Heartbreak and Casey at the Bat

I wanted to share something very powerful in loving people well that I learned... from baseball.

As any baseball fan knows, October is the month of heartbreak. If your team hasn’t done well during the regular season, you’ve been waiting for the season to end to provide some relief and begin hoping for next year. But, if your team has done well, you advance to the playoffs with the hope of winning the World Series! Today, my first love, the Philadelphia Phillies, lost to the Colorado Rockies, and my adopted team, the St. Louis Cardinals, lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in their respective playoff games. I was reminded of a famous baseball poem written by Ernest Thayer in 1888 called “Casey at the Bat.” In it, the home team, Mudville, is putting their last hope on the “mighty Casey” to bat the winning run in. But the poem ends with:

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville— mighty Casey has struck out.

“There is no joy in Mudville.” Heartbreak. I know this may seem somewhat comical, but the serious baseball fan knows about hopes disappointed. I remember vividly two games of the 1993 Worlds Series. My Phils were playing the Toronto Blue Jays. In Games 4, I watched relief pitcher Mitch Williams blow a 5 run lead to lose the game 15 to 14. And in Game 6, the Blue Jays scored 3 runs in the 9th inning to win the game and the series. As the runs came across the plate, in silence I slowly walked to the television and turned it off.

What does this have to do with loving people well? When people are heartbroken... over things more series than baseball... don’t try to cheer them up… don’t try to tell them things aren’t so bad… and please don’t tell them that God has something better for them! At least not in the moment of heartbreak… no, let them have that moment in peace. Perhaps a hug or simply be with the person. Somewhere the sun is shining bright… but not here in Mudville. Respect the person’s hurt as they take in the fact that their hopes are dashed. There will be other times to remind people of the good in life… maybe even to say “there’s always next year” (which didn’t come for me until last year… 15 years later… when the Phils beat Tampa Bay). But tonight, there is no joy in Mudville-mighty Casey has struck out. Respect that and you will have loved the person well.

In this way, I am sure that Job would have been a fan of baseball!

For a brief history on "Casey at the Bat" and the full text, go to: www.baseball-almanac.com/poetry/po_case.shtml