The shame heard round the world

When baseball fans talk about the shot heard round the world, they are not referring to the start of the American Revolution, but to the 1951 homerun that won the National League championship. The New York Giants were playing on their home field against their cross town rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers. They had split the first two games of the three game playoff. In the bottom of the ninth, Brooklyn held a demanding 4-1 lead and seemed to have clinched the pennant.

The Giants scored one run and placed two men on base while only using one out. Then, Bobby Thomson stepped to the plate against Ralph Branca, who had been brought in to replace a tiring Don Newcombe. Thomson hit the 0-1 pitch deep into the left field stands and the crowd erupted. Giants' fans swarmed the field to share in the victory and carried Thomson on their shoulders, while Branca slowly walked off the field in stunned silence.

In his new book, The Echoing Green, Joshua Prager reveals a secret that possibly gave Bobby Thompson an edge. The Giants had been stealing signs. A Giant coach, stationed behind the center field fence, was clandestinely observing the opposing catcher’s signals through a telescope and relaying the signals to the Giant batters. Knowing which pitch was coming obviously gave Thompson an edge. Though Thompson and the Giants won the game, the revelation that they did so by cheating tarnishes the victory.

You and I live in a world where we are constantly tempted to compromise our convictions and standards in order to get an edge on our competitors. The allure of success, whether in business of other arenas, often overpowers the small voice of conscience. In Luke 12:2-3 Christ proclaimed, “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.” I remind you that God sees and hears all we do and say, and will make it public on the day of Christ’s return. We need to live our lives in such a way that we will not be ashamed when we stand before our Lord.

Shoulder to shoulder,

Gregg