I just came back from a few days of vacationing in St. Louis, Missouri. Not only was it nice to visit my old stomping grounds with my two sons, but it ‘s always nice to wear my St. Louis Cardinals cap and not be the only one.

Here in New York City, I’ll frequently get a smirk from Mets fans, but in St. Louis, one acknowledging nod can lead to a 10-minute conversation about pitching assignments, Tony Larussa’s ability to manage a lineup and, of course, the amazing prowess of Albert Pujols. 

Baseball fever is at an all-time high in St. Louis. As of this posting, the Cardinals are sitting atop the number one spot in the National League Central Division and we have two premier pitchers (Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright) and arguably the best hitter in the last decade (the aforementioned Pujols).

 Just last week, a couple of my good friends had a serendipitous meeting with Albert Pujols at the Toys “R” Us in Times Square(the Cards were playing the Mets later that evening). Not only were they able to take a couple photos with Pujols, but he was all smiles and handshakes as my friends told him how inspiring his testimony was. To those who don’t know, Pujols is a strong man of faith who is quite open about it as well. This Sports Illustrated article is well-worth the read. 

As if on queue, that very night after meeting my friends, Pujols hit a grand slam to finish a great night for the Cards (sorry Mets fans). Baseball fever, especially involving players of Christian faith (I know,it’s a fever of the niche kind), was at an all-time high. That fever took a gut punch a couple days later when a blog site known for posting incriminating details of sports stars took a shot at Josh Hamilton, one of the brightest stars in the past year. If you don’t know Hamilton, he’s the starting centerfielder for the Texas Rangers that had a miraculous return to baseball after years of cocaine and alcohol addiction. His crowning moment was last year’s All-Star game when during the Homerun derby segment, he blasted a record 28 homeruns in the first round drawing ecstatic ovations from the New York crowd, which is an achievement unto itself. In any case, images of Hamilton drunk and cavorting with a few ladies at a bar were recently leaked. Although the incident occurred in January and Hamilton had already confessed his relapse to his wife and the Rangers organization, it doesn’t hide the fact that there will be a lot of disappointed, young fans. Personally, I think Hamilton is a genuine person of faith that is continually battling temptations in his life. If we view his struggle in context of 365 days a year, I’m believing he’ll come out a winner.

A person who knows a lot about unlimited baseball potential colliding with addiction is Darryl Strawberry. This young phenom debuted for the Mets in 1983 and was believed to be a player destined for greatness. With a sweet left swing, and the ability to hit towering homeruns, this young slugger was a can’t-miss. Yet, his career never lived up to its potential as substance abuse and addiction gripped his life, leading Strawberry to a career that most baseball fans will begin describing with these three words, “Could have been …” 

In an odd turn of chance, Strawberry was on my flight back from St. Louis to New York. There he was, all 6’6” of him checking in two bags, paying $15 a luggage like everyone else. He was grateful enough to give me this photo op, but there was a strong sense that he had a busy weekend and wasn’t necessarily inviting too much attention. But it’s hard to miss Mr. Strawberryas his athletic, lean body walked through the terminal.

As Mr. Strawberry sat himself in the waiting area he passed the time (our flight was delayed two hours) with a few phone calls, organizing his wallet full of business cards and reading a book. I had a vested interest to see what book he was reading, so being the qausi-stalker that I am, I had my one-year-old son stumble his way toward the windows that gave you the best view of the landing planes. It just happened to be, that was also the area closest to Mr. Strawberry. Smooth, I know.

I know from articles that Strawberry found God, and that he is a frequent speaker at churches and faith-related conferences, and that he also started his own foundation. I also have heard from those who have met or heard Strawberry speak, that he has indeed turned his life around and now lives with a grander purpose in mind. I guess that’s why I wasn’t surprised to see Strawberry reading a book entitled, “Spiritual Warfare,” which in a nutshell, sums up his life. On the flight, he sat a few rows in front of us, and directly in front of him was a giddy toddler who kept looking over the ledge of the seat right at Strawberry. Throughout the more than two-hour flight, Strawberry kept on playing peek-a-boo with the little tyke, causing the toddler to scream with glee. It was amusing and kind of jaunting to see a man who at one point in his life owned New York headlines play a game with a cute little boy. Once the flight landed and people were getting out of their seats, the dad of the toddler turned back to Strawberry and said casually, “Thanks for your eyes … and thanks for the long ball.”

At the baggage claim, that dad and I had a few minutes talking about our kids and of course Strawberry. It was nice to have him start his sentence of describing Strawberry as, “He is …”