When I was a teenager a popular hang out in my hometown of Anaheim was Lampost Pizza. It was a popular spot for kids to gather after football or basketball games. I have many fond memories at Lampost. Several years after graduation I moved away from Anaheim, but I would return to visit old friends and oftentimes we would meet at Lampost. Although it didn’t happen all the time there were several times, I would be enjoying a slice of pizza, and I would hear someone yelling from across the restaurant, “Hey Abbott, where’s third base?” This question would always take me back to a painful memory that even today, 35 years later, is still difficult to recall.
My senior year of high school we had a great baseball team. I was the catcher and captain, and our team’s winning record allowed us to make the playoffs. Unfortunately, our first game was against Edgewood High School who at the time were a nationally ranked team. Nobody gave us much of a chance to win as we travelled to their field to play.
Although they were pitching their ace right hander, we were hitting him pretty good, and were giving them quite the game. By the fifth inning we were behind 3 – 2 and it was our turn to bat. That inning we put two runners on base: one on third, and me standing on second. Our player up to bat hit a ball into left field, which allowed for the runner on third to score and tie the game. I could see that I had a good chance of scoring as well, so I tagged third and headed home with the go-ahead run. Our team was ecstatic. As I made my way to the dugout, I received high fives and pats on the back. But as I sat down on the bench, I noticed the umpire crew talking amongst themselves. Its never a good sign when umpires start talking amongst themselves. And sure enough it wasn’t good, as the home plate umpire raised his fist and called me out. We were dismayed as how I could have been out. The umpire went on to inform our head coach that on my way to home plate I had missed third base.
Can you feel my pain? Running the bases is the most fundamental of baseball skills. And somehow, according to the umpire, I had missed the bag and my run wasn’t counted. We ended up going into extra innings with this team only to lose by one run as the sun was going down. Little did I know at the time but that was the last baseball game I would ever play in.
That Lampost Pizza I frequented as a teenager has long since closed down. And the taunting question, “Hey Abbott, where’s third base” has thankfully faded to a memory also. I am grateful that as a Christ-follower God doesn’t bring to mind painful mistakes and sins from our past. But instead he reminds us that:
“As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12
Missing bases or not our sins are forgiven! And that’s the good news of following Jesus!