How about a feel-good sports story? My son Mark put me on to this one…
What to do if you’re a baseball fan in Philadelphia, home of some of the toughest, most unforgiving fans in baseball, and your star player, signed for huge money in the offseason, isn’t producing?
You give your star, non-producing player a standing ovation.
Trea Turner, Philadelphia shortstop was having a bad year. Nothing he tried was working. Here’s what happened when he stepped to the plate on August 4, as told in this Fox News report which starts:
It’s not every day that one of baseball’s worst hitters gets a standing ovation.
It was early August and Phillies shortstop Trea Turner, he of the $311 million contract and .657 OPS, was suffocating under the weight of heightened expectations. After signing a much-heralded 11-year megadeal in December 2022, Turner had spent most of his first season in Philly grasping at straws and swinging at air.
Despite this, a raucous Citizens Bank Park crowd of over 35,000 greeted Turner with thunderous applause as he strolled toward the plate for his first at-bat of the night. The Fightin’ faithful rose to their feet in a passionate, full-throated display of unconditional support. Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos scaled the dugout, a towel in his hand, emphatically gesturing for fans to continue.
“He needs to feel comfortable. He needs to feel welcome,” Castellanos told reporters afterward. “I know what that’s like. And I think that’s what that standing ovation does, like, hey we have your back.” – Jake Minst, Fox Sports
And what happened after? As of late August…
Buoyed by the Philly Cheer, Turner has completely flipped his season around, posting a 1.150 OPS with eight homers in the 22 games since. He looks like his confident, world-beating self.
Wow. If it were fiction, no one would believe it.
But they should. God often blesses us before our so-called performance, not after. It started with Jesus, did it not?
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3.16, 17, NIV)
This was at the beginning of his ministry! Before he had actually done anything.
As a side note, the idea for a standing ovation came from one guy, a talk-radio producer:
I know he’s making $300 million so it’s unpopular to say that you feel bad for the guy but I legitimately feel bad for Trea Turner. Postgame interview was a tough watch, he’s in the cages until midnight. Just think he’s lost. A standing O on Friday would go a long way IMO. – A Tweet by Jack Fritz on August 3.
So one person can make a difference! One person who decided that praise rather than ridicule might make a difference. Applause for future success, not for boos for past failures.
As it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations” in the presence of Him whom he believed–God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did. (Romans 4.17, NKJV, emphasis mine)