Christian Living

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Fields Of Hope And Courage
© 2009

by

Stephen A. Peterson


Pete Coleman loved baseball and dreamed of becoming a major league player someday. He was born in Cromwell, Oklahoma, where young boys and girls played baseball every chance they had to do so. Pete’s future seemed great as he had great coaching from a father who played for several seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals in the major leagues and a mother who played softball in college for the University of Oklahoma.

As a member of a little league team, Pete’s baseball skills were evident. It was difficult for pitchers to get hardly any pitch by him. In high school, Pete was a .525 hitter, had an earned run average of 0.68 with 114 home runs in 4 years. Sports writers and critics referred to Pete as the best baseball player in Oklahoma since Johnny Bench—the Baseball Hall of Fame Catcher from Bing, Oklahoma. The future appeared bright for Pete in professional baseball.

Then on September 11, 2001 two terrorist planes plowed into the twin towers. Pete could hardly contain his anger and vowed to do whatever he could to ensure such an act would not happen again. He put aside his own interest for that of a grieving nation and joined the Marines. Soon after Basic Training, Pete went to his Commanding Officer to request a tour of duty to Iraq. During the Battle for Fallujah, a foreign fighter’s bullet tore through his right forearm severing it. Though his life was spared, he laid in a Navy hospital wondering if life would be worth living now that his throwing hand was gone forever. As he prayed for guidance and hope, suddenly a defiant flash of strength filled every fiber of his body. Pete vowed to become a professional baseball player in spite of his disability.

Upon his release from the Marine Corp, Pete began using his left hand. To help him, Pete obtained the services of a strength and conditioning coach. In less than a year, Pete was throwing a baseball from his left side even harder than he did when he threw using his right hand with greater accuracy. For Pete, his recovery and progress was nothing short of a miracle—a blessing from God. More good news came his way when the military decided to allow Pete to purchase a prosthetic forearm.

During a Pony League game, Pete was called on to pitch. What could it hurt thought the manager? The team was losing by a score of 14 to 1 in the 5th inning. Of the 12 batters Pete faced, he struck out 11. His outing so impressed a scout that Pete was offered a contract immediately following the game and sent to the minor leagues. After a year in the minor leagues, major league clubs rushed their scouts down to see the “one armed wonder”. Pete’s fastball, curve ball and slider and the speeds he threw so confused batters and put smiles on the faces of General Managers and Managers. The following spring, Pete was given his Major League opportunity with the St. Louis Cardinals—his boyhood team of choice. As a rookie pitcher, Pete had won 11 games losing only 2. It was thought Pete would have never lost if the team did not commit the three errors causing those games to be lost. Pete went on for several seasons living his dream and enjoying life in spite of the injury.

Pete Coleman could have sat back, accepted his injury and lived his life wondering about what could have been. Instead, he worked hard and with the help of God became a major league pitcher and lived his dream. Pete’s story, though fictional, has a real message: He was physically handicapped, but not when it came to courage, patience and a willingness to work hard against the odds. He never lost hope. He never gave up his lifelong dream. He put his trust in God and left his circumstance in His Hands. With God in this author’s corner, why should I give up? Why should you the reader give up as well?

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