Integrity on Strike!

As I watched game two of the 2005 World Series Sunday night, I was impressed with the skills exhibited by the players: their pinpoint pitches, their ability to control nerves in pressure packed at-bats, their ability to field sharply hit balls, and their desire to win baseball’s most coveted award. These are the best of the best, the men that our kids emulate, the players that they idolize.

Baseball is a game of inches. Often times the balance of a game is determined by an umpire’s subjective call. SUBJECTIVE … when a judgement call is made from an imperfect point of view (without slow-motion) that a player has no control over. Sunday night I watched as a batter bailed out on a high, inside pitch and proceeded to take first base at the direction of the umpire, without a flinch. At first glance, it looked like a good call – the ball was inside, the batter headed to first without hesitation, the umpire immediately called a hit batsman. On closer inspection, the ball unmistakably deflected off the bat … never touching the batter. Subjective? Yes, but here is a case where the player could have exercised some control over the call.

I played a lot of baseball in my formative years. A batter knows without a doubt when he has been hit, and he knows without a doubt when he has NOT been hit. While I may be impressed with the talent of the player, I have no RESPECT for him. Integrity is on strike … not just in sports, but in America. Our society has come to view it as the proper response to take advantage when a bad call goes our way, when we receive too much change, or when a bill has an error in our favor. It hasn’t always been that way in this country. There was a time when a REAL man would quietly say “it didn’t hit me”. No theatrics, no pat on the back, just the simple, honest truth to preserve the integrity – not the integrity of the game, but the integrity of the man.

I don’t know whether to be more disappointed in the player or in the public. In the 48 hours following the incident, I have heard endless banter on radio and television regarding the impact of the bad call, but not a word about the lack of moral character. In the end, I believe the example that was set by a lack of integrity will have a much bigger impact on our society than the errant call. I pray that my children will choose role models with the strength of moral character to tell the truth even when the result may be unfavorable.

I’m looking for someone to respect … will anyone step up to the plate?