Ultimate Grand Slam

An analogy between Baseball and Entering Heaven

BASEBALL DEVOTIONAL

BOTE ULTIMATE GRAND SLAM

Baseball imagery can be prevalent in this country. For 150 years, Major League Baseball has been a leader in the American sports scene.

Growing up in Northern Indiana, I became an avid, lifelong Chicago Cubs fan. Throughout the 1970s, it was a summer ritual to turn on Channel 9, WGN, and watch Ernie, Billy, Ronnie and Fergie play while Jack Brickhouse joyously described the action.

All these years later, I’m still a Cubs fan. My mood soars with each win, and a little piece of me dies with each loss.

I remember one more recent game in particular. It was Sunday night, August 12, 2018. The game hadn’t gone well for the Cubs. Going into the bottom of the ninth at Wrigley Field, the Washington Nationals had held the Cubs scoreless. With the score 3-0, the game looked bleak.

But the Cubs staged a rally. Ben Zobrist grounded out to open the inning. After Jason Heyward singled, Albert Almora, Jr., was hit by a pitch. Kyle Schwarber popped out. Then, pitcher Ryan Madson hit Wilson Contreras with a pitch. David Bote, pinch hitting for Cubs pitcher Justin Wilson, stepped to the plate. The score was still 3-0.

The count was 2 balls, 2 strikes. Ryan Madson threw the pitch. Fast ball. Bote swung. He connected solidly. The ball arced into the night, sailing toward center field. The packed crowd at Wrigley Field stood and screamed as centerfielder Michael Taylor helplessly watched the ball sail over the center field wall. Ultimate Grand Slam. A walk-off grand slam home run with two outs and the winning team down by three, one of the rarest plays in Major League Baseball.

Arms spread wide, screaming at the top of his lungs, David Bote sprinted around the bases. The entire team, screaming with joy, gathered around home. A path opened along the third base line as Bote skipped, screaming to the plate.

This is how I imagine it is when we get to heaven. All our loved ones who have gone before us gathered at the Pearly Gates, screaming their joyous welcome as we sprint home. Among them, the first to greet us, is Jesus Himself.

Standing over to the side is a little brown and white dog. Her tail is wagging furiously as she patiently waits for her Little Boy to get Home. So he can sit on the bottom step of the stairs. She'll put her jaw on his knee, and he will pet her.