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Category Archives: Baseball

Team Colors

02 Tuesday Feb 2021

Posted by Jeremy McGarity in Baseball, Church, God., purpose driven

≈ 3 Comments

God’s game is back! Did you know baseball is God’s game? The Bible DOES start in Genesis by saying, “In the BIG-INNING!”
Get it?
Beginning… Big-INNING.
In the … you get it.

Anyway, I’m so excited to kick off another amazing season of baseball! We’re a just a couple weeks away from Spring Training, if they don’t push it back a month like they are talking about doing. And I want to know … what team colors are you wearing this year?

Whenever we join a team or become a fan, we put on their team uniform and colors. 
The same goes for when we decide to follow Christ! When we’ve made a decision to follow Jesus, we put on a NEW uniform. If we join the Padres, we wear brown and gold (The best uniforms in the league if you ask me). We don’t join the Padres and say “I want to wear Dodger blue.” No, we wear the team colors. It is our public profession that signifies that we believe in this team.

When we make a big decision like following Jesus Christ, we do something similar in putting on the team colors, the Bible calls it baptism. Christians confirm they are on “Team Jesus” by participating in baptism. It is the Christian’s public profession that they are on Team Jesus.

It’s important to note that you don’t have to be baptized in order to attend a church service, read the Bible, or learn about Christianity. But … if you come to a point where you’re ready to admit that you’re a sinner and need the Savior … you may be ready to take a step of faith and follow Jesus. 

If you’re new to Christianity, you may be wondering what baptism looks like. As Jesus demonstrated in the New Testament, we too are fully immersed in a body of water. By completely submerging your body in water, you’re symbolizing a burial to your old way of life. When you come out of the water, this symbolizes new or like Jesus, resurrected life.

There isn’t anything magical about the water. Many people ask if they have to be baptized in a church. The answer is no. In fact, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River! You can be baptized in a lake, the ocean, a friend’s pool … any body of water. We do this as an outward display of an inward decision to follow Christ.

Following Jesus isn’t always easy, but it’s always worth it. Many of you know exactly what I’m talking about. You won’t magically and instantly have it all together. Every day is a willful and conscious decision to become more and more like him. We say it all the time at Skyline Church, God does not require perfection out of your spiritual walk, but he does require progress. And sometimes that’s two steps forward and one step back. When you’re ready to make a decision to follow in HIS footsteps, we’d like to invite you to celebrate that choice through baptism.

So let me ask you again … what team colors are you wearing? All season long I’ll be wearing my Padre gear. When I wear Padre gear, I’m saying I have faith that I’m on the winning team. I’m wearing the brown and gold jersey rain or shine. Are you ready to put on a winning team jersey? I can promise you, that Jesus IS the winning team.

Jesus will beat anxiety every time.
Jesus will beat stress every time.
Jesus will beat depression every time.
Jesus will beat financial struggles every time.
Jesus will beat temptation every time.
Jesus will beat pride every time.
Jesus will beat deception every time.
Jesus will beat religion every time.
Jesus will beat diseases every time.
Jesus will beat _____fill in the blank with your specific circumstance___ EVERY TIME!

Soon, we’re going to see our Padres take the field (and for our Kansas Church baseball fans, the Kansas City Royals will be playing too!) And maybe, we’ll see you take the field for Jesus THIS weekend, February 7 at our Baptisms. Come join the over 50 people who have already signed up to be baptized on Super Bowl weekend! 

Maybe you’re on the fence and want to know what it really means to be on this team. We want to help you navigate those questions. Let us know if you have any questions about baptism!

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Adam LaRoche Quit Baseball To Follow His Faith, But What He Won’t Say Is Heartbreaking

21 Thursday Apr 2016

Posted by Jeremy McGarity in Baseball, Uncategorized

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Great article from qpolitical.com

Hollywood could not write a more compelling story than that of a Major League ballplayer becoming an undercover agent. Heck, with all the sequels, and reboots being made today it’s safe to say movie-makers lack the creativity to come up with a story like this.

For those of you who don’t follow baseball, allow me to fill you in on the excellent career of southeast Kansas’ own Adam LaRoche.

Born to former big-leaguer Dave LaRoche, Adam (along with his brother, Andy) was destined to play in ‘The Show.’ After being an All-American in high school, the Fort Scott native was drafted in 1998 (and again in 1999) by the Florida Marlins, but refused to sign. Adam decided to go to college, and went on to win MVP of the Junior College World Series in 2000.

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Adam was drafted in 2000 by the Atlanta Braves, where he would spend the next six years playing. After a few years in the minors, Adam was called up by the Braves in 2004. Over the course of the next 12 years Adam would go on to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves (again), Arizona Diamondbacks, Washington Nationals, and Chicago White Sox.

Over the course of his career the first-baseman hit 255 home runs, won a gold glove, a Silver Slugger Award, and a National League Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award.

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Aside from being a great ballplayer, LaRoche is also a devout Christian. While playing for the Washington Nationals, Adam helped to promote “Faith Day” at Nationals Park along with several of his teammates. He would continue to promote “Faith Day” on other teams later in his career, as well. In fact, his faith may have played a huge part as to why he walked away from the game he loves.

Before the White Sox 2015 “Faith Day” game, LaRoche spoke briefly on the day’s importance:

“As a believer, it is and should be the most important thing in our lives, so to be able to get up briefly and share that is an honor. And the fact that the White Sox allow it is great because some teams try to shy away from things like that and any type of (potential) controversy.

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Before the 2016 season started, Laroche was making headlines for causing some controversy that would lead to his departure from the White Sox organization, and Major League Baseball itself. For years Laroche had brought his son into the clubhouse every day, and had never had any problems.

“I never took it for granted. You could have a manager who just flat doesn’t like it. You can have players complain — ‘Hey, we’re tired of having a kid around.’ There’s a chance we could have other guys see Drake and think, ‘I’ll bring my kid too.’ Obviously we can’t turn this into a day care. I get it.”

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After 12 years, someone on LaRoche’s team told management they no longer wanted the slugger to bring his son to work. Prior to the 2016 season, the White Sox informed Adam that his son would no longer be welcome in the clubhouse on a day-to-day basis.

Here is what White Sox president Ken Williams told baseball expert Ken Rosenthal:

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The argument could be made (for good reason) that a locker room is no place to bring a child. Adam even says as much, but explains why he wants his son around:

“There’s no other workplace where you walk in and guys are slapping each other in the nuts and saying the stuff they do. You can say, ‘That’s no place for a kid to be. The way I see it, he’s going to be around that regardless, unless you homeschool and raise them in a bubble. I can’t think of a better place for him to be when he gets a taste of that than with me.”

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Adam, who has a very close relationship with his 14-year-old son, Drake, saw only one option: walk away from his $13 million deal with the White Sox, and retire from Major League Baseball. That was the story the White Sox were told, and for the most part, everyone believed it.

LaRoche made the following announcement to his team after being informed of the club’s new policy in regards to children being around the locker room:

“I am choosing my son over you guys. I cannot tell you how much I hate that I’m even having to make this decision, and how much it crushes me to feel like I could be leaving you guys hanging.”

Screen Shot 2016-04-18 at 2.35.08 PM

That seems pretty straightforward, until you take a deeper look at Adam LaRoche’s life. He has never been one to conform to societal norms. For better, or worse (probably worse) Adam says he isn’t as concerned with his kids’ grades, choosing to focus on “How are they treating their classmates, and how are they treating [the teacher]?” That’s just a glimpse into what Adam values as important. Over the years, many things have come in and taken priority over baseball, including family, and faith.

Many aren’t aware, but Laroche has a lot going on outside of baseball. He’s one of the co-owners of Outdoor Network’s Buck Commander, along with former teammate Chipper Jones (and Willie Robertson of Duck Dynasty), and a host of other ballplayers/celebrities, but that’s not even close to the most interesting thing Laroche does in his free time (he also runs a cattle ranch).

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This was recently reported by ESPN’s Tim Keown, and it might give some insight into the real reason for Laroche’s retirement:

LaRoche, along with Brewers pitcher Blaine Boyer, spent 10 days in November in Southeast Asian brothels, wearing a hidden camera and doing undercover work to help rescue underage sex slaves. All of which raises a question: After 12 years in the big leagues, the endless days and nights in dugouts and clubhouses, how did LaRoche’s nearly cinematic level of nonconformity escape detection?

… Working through a nonprofit called the Exodus Road, LaRoche and Boyer conducted surveillance in brothels and tried to determine the age of the girls — known only by numbers pinned to bikinis — and identify their bosses.

“Something huge happened there for us,” Boyer says. “You can’t explain it. Can’t put your finger on it. If you make a wrong move, you’re getting tossed off a building. We were in deep, man, but that’s the way it needed to be done. Adam and I truly believe God brought us there and said, ‘This is what I have for you boys.’”

That’s right, last fall LaRoche, along with fellow big-leaguer Blaine Boyer, went undercover in Southeast Asia to rescue underage sex slaves from local brothels. Let that sink in for a minute. A pair of white professional athletes went undercover in an effort to rescue children from sex slavery.

Screen Shot 2016-04-18 at 2.44.54 PM

How many of you would step away from $13 million dollars? Most people would have a difficult time doing that, but Adam Laroche isn’t like most people. While it was assumed that he retired because of reasons stemming from his son not being allowed in the clubhouse, this new information throws a wrinkle into that theory.

When asked if he would attempt to recoup the $13 million he was set to make in 2016, Adam stated plainly, “No. I did it. I made the final decision.” Clearly, money isn’t the motivating factor for LaRoche.

Screen Shot 2016-04-18 at 2.46.04 PM

“I can understand how people look at the $13 million. One, how stupid does somebody have to be? Or, how selfish? Suck it up for six months, right?”

Stupid might not be the right word, but that is an awful lot of money to walk away from, over something as small as not being able to bring your kid to work.

Did the trip to the brothels have that much of an impact on LaRoche? Perhaps the former big-leaguer has his sights set on new horizons. Maybe he feels as though God is calling him to something different. Maybe we are overanalyzing, and he simply wants to hang out with his kid more, and spend his free time hunting, and fishing with his buddies.

Screen Shot 2016-04-18 at 2.46.42 PM

Maybe all of those factors played a part in LaRoche’s decision to hang it up. I simply refuse to believe the “Rich Man Quits Over Son” narrative because that’s not the type of guy LaRoche seems to be.

In regards to bringing his kid to work, Adam says he was always upfront with his employers:

“I would go to those managers every year. I would tell them, ‘Listen, if there’s ever an issue, specifically if a player comes up to you, you’ve got to let me know.’”

LaRoche isn’t an unreasonable man. Perhaps, for the first time, he saw the difference he could make in the world WITHOUT having to hit a ball. Maybe God has enormous plans for this small-town slugger, turned sex-slave recovery operative.

Whatever his plans for the future, we wish Adam LaRoche good luck! With all the athletes that attract negative headlines, it’s refreshing to be reminded that excellent role-models still exist in American sports. God bless you, Adam LaRoche!

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Talkin’ Baseball and Baseball Cards.

28 Thursday Jun 2012

Posted by Jeremy McGarity in Baseball

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Don’t get me started talkin’ baseball! I love it.

This comes from Bo Rosny http://borosny.blogspot.com/  He asked me some questions regarding my baseball card experience and posted it on his blog about baseball and baseball cards.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Jeremy McGarity on baseball cards

Jeremy McGarity pitched in the Cardinals organization from 1989 to 1994. His best season was 1993, when he went 9-7 with a 3.89 ERA. Now pastor at Seven San Diego Church, he kindly answered my questions about baseball cards.

“I love baseball cards! I grew up collecting them and hoping one day I could have my own baseball card.I was disappointed when I signed with St. Louis and was sent to Peoria, AZ for rookie league and learned that we would NOT be getting a baseball card that year. I don’t know why but we didn’t get one done that year. Maybe they viewed that league as Pre-Rookie or something 🙂

Anyway, the next year in Johnson City I heard we would be getting baseball cards. After the season I received a package and opened it up an saw the one of me pitching in Johnson City. I was ecstatic! So thankful. And, It has remained my favorite card of all of them. A close second is a baseball card we did in Duluth, Mn. for the Dukes in the independent Northern League, 1996 or 1997 I think.

The other card I like is the Bowman 1992 card. It’s unique in that I was in street clothes and I was named a top ten prospect during the off-season so it has some special meaning.

I rarely collect cards today but I still have a lot of cards from the 70’s and 80’s and I have some I got my kids going collecting from 2000’s. Whenever there are card shows or a card shop (rare these days in San Diego) I look through the cards looking for my favorite players.

My favorite player of all time is Nolan Ryan. I have some of his cards and just really appreciate the way he went about the game. I am also a Babe Ruth fan. So, I’ve got some prints of him etc… ”

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