Garrett Buechele: Baseball at Work

December 14, 2011 by Douglas Baker

Continued from Page 1

Since being drafted by the San Francisco Giants, he has found himself in a new world of challenges. On the Oklahoma campus in Norman, he was regarded as a celebrity. As a rookie in the Major League Baseball system, he often stands alone as he plays amidst cutthroat competition where one too many mistakes might find him cut from the team. No matter. His drive remains undaunted, as evidenced by his regimen of conditioning that he maintains with a discipline that is masked by his approachable demeanor and bearing.

In his book, The Numbers Game, Alan Schwarz states that baseball "is the most individual of team sports: in perfectly discernible packets the game reduces to one batter versus one pitcher." This is the reality that Buechele loves the most about baseball. It drives him to succeed where others have failed, and this remains his constant pursuit: to one day stand in the batter's box before a pitcher in the World Series.

In an era when money and contracts seemingly erode the bond of loyalty between athletes and their admirers, there is still a closeness that baseball fans maintain with their favorite players. With Buechele this is obvious. He can always be found—even after a particularly disappointing game—lingering on the field signing autographs for young fans long after his teammates have gone to the clubhouse. There is a sense that he carries a mantle of service that transcends his performance between the lines. His faith, courage, perseverance, and leadership have marked him as one of the best examples of what the uniquely American game of baseball provides for the nation: a dogged determination that, whatever setbacks it may face, simply refuses to quit.

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About Douglas Baker

Douglas E. Baker is the former Executive Editor of The Baptist Messenger, and serves now as Assistant to the Provost of Union University. Follow him via Twitter or Facebook.

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