Lessons From My Baseball Dad

Four Truths to Win at Life – Lessons from a Baseball Dad

Scripture References

Primary text

• Philippians 2
• Romans 3:25
• Galatians 6:9-10

Other references

• Ephesians 4
• Hebrews 13:16
• 1 Peter 5

Overview

Pastor Craig marks his first Father’s Day without his dad by sharing four sayings that shaped him. Each baseball-laced lesson points beyond his earthy father to the character of our heavenly Father—calling us to adopt Christ’s attitude, embrace sacrificial love, live unashamed of our scars, and keep fighting until the final inning. These truths invite every follower of Jesus to move the runner forward and refuse to quit, no matter the count.

Main Points

You can’t win with a bad attitude

• Dad’s constant baseline check: he would “smell” the team to be sure no one carried a bad attitude before a game.
• Favorite declaration:

  “Life is good.”

• Philippians 2 framed his approach—humility, thinking of others, and mirroring the attitude of Christ.
• Ephesians 4 reinforces the move: throw off the old self, be made new in the attitude of your minds, put on the new self created to be like God.
• Application: We cannot control every circumstance, but we can control our response.

You don’t win without sacrifices

• Baseball image: “Son, you’ve got to lay down a bunt to move the runner.”
  • Story: Eighth-grade championship. Craig ignored two sacrifice signs until his dad silently pointed to home plate; the bunt scored the tying run.
• Romans 3:25 — Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice; we are made right with God by believing in His shed blood, not by our own efforts.
• Hebrews 13:16 — “These are the sacrifices that please God”: doing good and sharing with those in need.
  • Illustration: After his conversion, Dad quietly gave away $20, $50, $100 at a time—paying tennis lessons, dance classes, diapers, electric bills, even a stranger’s nails—because “it’s more blessed to give than to receive.”
• Church culture line Craig repeats from him: “We’ll give up some things we love for things we love even more.”

No grass stains, no glory; no bruises, no story

• Pre-game ritual: dive head-first into the mud so no one fears getting dirty later.
• 1 Peter 5 — After you’ve suffered a little while, the God of all grace will restore, strengthen, and establish you.
• Dad’s testimony: 11,082 consecutive sober days (since Nov 20, 1992).
  • Story: He picked up a homeless addict, led him to Christ, baptized him in a horse trough, and paid for rehab; that man was sober at the funeral.
• Our scars—like Jesus’—become proof of resurrection power. Today can be “Day One” for anyone stuck in addiction or shame.

It ain’t over till it’s over

• Rally tradition: backwards caps meant “Rally time!” even when down in the last inning.
• Galatians 6:9-10 — Don’t grow weary; at the proper time we reap if we don’t give up, therefore “do good to all people.”
• Dad launched and relaunched Celebrate Recovery, even in his 80s and in and out of the hospital, because people still needed freedom.

  “If God heals me, it’s a win. If He doesn’t and I go to heaven, it’s a win.”

• Legacy continues through “Tom’s House,” a recovery home named in his honor.

Key Truths

• Christlike humility turns every circumstance into an opportunity to honor God.
• Genuine love is measured in costly, sometimes unseen, sacrifices.
• God restores bruised, stained people and uses their scars as testimonies of grace.
• Perseverance is an act of faith; the harvest belongs to those who refuse to quit.
• Freedom begins with Day One—anyone can start today.

Response

• Choose gratitude; speak “Life is good” over your situation.
• Lay down something you love this week to move someone else forward.
• Share your redeemed “bruises” with someone who needs hope.
• Set a Day One: reach out for help, join a recovery group, or confess the addiction.
• Keep your spiritual cap turned backward—pray again, serve again, believe again.

Closing

Craig’s dad lived and died with his hat in rally position, pointing others to the grace that changed him. His four sayings echo the gospel: adopt Christ’s attitude, sacrifice for others, let God redeem every scar, and never give up until the final pitch.

“It’s rally time!”

Prayer

Father, stir our hearts by Your Spirit: renew our minds with Christ’s attitude, empower us to sacrifice joyfully, heal our bruises so they tell Your story, and give us endurance to keep doing good until we see the harvest. In Jesus’ name, amen.