A funny thing happened at the ball park this week.
The scene was tense and the players supremely focused and competitive. The crowd was on the edge of their seats, expectant, and waiting to roar. It was the ninth inning. Two outs. So far, a perfect game had been pitched. No walks. No hits. One batter to go. Only one more out needed to make history.
The pitcher pitches, the batter bats, the ball is fielded and thrown to first. The batter appears to be out and for a split second there is celebration. The joy quickly turns to disbelief, however, as the umpire calls the runner safe. The pitcher's teammates protest loudly, some very loudly, on his behalf. But the call stands.
No perfect game.
Were the story to stop there, it would be newsworthy enough. However, the most remarkable parts had yet to occur.
The umpire publicly admitted that he made a mistake
The umpire apologized to the pitcher.
The pitcher's teammate who protested too loudly apologized to the umpire.
The umpire had the courage to work the game the very next night.
The crowd treated the umpire with a reasonable amount of respect.
The pitcher accepted the umpire's apology.
The pitcher shook the umpire's hand.
The umpire cried.
Such public humility is remarkably refreshing. For a change, the news contained a story that displayed positive human qualities. The only part of the story that is somewhat sad is the fact that the story of people acting so maturely strikes us all as remarkable.
Thankfully, the everyday interactions of most of us are not reported on the evening news or written about in opinion columns and blogs around the world. But what if they were? Would we show up as the self-focused, over-paid athlete with an entitlement mentality that we are so used to hearing about? Or would we be the apologetic umpire with tears in his eyes who is hurting over the costs of his error?
May we seek to live a life of humility not because someone might be watching, but because it was the model employed by Jesus Christ.
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