To the Editor:
I am a parent of a senior baseball player at OBU. I witnessed what I believe is a great human interest story. This is intended to shed light on the player who acted with honor and friendship in this day and age where a lot of athletes are self-centered and selfish, where sportsmanship is at best in jeopordy.
In the last game at the Gulf South Conference Tournament, facing elimination, down 16-1 in the bottom of the sixth. In a nine-inning game, if you are down by 10 runs at the end of the seventh inning, the game is over. Jerry Helferich, a senior, was brought in the game to finish in the bottom half of the fifth. He had done well and was closing the game out nicely as Ouachita was watching their season drift into history. In the bottom of the sixth, Jerry had two outs. In three years together, Jerry has been the setup guy for my son, Patrick, the closer for OBU. It had been a nice combination as the two fit their roles and complemented each other well. It has worked so well that Patrick ended his career as the all-time saves leader and Jerry the all-time appearance leader as the setup guy. Again, this is not about those accolades but teamship and friendship. As the former baseball coach left and the new coach was hired, there have been many references to lack of character of the players that were left over from the previous year’s team. The athletic director and new coach at OBU have been heard many times refering to “the new baseball team will be recruited for character.” That insinuates that those who are there from the previous year have none.
So back to the bottom of the sixth. With two outs Jerry walks off the mound and signals to Patrick to take his spot. Normally a coach does this, but when Patrick came in, Jerry tossed him the ball and said “PJ, take us home, you deserve to get the last out. You are the only one who has been here for all four years.” Patted him on the back and walked off, ending his own baseball career. A friend had the presence of mind to think of someone else at a time like that. The emotions at that point had to be high. You are getting your heads handed to you, your career is ending in a game you love and you walk away so that a friend and teammate gets a chance to get the last out for the team. I am not sure what others would say about their definition of character but in my book, that defines it.
There is a lesson here for all of us. Putting others first, regardless of the circumstances, is a message the Bible speaks to and one we should get back to.
I have found that it is hard to recognize character unless you have it. That is something we should all work on.
Steve Lemmond
OBU, Class of 1975
