Ken Haskins: Getting Jesus’s autograph (no, not that one)

Cathy and I recently toured the fabulous National Automobile Museum with our grandchildren. After the tour, we took the grandkids out to a bite of lunch and then to a Reno Aces baseball game. Reno’s opponents that day were the Tacoma Rainiers, the AAA affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. In the lineup for Tacoma were a couple of major league players on rehab assignment. I was thrilled to discover that Jesús was playing first base for Tacoma. No, not that Jesus, he was Jesús Montero.

Montero is a big man at 6 feet, 4 inches and 225 pounds. His reputation for tearing the cover off a baseball moved the New York Yankees to sign him as a free-agent catcher in 2006. Well before his 21st birthday, he had slugged his way to Triple-A ball. In 2010, Baseball America positioned Montero as the No. 4 prospect in the game. No other minor league catcher could hit like Jesús. Montero began to be billed as the next great Yankee catcher in the celebrated tradition of Bill Dickey, Yogi Berra, Elston Howard, Thurman Munson and Jorge Posada. Then the Yankees did the unthinkable. They traded Jesús to Seattle. As a Yankee fan, I was, and still am, disappointed in that trade.

Anyway, I was happy to see the Reno Aces win the game in the bottom of the ninth inning. I was disappointed in the manner in which the Aces won. A soft-hit ground ball found its way through the legs of Jesús at first base, and the winning run raced home for Reno.

Upon arrival at home I checked the mail, and to my surprise among the various pieces was an autographed baseball card of Jesús Montero. Cathy had entered some type of baseball promotion and received the card on the very day that we saw Jesús play! I’m still a fan of Jesús Montero, even though he disappoints me from time to time. I still believe that Montero has a bright future in baseball.

There is another Jesus. He never disappoints. He has done and continues to do all things well. He is Jesus of Nazareth. He is Lord and Savior. In the history of mankind, He has never had an equal. He is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Whoever trusts and hopes in Him will never be disappointed!

Ken Haskins is the pastor of First Christian Church in Carson City.