I have often noticed in my generation we have our heroes...or idols...people we admire. We embrace some of their traits...incorporate what we can into our own lives, and at times do what we can can to impress...or even please others by acting like a person we admire.
Even in Christianity I have noticed that...once you meet Him and establish Him as an integral part of your life...you are sometimes swayed to be like that Christian guy or act like some other Christian person...particularly if they have found popularity among the masses.
As I grow more fond of Him, and begin to enjoy His Presence in my own life more....it seems He is not asking me to be like someone else. That doesn't mean I don't follow the advice or even more the actions of good leaders....but our identity....it is unique...He wants us to simply be...yourself!
C.S. Lewis once wrote: " I didn't really know myself...until I met Him....then I discovered my personality." Being ourselves...it is one of God's greatest gifts we could ever receive...for it is within our own unique personalities that we are able to offer others the True Gift of Life...meeting and knowing...Him.
When I am on this train of thought, I often remember Roger Maris, the New York Yankee baseball player who in 1961 broke Babe Ruth's homerun record...hitting 61 homeruns in one season...one more than Ruth.
The ordeal he went through was tough...he was highly criticized by the media throughout the season, and he was a quiet and reserved type person...which didn't go well with the public persona. After all, they were used to the more flamboyant verbiage of the great Yankee players like Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle...who gave the public an excitement each time they were interviewed.
Roger Maris, born on September 10th, 1934 in Hibbing, Minnesota. He was a Midwesterner who looked at life as a "matter of fact", not a great deal of emotion displayed when he spoke, but pretty straightforward when he did speak.
The year...1961...everyone who loved baseball pretty much accepted the fact: Babe Ruth's feat of 60 homeruns in one season...was one that would never be broken. Roger Maris himself was recorded to have said: " No, no one will break the Babe's record...guys now will be lucky if they can hit 50 homeruns in one season." If Roger only knew....what was about to happen!
The '61 season was an interesting one. They added 2 teams to the league, and the season had been expanded...from 154 games to 162 games. Ford Frick, the commissioner of major league baseball, a deep admirer of "The Babe" and a close personal friend of Mrs. Ruth, made it abundantly clear as the season wore on that anyone hitting more than 60 homeruns in one season outside the 154 game season Ruth had played...would not be counted as "breaking Ruth's homerun record.
So, what was going on? Well, in 1961 Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris were on a "tear" in relation to hitting homeruns that year. As the season was concluding, Maris and Mantle had each hit 58 homeruns before even 154 games had been played. "The Mick", as he was lovingly called, would be much more received if he broke Ruth's homerun mark, simply because the public loved him Maris...another story...he had the image of a guy who was just too somber about life...and he "didn't deserve that type of recognition.
Roger Hornsby, a great ball player himself of an earlier era, made this comment about Maris: (Ruth had hit .356 as a batting average in 1927, when he hit 60 home runs. Maris was batting .270 in 1961.)"It would be disappointing to see Ruth's home run record be broken by a .270 hitter." He didn't even say Maris's name.
Mickey Mantle had a hip injury late in the season, and after 58 home runs...Mick was out for the rest of the season....now, Maris was all alone.
Roger Maris hit 59 home runs in the 154 game format...but now there were 8 games to go. Already, he was being "hammered". He received disdain from Frick, Mrs. Ruth, and numerous people who were involved in the world of major league baseball. Maris received hate mail...and death threats...he was losing hair because of all the stress. Maris made this statement in the "heat of it all": "I'm not trying to be Babe Ruth...I'm trying to hit 61 home runs and be...Roger Maris." Maris went on to say: " They act as though I am doing something wrong."
HBO made a movie called "61", and identified the internal struggle Maris went through that season of 1961. The media tried to portray Maris and Mantle as opposed to one another, when the truth was...they had become friends. One highlight of the movie was when Mickey was in the hospital, out for the season because of the hip injury, and Maris was talking with Mantle and said: " I don't know if I can do it...I don't know if I should...I mean, Babe Ruth...he is the Legend of the Yankees...and me...I'm a nobody." I will never forget how Mick responded to Roger( and please do not be offended for this quote)...Mick said to Roger: " Listen....you go after that fat "fucker"....don't let anyone deter you what you are suppose to do!"
On October 1st, 1961...the last game of the season of the 162 game schedule...he did it! Tracy Stallard was the opposing pitcher of the Boston Red Sox....number 61!! There were only 23,154 fans in attendance ( a very light crowd).
Hank Aaron, who later broke Ruth's all-time home run record (714) 1974..paid tribute to Roger by relating a statement mimicking what Roger had said in 1961..."I don't want people to forget Babe Ruth...I just want them to remember Hank Aaron."
Roger Maris jersey number...#9...was retired by the Yankees in 1984. Roger Maris was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 1983 and passed away on December 14th, 1985.
He had a foundation for this terrible killer.
So, whoever you are in life...just be you!! That is God's intention...no matter what others may think you should be.
"But the Lord said to Samuel, " Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have not recognized him. For the Lord sees not as man sees, man looks on the outward appearance...but the Lord looks on the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7
Sometimes in life, people can influence you in a way you don't imagine. I have a friend...her name is Melanie...and she always has a way of making you feel...I am glad who I am....thanks Mel!!
Even in Christianity I have noticed that...once you meet Him and establish Him as an integral part of your life...you are sometimes swayed to be like that Christian guy or act like some other Christian person...particularly if they have found popularity among the masses.
As I grow more fond of Him, and begin to enjoy His Presence in my own life more....it seems He is not asking me to be like someone else. That doesn't mean I don't follow the advice or even more the actions of good leaders....but our identity....it is unique...He wants us to simply be...yourself!
C.S. Lewis once wrote: " I didn't really know myself...until I met Him....then I discovered my personality." Being ourselves...it is one of God's greatest gifts we could ever receive...for it is within our own unique personalities that we are able to offer others the True Gift of Life...meeting and knowing...Him.
When I am on this train of thought, I often remember Roger Maris, the New York Yankee baseball player who in 1961 broke Babe Ruth's homerun record...hitting 61 homeruns in one season...one more than Ruth.
Roger Maris, born on September 10th, 1934 in Hibbing, Minnesota. He was a Midwesterner who looked at life as a "matter of fact", not a great deal of emotion displayed when he spoke, but pretty straightforward when he did speak.
The year...1961...everyone who loved baseball pretty much accepted the fact: Babe Ruth's feat of 60 homeruns in one season...was one that would never be broken. Roger Maris himself was recorded to have said: " No, no one will break the Babe's record...guys now will be lucky if they can hit 50 homeruns in one season." If Roger only knew....what was about to happen!
The '61 season was an interesting one. They added 2 teams to the league, and the season had been expanded...from 154 games to 162 games. Ford Frick, the commissioner of major league baseball, a deep admirer of "The Babe" and a close personal friend of Mrs. Ruth, made it abundantly clear as the season wore on that anyone hitting more than 60 homeruns in one season outside the 154 game season Ruth had played...would not be counted as "breaking Ruth's homerun record.
So, what was going on? Well, in 1961 Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris were on a "tear" in relation to hitting homeruns that year. As the season was concluding, Maris and Mantle had each hit 58 homeruns before even 154 games had been played. "The Mick", as he was lovingly called, would be much more received if he broke Ruth's homerun mark, simply because the public loved him Maris...another story...he had the image of a guy who was just too somber about life...and he "didn't deserve that type of recognition.
Roger Hornsby, a great ball player himself of an earlier era, made this comment about Maris: (Ruth had hit .356 as a batting average in 1927, when he hit 60 home runs. Maris was batting .270 in 1961.)"It would be disappointing to see Ruth's home run record be broken by a .270 hitter." He didn't even say Maris's name.
Mickey Mantle had a hip injury late in the season, and after 58 home runs...Mick was out for the rest of the season....now, Maris was all alone.
HBO made a movie called "61", and identified the internal struggle Maris went through that season of 1961. The media tried to portray Maris and Mantle as opposed to one another, when the truth was...they had become friends. One highlight of the movie was when Mickey was in the hospital, out for the season because of the hip injury, and Maris was talking with Mantle and said: " I don't know if I can do it...I don't know if I should...I mean, Babe Ruth...he is the Legend of the Yankees...and me...I'm a nobody." I will never forget how Mick responded to Roger( and please do not be offended for this quote)...Mick said to Roger: " Listen....you go after that fat "fucker"....don't let anyone deter you what you are suppose to do!"
Hank Aaron, who later broke Ruth's all-time home run record (714) 1974..paid tribute to Roger by relating a statement mimicking what Roger had said in 1961..."I don't want people to forget Babe Ruth...I just want them to remember Hank Aaron."
Roger Maris jersey number...#9...was retired by the Yankees in 1984. Roger Maris was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 1983 and passed away on December 14th, 1985.
He had a foundation for this terrible killer.
So, whoever you are in life...just be you!! That is God's intention...no matter what others may think you should be.
"But the Lord said to Samuel, " Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have not recognized him. For the Lord sees not as man sees, man looks on the outward appearance...but the Lord looks on the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7
Sometimes in life, people can influence you in a way you don't imagine. I have a friend...her name is Melanie...and she always has a way of making you feel...I am glad who I am....thanks Mel!!
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