Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Orel Hershiser was honored last week with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but throughout his career, his faith has carried him.
Hershiser had a standout season in 1988 with the Dodgers, when he set a then-record for consecutive scoreless innings pitched (59) and won both the NLCS and World Series MVP awards as the Dodgers won the World Series. That same year, he won the National League Cy Young Award, according to the Baseball Almanac.
But all those awards don’t compare to the gratitude Hershiser has for God.
“I hadn’t planned to drop to my knee in prayer after the Dodgers defeated the Mets for the National League Pennant or look to the heavens as we beat the Oakland A’s for the World Series,” Hershiser wrote previously in an article titled “All I Ever Wanted.”
“These actions were not premeditated,” he said. “They were only spontaneous flashes of thanksgiving for God’s blessing and mercy. Although millions of people around the world saw me at those moments, I was not flaunting my victories. I was privately releasing these experiences to my heavenly Father. The trophies would all be His.”
In moments of stress, Hershiser would sing hymns to remind himself of his foundation in Christ. Twelve years into his MLB career, the then 41-year-old pitcher did the same after he had “given up eight earned runs in less than two innings.”
“Deep inside I knew that this could be the end of my career. And by the standing ovation I received from the Dodger faithful as I walked to the dugout, I suspected that the fans also knew it was probably over,” he reflected. “Each of my teammates greeted me as I stepped into the dugout. Sitting on the bench, I laid my head back against the familiar cement wall and sang one final time as a major leaguer.”
Hershiser sang:
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Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him, all creatures here below,
Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
In that moment, Hershiser was “filled with the most profound sense of peace and gratitude anyone could ever imagine.”
After his time as a player in the MLB, he moved into the broadcast booth, where he called games for nearly 25 years.
“The love of baseball has made me dedicated to everything that has come into my life because of baseball,” Hershiser told Variety ahead of his Walk of Fame ceremony.
“Even if you’re not a second baseman, you study second-base play. Even if you’re not a hitter, you study hitters. Even if you’re not a coach or a manager, you study coaching and managing and broadcasting,” he continued. “The love makes you want to know the complete [operation of a team], and that led me to know something and to experience something about every facet of the life of baseball.”
Now, Hershiser is praising God for the opportunity to use his legacy as a way to share the Good News. The unveiling of his star was Aug. 13 on Hollywood Boulevard.
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