Faith In The Game

Say It Loud — by Ben Petrick

The following is excerpted from Ben Petrick’s acclaimed new book, Forty Thousand to One, which he co-wrote with Scott Brown. Petrick was a catcher for the Colorado Rockies and one of the top prospects in baseball when he was told he had Parkinson’s disease — a diagnosis he hid for four Major League seasons.

After his retirement, Petrick became a full-time caregiver to his daughter, Makena, while his wife went back to work. His health deteriorated greatly until one year ago, when he underwent a radical surgery in an attempt to lessen his Parkinson’s symptoms.

Forty Thousand to One was recently included in the library of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

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I left the doctor’s office wondering what the appropriate response should be to finding out you’re just 22 and no longer free from time.

A doctor at University Hospital in Denver had told me the odd movement disorders I’d been experiencing for nearly six months were caused by “Parkinsonism.”

“I’d diagnose you with actual Parkinson’s,” he said, “but you’re four decades younger than the typical patient.”

Getting that diagnosis (just seven months after my father received the same news) was more than surreal. It was like watching the moon fall.

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Forty Thousand to One, by Ben Petrick

The following is excerpted from Ben Petrick’s acclaimed new book, Forty Thousand to One. Petrick was a catcher for the Colorado Rockies and one of the top prospects in baseball when he was told he had Parkinson’s disease — a diagnosis he hid for four Major League seasons.

After his retirement, Petrick became a full-time caregiver to his daughter, Makena, while his wife went back to work. His health deteriorated greatly until one year ago, when he underwent a radical surgery in an attempt to lessen his Parkinson’s symptoms.

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In 2003, I was traded to the Detroit Tigers, an extremely young team on its way toward finishing 47 games out of first place. Just three years later, they reached the World Series.

The very next year, my original team, the Colorado Rockies, made a miraculous run to the World Series behind Clint Hurdle and the group of players with whom I’d come up the baseball ranks.

I wasn’t there for either.

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And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. — Hebrews 10:10 

When an athlete comes off the field and says, “God gave us the victory tonight,” we hope he or she is saying, “I thank God who gave me a healthy body so I can play at my best; I thank God for my good mind that allowed me to play alert and with awareness; I thank God for giving me the hunger to always be at my best.” If that is what the athlete is saying, then I want to say, “You are absolutely right. Thank God for all God’s good gifts.”

But if that athlete is saying God literally guided the football through the uprights for the winning field goal so that one team would win and the other lose, that man has a lot to learn about life and about God.

God is not our personal weather expert, football strategist, romance matchmaker, or rectifier of our past mistakes. God is God. God is our Sovereign, not our servant. — Ron Newhouse

The Bicycle — by Ben Petrick

The following story is excerpted from Ben Petrick’s new book, “40,000 to One.” To find out more about the book, and to place an order, please visit www.BenPetrick.com.

Ben is founder of Faith In The Game. A former Major Leaguer with the Colorado Rockies and Detroit Tigers, Ben has Parkinson’s disease and recently underwent an aggressive surgery called Deep Brain Stimulation to alleviate his symptoms. A recent ESPN feature on Ben and his family can be found here, and a television news story on Ben’s amazing recovery can be found here. Ben chronicles his progress, along with stories of faith, family and baseball, in this blog.

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In the film “The Tree of Life,” the mother says in narration, “There are two ways through life — the way of nature and the way of grace. You have to choose which one you’ll follow.

“Nature,” she goes on to say, “only wants to please itself. Get others to please it, too. Likes to lord it over them. To have its own way. It finds reasons to be unhappy when all the world is shining around it.

“But grace doesn’t try to please itself. Grace accepts being slighted, forgotten. Accepts insults and injuries.”

It’s not adequate to say that my mother possesses grace. Grace is my mother.  The two are interchangeable.

I’ll pause right here and say that I realize it’s not uncommon to write about your mother in awe-inspired terms, as if you’re seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time. But if you met my mother, you’d know.

You’d know she’s a revelation, like seeing anything for the first time must be.

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Announcing Ben Petrick’s new book

We are excited to announce a new book by Faith in the Game founder Ben Petrick titled 40,000 to One. You can order the book and read about it in greater detail by visiting BenPetrick.com.

40,000 to One is a collection of stories written by Ben, detailing his meteoric rise as a prospect with the Colorado Rockies, his diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease, and the courageous saga that followed. Amazingly, Ben played parts of five Major League seasons while hiding the disease. When he finally retired, Ben became primary caregiver to his daughter — the “One” in the book’s title — during the day while his wife worked. Eventually, Ben underwent two dramatic surgeries in an effort to improve life for his wife and child.

Several of the stories in 40,000 to One have appeared in some form on Faith in the Game, though the majority are original works. In all, we’re confident you’ll agree with nationally syndicated columnist Sharon Randall, who wrote of 40,000 to One:

“Ben writes with a kind of honesty and grace that both breaks your heart and makes it soar. He makes me want to be not just a better writer, but a better person. Never maudlin, truly inspiring, he and his book are a treasure.”

Jeff Bradley, one of the best sportswriters in the business today, just posted, “The story of Ben Petrick, written by Steve Wulf, is quite simply the best story to ever run in ESPN The Magazine. Read it and learn more about Ben by reading his Faith in the Game blog.”

The story is available in print editions of the magazine only right now, and will be online later in the month. For what it’s worth, we couldn’t agree more — Steve Wulf is a legend in the business for good reason, and he does incredible justice to the Petrick family’s astonishing journey. Please read and tell your friends.

Ben’s new book, 40,000 to One, is available at BenPetrick.com.

Hello Friends — Apologies that we’ve been away lately — please know it’s been with good reason. We have been working on a book of stories by Faith in the Game co-founder Ben Petrick. That collection will be made available in the coming days.

You’ll also be reading and hearing a lot more about Ben and his brave fight against Parkinson’s disease, starting with an incredible feature story now appearing in ESPN: The Magazine, written by legendary sportswriter Steve Wulf. It’s a great testament to the Petrick family and their journey. The story is only available in print editions right now, and will be online in January.

Ben’s new book, 40,000 to One, is available at BenPetrick.com.