Ryan Brasier is one of my favorite baseball pitchers. He’s a very normal looking athlete who made the most of his talent and helped the Boston Red Sox win a World Series. But at 35 years old, his career had seemingly come to an end and the Red Sox released him. But what happened next is inspiring.
As Peter Abraham wrote in the Boston Globe, “Ryan Brasier had multiple teams contact him about pitching in Triple A after he was released by the Red Sox May 21.
Only the Dodgers had a set plan to get him back to the major leagues. During a FaceTime call, the Dodgers told Brasier they wanted him to learn to throw [a new pitch], a cutter, explaining that the movement and velocity of that pitch would mesh well with his slider and four-seam fastball… Brasier threw his new pitch during two bullpen sessions and two rounds of live batting practice… He then made two appearances in Triple A, throwing three perfect innings, and was back in the majors June 20. Brasier has made 25 appearances for the Dodgers and posted a 1.03 earned run average with an 0.76 WHIP and 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings. At 35, Brasier’s career is back on track.”
We all face setbacks in our lives.
We wonder if a new door might open for us professionally, spiritually, relationally, creatively, or emotionally. When those seasons in our life occur, it’s helpful to keep stories like Ryan Braiser’s in mind.
Meaning, all it might take to forge a new path forward is to learn a new pitch and add it to what we already know. A new pitch in our professional, spiritual, relational, creative, or emotional life.
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