One Line Drive by Daniel Ponce de Leon & Tom Zenner

Author:Daniel Ponce de Leon & Tom Zenner [Ponce de Leon, Daniel & Zenner, Tom]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: FaithWords
Published: 2021-03-09T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 7

READY FOR A BREAKOUT

Jen and I soon took it a step further; we decided that it was time to get married and become a family. We both knew we had to stop living in sin, but we faced a challenge: spring training was set to begin in a matter of days. There was no time to plan the elaborate wedding that girls dream about when they are young. I’m sure Jenn would have loved to do something special, but it wasn’t an option. We had to quickly plan a wedding and make this union official. The pastor at the church where we attended counseling was a big Cardinals fan, and he loved Jenn and me. He agreed to perform the ceremony. We kept it simple. We gathered Jenn’s family, and a few friends at the back of the church. The pastor married us right there. I knew this was what I wanted, and everything changed instantly when we became husband and wife. I began telling Jenn I loved her all the time, and the pressure and guilt of not living our life according to God’s plan went away.

The preceding year had been the most eventful of my life, and the start of spring training provided the backdrop for another bit of news and blessing from God: our brand-new official family was going to welcome a new addition.

It sounds trivial or cliché to say it’s possible for faith to overcome fate. Can it really? Is it truly possible to trust God and His plan so much that the laws of logic and nature don’t seem to apply? Could one line drive collide with a human skull and result in that person’s being gifted with a new and more meaningful and impactful life? When I reported to spring training in 2018, these were the questions I was considering.

I was very motivated to prove I could still be a big league pitcher, especially since the minor league teams didn’t seem so sure. A number of teams reached out to my agent for more details about my head injury before the Rule 5 draft, and a couple of clubs expressed interest in selecting me, but ultimately, I went unclaimed. I felt a bit let down, but I didn’t blame the teams for having doubts and not feeling I was worth the risk. The last thing I expected was an easy path back. So, with the realization that this could potentially be my final spring training ever, I went into camp laser-focused.

God provided me a great test right off the bat, as we faced the World Series champion Houston Astros in my first appearance on the mound that spring. Their leadoff hitter was all-star Alex Bregman. In four months, he would be named the MVP of the 2018 All-Star Game, but in this at bat in Florida, I struck him out. It was the first competitive situation I’d been in since being injured by the pitch in Iowa. The Cardinals training staff had provided

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