One thing I noticed in my time on the ships is a general fear of taking the initiative. It may not really be any more widespread than when I was a junior sailor, and it be the same everywhere, but it is a problem. Growth and accomplishments are both stunted when good and capable people are afraid that their ideas will be rejected out-of-hand simply for being new or out of fear of unseen and unknowable consequences—especially when this self-silencing is done from learned experience. What’s even worse is when self-doubt paralyses us, when it is we ourselves who reject our own ideas because we don’t believe ourselves capable. It may not always be clear to us just how we may fare, like the hero of today’s story we may have no hope of success, but that depends on how you measure success. We may not feel ready for every opportunity that comes our way, but to decline one when it comes is a pre-determined failure. So take the mound and make a memory.
Take the mound.
Fr. Allen Travers was the only Catholic priest ever to pitch in a Major League Baseball game. It was May 1912 and the Detroit Tigers were in Philadelphia to play the Athletics. During one of the games, an Athletics fan heckled Detroit’s Ty Cobb (I know it comes as a shock that fans in Philadelphia would do that, but I digress…). The spectator irritated Cobb so badly that the reigning American League MVP got fed up enough to climb into the stands after him, and beat him rather badly. MLB Commissioner Ban Johnson happened to be there to witness the assault and was so horrified that he suspended Cobb on the spot.
The rest of the Tigers saw things differently, however, and felt that Cobb had only given the loudmouth lout a portion of what he had deserved. They threatened that they would not play any more games until their center fielder was reinstated. Commissioner Johnson made a threat, too, and told the Tigers’ owner to field a team or risk being heavily fined or even losing his franchise.
Fearing that neither Johnson nor his players would back down, the beleaguered owner began to hunt for locals who could fill his players’ uniforms, which led him to Allen Travers. The future Jesuit priest was at that time a junior at St. Joseph’s College in Philadelphia. Having lived his whole life in Philly, he was able to track down six sand lot players and two boxers to join him on the field at Shibe Park. They didn’t really expect to play, but were happy to accept the invitation to the team’s clubhouse.
When the Tigers took the field, the home plate umpire enforced Ty Cobb’s suspension, telling the future Hall-of-Famer to leave the field. He did. The rest of the team did too, following Cobb in what amounts to the first ever MLB players’ strike. On their way out, they handed their uniforms to the amateurs in the clubhouse, who put them on and took the field.
To everyone’s surprise, the A’s decided to play the game anyway (a win’s a win, after all). Travers ascended the mound and began to pitch. He fared adequately for a while, keeping his team in the game and trailing the Tigers only 6-2, until Philadelphia erupted in the 5th. Over the last four innings the Athletics scored 18 more runs, beating the pseudo-Tigers 24-2. Travers, who surrendered 26 hits in his only appearance, still holds the MLB record for most hits allowed by a pitcher in a 9-inning game.
Fr. Travers had harbored no aspirations for professional sports—he played violin in the college orchestra—but when presented with an amazing opportunity he leapt at the chance. He had the guts to take the mound against the reigning World Series champs. We may not ever think we’re ready for the opportunities that come our way, but if we allow our perceived inadequacies to deter us we may miss our chance to make history.
LET US PRAY
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the various ways that You provide for our care each and every day. Give us the wisdom to see the opportunities that you provide and the courage to take advantage of them. Let us never allow our fear of undesired results prevent us from encountering an otherwise enriching experience, for You are the giver of all good things, and to You we give glory, honor, and worship always, now and forever, and to the ages of ages.
AMEN
An Orthodox Priest Abroad 