Christian Sports Report

When It Comes to the Lord, Orel's Still in the 'Zone'   Orel Hershiser, Former Major League Pitcher

By Doug Greengard
   Christian Sports Minute

(AgapePress) - During his successful career as a Major League pitcher, Orel Hershiser earned the nickname "Bulldog." It was for good reason: He squared off against his opponents with great tenacity. It was with the same zeal that he embraced his relationship with God.

But since retiring in 2000, Hershiser has found that his approach  to  his walk with Jesus Christ has changed, just as  his  career  has.  "The  reasons are a bit different than how I was motivated before," says Hershiser, now pitching coach for the Texas Rangers.

"It's important for me not to think that just because I was  in  the  public eye that I was accountable and responsible and held up to a certain level where I really had to work on my walk. Whereas, now that I'm not  in  the public eye -- in the background in a coaching job -- I need to continue  to work on my relationship on a daily basis to continue to be  close  to  the Lord and always understanding God's love."

In 1988, with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Hershiser  was  baseball's  top pitcher. He won the Cy Young  Award  and  led  the  league  in  victories, complete games, and innings pitched. The  following  season,  he  set  a Major League record by pitching 59 consecutive scoreless innings.  After experiencing setbacks with arm injuries, Hershiser went on to enjoy sev- eral more successful seasons with Cleveland,  San  Francisco,  and  the New York Mets before his retirement.

"It's great to still be  around  baseball  and  to  have  those  friendships," adds Hershiser. "It's important to have  that  accountability  and  to  have that fellowship with different people. John Wettland on the coaching  staff is one example for me."

Hershiser knows the importance of relationships and how vital they  are, especially when a ballplayer has retired or the season has ended.

"We can be very season-oriented as far as  our  friendships,"  Hershiser explains. "For me, the close-knit bonds from church and  church  friends and friends from over the years keep me accountable and responsible  to keep the straight and narrow."

Hershiser accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior in  1979  at  the age of 21. Like developing  his  repertoire  of  pitches,  one  of  baseball's best pitchers says his maturity in Christ  also  took  time  and  diligence through seeking God's Word, praying, and fellowshipping with  other  believers.

"To develop, what I would say a mature relationship, it might have  been about three, four, even five years," said Hershiser. "It's maybe in the  last twenty years that I've begun to understand the depth  of  God's  love  and what it's like to walk with Him on a daily basis and know His wisdom."

Even after his days as a ballplayer, Hershiser is trying to  find  the  strike zone -- and show others how to also. CG