Jul 30 2008
Baseball player returned to MLB to build a church
[MLB]
The reason Fernando Tatis returned to baseball after two years out of the game, he said on Monday, had little to do with the fact that he wanted to play baseball. Sure, some part of him did miss the game. But mostly he just wanted to build a church.
His entire community in the Dominican Republic wanted to build a church, in fact, and if Tatis signed a Major League contract, he would have the money to do so. The problem was, no team particularly wanted an aging infielder with seemingly little to give.
But Tatis wanted to build a church, and so he told his family that he was going to return to the Major Leagues. This happened roughly a week before the phone rang.
It was the Orioles. They were interested. And now?
“The church is built,” Tatis said. “It’s beautiful, and we got it.”
Tatis played one mediocre portion of the 2006 season with the Orioles before spending another year out of the Majors and hooking on with the Mets this spring. That was a part-time gig until Monday, when manager Jerry Manuel deemed Tatis his regular left fielder for the indefinite future.
“He right now is our left fielder,” Manuel said. “There is no question about it.”
Read more here.
[From me]
In a day when athletes hold out for more money in their bank account, what a great story. The man came back to play so his community would have a public place to worship God. Cool!
What do you think?
4 responses so far
Thank you for publishing this story but I wonder why it did not make the papers? ESPN? Never mind I know. He didn’t use steroids. He didn’t hold out. He didn’t take drugs. ‘Nuff said.
Bill(cycleguy)’s last blog post..Creative Advertising
I think this is cool as well…I’m just about the biggest baseball fan in the world! I love the game…I don’t always love the players or their attitudes.
I would have paid to play major league baseball, bought my own uniform, and even shoes. Nowadays, players see the game as only about them and their needs. That’s the part of sports I can’t stand!
Thank you Mr. Tatis for your testimony! Thank you for your contribution to God’s kingdom…
May your tribe increase…inside and outside baseball! We need more men like this!
M. Steve Heartsill’s last blog post..An Assurance for All
Take what Steve wrote, duplicate it, and sign my name to it!
Michael’s last blog post..A Long Absence
This is inspiring. It somewhat restores my belief that there really are some great guys in professional sports. He seems like a winner in the truest sense of the word!!
David Richardson’s last blog post..Assuming The Worst