A Lamp Unto My Cleats

It’s been a long time since I’ve written an article for this blog.  Life and ministry have kept me quite busy over the past year! 

An alert which popped up on my phone during a church board meeting last night brought me back.  The alert read: “Hall of Famer, Brooks Robinson died at 86 years old.”

This felt personal.

In fairness, his death likely brought up a feeling of loss in most people who grew up or have lived in Baltimore.  Brooks was certainly a legend on the field, but he was far more than that.  He was a hero in the community.  Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun said it best: “Orioles legend Brooks Robinson was actually a better guy than he was a baseball player, and nobody has to tell you that he was one of the greatest players who ever put on a major league uniform.”

My favorite memory of Brooks Robinson was a moment I’m sure he had long forgotten.  It occurred at a place where Brook had many memorable moments – old Memorial Stadium on 33^rd Street.  This great memory, however, wasn’t forged on the baseball diamond but on the concourse ramps which led to the cheap seats.

In the late 1980s, I was a young boy who loved the Baltimore Orioles.  Though, even then I could have told you that they were a difficult team to love.  Yes, that had Cal Ripken.  Yes, they had Eddie Murray.  Sure, Scott MacGregor, Mike Flanagan, and Fred Lynn were still around – though they were all reaching the end of their careers.  But that team was terrible!  My Uncle Bill and my mother would regularly take my brother and I to games over the summer.  The bleachers were often usually relatively empty and we could spread out and get comfortable.  I have vivid memories of my uncle laying down and taking a nap on the bleacher bench as the Roger Clemens pitched a one-hitter against us.  A Billy Ripken double was the only highlight of the game.

One hot summer day, my family was making our way up the concrete ramp towards the cheap seats.  I had my O’s mesh-back cap on my head and was looking down at my baseball glove as we walked.  A man passed us as he walked the opposite direction, headed down the ramp towards a lower level.  As he passed by, he took two fingers and flipped my cap off my head.  It tumbled to the ground.  I rushed to pick it up, for some reason expecting someone might steal it – as if a cheap baseball hat for a terrible team was a highly coveted item!  I was aghast at the rudeness of this man to put my possession of this prized hat in jeopardy.  While my eyes darted to the ground towards my wayward hat, my uncle looked to see who the culprit of this despicable crime was.  Upon uncovering the truth, his face lit up.  In a cheerful voice he asked me “do you know who that is?”  I wanted to answer; “some rude old man,” but I was raised better than that.  I simply said “no.” He answered:

“That’s’ Brooks Robinson.”

Brooks smiled at us.  He said hello.  He told me he liked my hat.  He then continued on his way with a gentle grin on his face, knowing that he just gave a young O’s fan a memory he would never forget.  I walked up to my seat with an ear-to-ear smile.  I had just met one of my heroes. And he took the time to say hello.

As we mourn his death, many people in Baltimore today are sharing similar stories.  Brooks Robinson was a man who loved his fans and cared about people.  He was a faithful Christian man who lived out a life of love towards others.

Young Brooks Robinson grew up in the church.  His parents faithfully took him to Capital Methodist Church in Little Rock.  He remained Methodist into his adulthood. His wife, Connie, on the other hand, was a Roman Catholic.  After their marriage, Brooks spent his Sunday mornings attending Waverly Methodist Church in Baltimore while Connie and the children attended the Roman Catholic mass.  It was his son, Brooks David Robinson, who changed that.  One Sunday morning he asked his mother “Why doesn’t Daddy go to church with us?  Why does he always go to his own church?”  That led the elder Brooks to reconsider his church life.  In time, he joined the Roman Catholic Church.  In his book, “Third Base Is My Home,” he provides his reasoning: “For, while my Christian faith is very important to me, I don’t’ consider myself a student of theology.  Actually, my faith far overshadows my intellectual understanding of Christianity.  I believe in Jesus Christ, and Christianity, thanks to my parents, has been a part of my life as long as I can remember…  For me there is one absolute – Jesus Christ.  The rest of us are still trying to reach His spiritual perfection, and that’s the significant goal, no matter what form our worship takes.”

The Roman Catholic Church provided two great blessings for Brooks Robinson.  First, it allowed him to attend the Mass with his family.  Second, by attending the early morning masses, he could attend service in the morning and still make it to the ballpark by 11 am on game days.  He rarely missed a Sunday – even while on road trips!

Brooks was not shy about sharing his faith.  He wrote that “anyone who knows me more than casually is aware that I consider religion and political matters for individual discretion.  I never try to force my views onto someone else, but I’m always glad to respond to questions about my personal beliefs.  There is one place, however, where I’m always more than willing to speak – for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.”  Those speeches became a regular occurrence in his life, usually happening four or fives times a year.  His message was an important one.  I’ll let the legend describe in it his own words:

If there is any advice that I would give here to young ball players – whether they have pro ambitions or whether they just play the game for pure pleasure – I think I would emphasize two words: time and believe.  Take time to search within yourself, to know yourself more fully so that you may relate to those around you in a better way.  Take the time to listen and understand the problems we all have.  Take the time to thank everyone who has helped you in any way down the avenue of success in your particular endeavor.  The word believe means many things.  Try to understand how much ability you really have. Learn to appreciate what God has given you.  Develop the ability to believe in yourself.  Associate with those who help you believe and who provide you with the confidence you need to achieve your goals.  To believe also means to understand other people’s problems.  Remember, your problems aren’t the only ones.  Be an optimist; in fact, make optimism a way of life for you.

Trial and tribulation will be with us along much of the way we must walk through life, and it would be impossible to take a simple step forward without a strong, deep-seated faith.  My commitment to Jesus Christ who tells me that I can withstand all things through Him who gives me the courage I need to face whatever life may bring.  And if I fail to meet its challenges in the way He wants me to, I know His ready with forgiveness and the promise that I may still become a new person through Him.”

These weren’t empty words.

Brooks Robinson lived the words that he spoke.  He was a man who took the time to bring a smile to the face of a young fan in the concourse of Memorial Stadium who never would have noticed him he hadn’t flicked the cap off his head. 

Thank you Brooks Robinson!  Rest now in the Arms of the One who gave you the strength to succeed, who forgave you for all of your failures, and now has given you new life in heaven!