May 15, 2013 (Wednesday)
On this day, May 15, in 1973, Nolan Ryan pitched his first major league no hitter against the Kansas City Royals. He did it again that same year in July in Tiger Stadium. In fact, he did this seven times in his career, the last time when he was 44 years old.
Nolan Ryan was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999. He’s a good old Texas boy, born in Refugio and raised in Alvin. When he was a sophomore in high school, he was scouted by the New York Mets and the scout reported that Ryan had the “best arm I’ve ever seen in my life.”
His record is amazing. He pitched for 27 years in the big leagues, striking out 5,714 batters.
The incident I want to bring into focus for this blog is the fact that the Mets traded him away after the 1971 season for a third baseman whose performance turned out to be disappointing. By any standard, it was a bad trade.
Devotional Thought:
Can you think of a worse trade than the one the Mets made? I can. It’s a trade that Jesus talked about. He asked, “What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” (Mark 8:36 NLT). That’s about as bad a trade as you can ever make in your entire life. Yet it happens. Every day. If a person turns down Jesus and accepts anything or anyone in His place, he/she is making a bad trade. Moreover, the consequences are undeniably the worst possible: the loss of one’s own soul. Be wise. Make the smart trade. “What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you?” (Mark 8:36 MSG). Turn your back on the “world” and receive Jesus instead. You will never regret your choice.