Roy Hobbs was simply the best baseball player that ever was or ever will be.

His story begins when he is 19 years old and an incredible young pitcher – no, an incredible pitcher, period. While en route to tryouts for a professional team, he proceeds to strike out a Babe Ruthian character on three pitches. Pure smoke: the Babe winds up looking foolish, unable to even come close to hitting one of the pitches. Roy was untouchable, unbelievable.

But Roy made a bad choice before he ever got to the tryouts. Lured by the sirens of young love, he takes a bullet to the midsection and his opportunity to play slips away along with his consciousness. With a typical mistake of youth, a future that once seemed inevitable transforms into one that is impossible. The dream is gone.

Fast forward twenty years. Roy has finally made it to the major leagues, an old rookie for a struggling New York team with a hard-nosed, no-nonsense coach named Pop Fisher. Feeling as though he is being mocked by management and the owners of the team, Pop refuses to allow Roy to play or even to take batting practice.

After Roy’s latest stint on the bench, Pop announces to Roy that he is sending him down to the minors without having ever seen him field, throw, or swing a bat. A heated exchange ensures until Roy finally says he won’t play the stupid games he’s being asked to play: “I won’t do it,” he declares. “I can’t.”

He can’t do it because of respect: respect for the game but mostly respect for himself. He has worked too long, suffered too much, paid too high a price for this one shot, this one opportunity to find out if he really can be whatever he has always believed he can be.

It is at this point that The Natural becomes unbelievable: Pop changes his mind and decides to give Roy his chance to play in the show. Roy turns out to be The Natural, the best baseball player in history.

Crash got his chances and, when he discovered he wasn’t as good as he thought he was, accepted the facts and adjusted his vision and dream accordingly. Despite being deprived opportunities due to bad choices and a resentful coach, Roy got his chances and proved himself.

But what if you’re stuck in between? What if you’ve never had the shot of a Crash Davies or a coach that finally gets out of the way of a Roy Hobbs and gives him a belated – but not too late – chance to play?

Then you are left to wonder: Am I Crash Davis or Roy Hobbs?

Continued below . . .


2 Cor 1:13