Hard to believe it was 25 (?) years ago this week when Nolan Ryan hit Robin Ventura with a pitch in the shoulder. Ventura, now a manager, tossed the bat and moved toward first base, but you can see the wheels turning in his mind. Being a catcher, the leader on the field of play for a team, you can see him consider his options for that brief moment, and then he turns toward the mound and starts to run. There is, in that moment, a pause in Ventura's mind, and then he commits, which was his biggest mistake.
Nolan, as those of us who know him intimately like to call him, is a rancher. Nolan tosses calves to brand them. Ventura's pause and thought process wasn't about the consequences of his tangle with Nolan. No, he was tossing about in his head, "Do I take retribution for a pitch that I believe was retribution?" Nolan said it was because he always made sure that the plate was his, not the batter's. He was famous for brushing batters back who crowded the plate, Ventura was no different. Then came the famous moment as Nolan wrapped his arm around Ventura's head and then threw about 10 punches, two in the face and several on the top of his head. To the crowd at Texas, it was a magical moment. It still is.
In his biography, Ryan credits Bo Jackson for getting him out of the crowd that had gathered in the form of a bench clearing. Injury would have been certain, he said, had Jackson not stepped in and pulled him out. Ventura learned the hard way that Ryan was not just competitive on the mound, but actually fierce. I saw that up close once when Texas came to Houston for the first time in what the two owners at the time (a guy named Bush and another named McClane) dubbed the "Texas Playoff" for the Silver Boot. Billy Doran, the Houston second baseman, was the first batter to face his former teammate as Ryan stood on the mound, and I had first base seats. Doran was beaming like a brother who was seeing his older brother for the first time in a long time. Ryan did his famous wind up, pulled his left leg high, and then sent heat right at Doran who bailed out of the box so fast that you could hear the ball hit the glove at the same time he was hitting the ground. It was a "sure we're friends, but not while I'm pitching" moment.
Ferocity. Ryan possessed that. He was under constant creation as a pitcher to gain that competitive edge. Workout. Driven. Stretch. Eat. Weights. Pitch. Review. Repeat.
Do we possess that drive like Nolan for our spiritual lives? Seek relationships. Pray. Focus. God's Word. Worship. Engage others in meaningful venues and opportunities. Review. Repeat.
As Isaiah notes, "Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. So to those who have an anxious heart, 'Be strong and fear not! Behold, your God will come with a vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.'" (35:3 & 4)
Hope Men's Ministry
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