a whole week, you gotta study film the next day, you have to have your coaches getting on you for the next 3 or 4 days. (In baseball) tomorrow you come out here, you take batting practice, you warm up, you play the game just like it never happened. So, hopefully that'll be the case for the Reds, and they'll get their momentum back in the way of a win.

It struck me that this is similar to the forgiveness offered by Jesus. From time to time, we put in a poor performance - but the slate can be wiped clean and with forgiveness we can go on to put in better effort the next time around. I've heard the phrase "A God of second chances".

For the record, the Cincinnati Reds did go on to play the following night, and record a 4-3 win.