Chosen for Greatness

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. – 1 Peter 2:9-10 ESV

January is a difficult month for most baseball fans. The last game of the World Series was a few months ago. There is a bit of a silver lining to the cloud when you consider that pitchers and catchers will be reporting to their spring training sites sometime in mid-February. But if stretching and drills don’t do it for you, your wait for meaningful baseball games that coincide with the start of the next season will last for another few months.

One interesting diversion amid the wait comes in the form of the announcement of that year’s induction class to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. For the past several weeks, members of the Baseball Writers Association of America have been submitting their ballots for those who they feel worthy of enshrinement. Each voter is allowed up to ten selections. When voting has concluded, the ballots are tallied. The players who appear on 75% of the ballots cast will enter baseball immortality. Sounds easy enough, but it is extremely difficult to become a part of this exclusive group. Since the founding of the National League in 1876 through January of 2025, there have been 20,787 people who have played baseball professionally in the United States that could qualify for the Hall. As of late January 2025, there are 351 members of the Hall: 278 players, 23 managers, 10 umpires, and 40 people who have been recognized for their contributions to the game off-the-field. That computes to only 1.3% of players who have received this great honor.

So, what does it take to be chosen for the Hall of Fame? What are the voters looking for as they choose? That depends on the voter. They are allowed to make their selections based on whatever criteria they deem appropriate. Some statistical markers have all but guaranteed enshrinement. 3,000 career hits and 500 home runs for batters. 300 wins or 3,000 strikeouts for pitchers usually gets a player in the door. Scandals and the watering down of some statistics due to changes in the game have made some of these markers less automatic, but there are other reasons that some people have been denied their place in history.

Lack of exposure can hurt your chances. This seems odd in modern society with instant access to everything, but players who play in big cities like New York, Boston, and Los Angeles fare better than those who play their entire career in Milwaukee, San Diego, or Kansas City. Personal vendettas have also left players out in the cold. Baseball writers looking for content to do their job rely upon the players for interviews and insights. Players who are colorful, interesting, and available to provide quotes for stories are well-liked by the writers. Those same writers will one day be filling out their ballots for the Hall of Fame, and when they see a guy they liked personally, they’re more likely to vote for them. Conversely, when they see a former player who was rude, aloof, or refused to provide them with story content to help them beat their deadline, some writers will exact their revenge by withholding their support. Over the years, there have been instances where less deserving, but popular players were voted into the Hall while statistically deserving but polarizing players were denied.

On the surface, this can be viewed as unfair, and it probably is. If only there were a simple formula that would be applied to each player that led to the answer. However, there isn’t a method or a calculation that you could get enough people to accept that will change a system which has been in place since the hall’s inception in 1936. Fans and players can only rely upon the hope that enough writers will take their job seriously and vote ethically.

As I consider the Hall of Fame voting process and everything that surrounds it, I am reminded of the choices that our Heavenly Father has made when it comes to His fallen creation. The Bible is clear when it comes to the requirements for entering the Kingdom of Heaven. We must perfectly follow God’s law and His commands. This is an easy thing to investigate. Did you ever sin or not? This investigation also comes with a quick and easy answer: GUILTY! Every man, woman, child, and baseball fan were born into sin and have broken more commands than Nolan Ryan has strikeouts (5,714). This is an easy decision based on the data.

Thankfully, God has given us another way to receive heavenly immortality. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came down from Heaven and dwelt among us as both true man and true God. He lived without sin, following God’s law and keeping every single one of His commands. But instead of earning enshrinement for His perfection, He received the punishment deserved by the rest of us who fell woefully short. Whipped, beaten, and nailed to a cross, Jesus died in our place, taking away our guilt and the shame and placed it upon His thorn-crowned head. Why did He agree to suffer in this way? Paul’s words in Romans 5:8 make it clear; “but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” All of us, from Babe Ruth to John Gochnaur (Google him).

Thanks to God’s gift and the sacrifice of Jesus, we are freed from the errors of our sins and brought before the throne of the Most-High God. We have been chosen by the grace of God, redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ, and saved through faith provided to us by the Holy Spirit.  We deserve none of this, but through the love of God, we become who Peter spoke about when he said, “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

May we continually give thanks to God for His grace, mercy, and love. May we also share those same things with others as we have opportunity, that we might fulfill the destinies for which God created us.

Devotion by Richard Schumacher

Senior Director of Operations