Bottom of the Ninth #6 - A Blessing in Disguise
by Daniel Butler Valor Senior, Pitcher, Short Stop
On April 28, 2012 my baseball season came to a halt.
We were having an amazing season and we were really starting to play together as a team. We were on a 5 game winning streak and were making a strong push for playoffs to be in a position to host districts. We were away at Elizabeth High School in the top of the 6th, up by a 10-2 margin. I was at the plate for my fourth at bat of the game. The count was 1-2 and the pitcher threw me a fastball in. I swung on his offering but as I finished my swing my whole left shoulder gave and I heard a bunch of pops and cracks. I could not move my arm! I had just hit a single up the middle so I hobbled for first. After I got to first base, I could feel a shooting pain up and down my arm. I knew something was wrong, something was really, really wrong. I don't even remember who came in to pinch run for me, but the second I got back to the dugout I burst into tears as their trainer looked at me. The trainer sent me to the emergency room to get checked out where the ER doc ordered x-rays and did a few tests. He knew something was wrong, but didn't have a diagnosis for me. He put me in a sling and I scheduled an MRI. A few days later, I went for my MRI. The results showed I had a complete posterior labrum tear, my junior season was gone in an instant.
I was confused, sad, angry, and full of questions.
I was very upset. I didn't know why God was doing this. Without surgery, I ended up healing enough to be able to pitch 2 2/3 innings of relief in the last game of the season (keep in mind that I'm a RHP with an injured left shoulder). I was able to pitch last summer, but still couldn't swing the bat. I had surgery July 31, 2012, and couldn't throw for 10 weeks. I wondered why God had taken my favorite thing away. It was so hard to stay strong, but with God, I did. I relied on Him more than ever and my faith in Him grew and grew. He taught me perseverence and toughness in a way I had never experienced before. I learned so much about baseball just being able to step back and watch the game from the dugout. Unable to play, I watched from a perspective I'd not ever seen before. I'll never look at the game the same way or take being healthy and able to play for granted. It was totally a blessing in disguise.
God taught me so much about myself that will help me in life. Even though I was injured, I was still able to fulfill part of my life's dream in this great game and was able to commit to the University of San Francisco.
Go Dons!
For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
We're all encouraged by a leader who motivates us, someone who believes we can do the job and who'll be with us all the way. God is that kind of leader. He knows the future, and His plans for us are good and full of hope. As long as God, who knows the future, provides our agenda and goes with us as we fulfill His mission, we can have boundless hope. This doesn't mean that we will be spared pain, suffering or hardship, but that God will see us through to a glorious conclusion.
Valor gives us the opportunity to be great, on and off the field, so take every opportunity and use it to your full advantage. God gave me the opportunity to see baseball from an outside perspective and that will help me more than I will ever know. Valor baseball has a saying, "Play Humbly", that is so important. In everything we do, we need to be humble and give God all praise. Great leaders are humble and show off their team, not themselves. Let's have a great season and play humbly. Go Eagles!