When Two Top Pitchers

WHEN TWO TOP PITCHERS are up against each other, the face-off can make for a fast and lively game. And if both players are performing at their peak, winning or losing often comes down to the slightest mistake.

In April 2001, the Arizona Diamondbacks hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers with Curt Schilling squaring off against Kevin Brown. From the outset, both hurled with deadly accuracy. Neither walked a batter, and Brown allowed only three hits. Schilling fared even better, giving up just two singles after retiring the first 15 men he faced.

But in the fourth inning, Los Angeles first baseman Eric Karros dropped Tony Womack’s bunt attempt. After reaching first base, Womack raced to third on Jay Bell’s single and scored when Luis Gonzalez hit into a double play for the Diamondbacks’ first run. Later, Gonzalez crushed a solo home run 428 feet to center field.

Despite the lapses, Brown threw only 88 pitches in the contest, 65 of them strikes. His counterpart and the winning pitcher, Schilling, delivered 93 pitches, 73 going for strikes. The game itself lasted only one hour and 55 minutes as the Diamondbacks won 2–0.

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POINT Both Curt Schilling and Kevin Brown tried hard. Both pitchers did well. Both succeeded in throwing strikes. Both deserved to win. But only one could add the victory to his season’s stats. Only one could succeed.

The writer of Ecclesiastes knew that many things in our life have an equal chance of succeeding or failing, and we cannot know which is which. He used the example of planting seeds in the morning and then working at other tasks in the evening. The farmer could not be certain whether the seeds would grow or if his other work would succeed. Therefore, to be sure of success, he had to work hard at all he did all day long. And so should we. Because we never know, maybe God will bless all our efforts and we’ll be doubly successful.

GOAL! Interview people you would consider successful. Ask if they’ve always succeeded at everything they’ve done. Praise God for the ability to work hard and succeed.